My Herb Garden
On a blisteringly hot day almost 30-years ago I headed out the door with only one thought in mind, planting an herb garden. The fact that the forecast warned of temperatures well into the 90’s didn’t matter. I had one day off that week and my wagon was loaded with an expensive assortment of 3” pots of tender herbs. Aborting the mission was not an option, and so shovel in hand, I began. By the time I had completed the job I thought I was going to die…right there in my pretty little garden.
The chosen site was on the front lawn, right under my kitchen window. It received full sun for most of the day, would be easily accessible anytime I needed fresh herbs for the cookpot, and it could be seen and admired any time I happened to be standing at the sink. Perfect.
The downside, which I had failed to take into account, was the fact the 8 x 16-foot patch was covered in thick, deeply rooted, healthy sod, all of which had to be removed before planting could begin and the entire project needed to be completed before nightfall. I did it, but it was brutal. It was also worth it.
The original garden contained the “Scarborough Fair” assortment of “parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,” as well as basil, chives, tarragon, mint, dill, and lemon balm, with a lovely lavender border running along its front edge.
Some things worked, some didn’t. The lavender proved more than my inept skills could manage and I dug the messy tangle out several years ago. For some reason dill never does well; I keep trying every now and then, but it just keeps disappointing. I love the smell of lemon balm, and although none remains in the herb garden, it went on to proliferate everywhere else and now grows as a week in the perennial bed. To no one’s surprise the mint went hog wild. I doubt if anything short of a direct nuclear hit could kill it. However, the rest of the assorted herbs are still out there.
Over the years the garden has lost its neat and orderly arrangement, sprawling in some instances, remaining neatly where planted in others, and I, the benevolent if lackadaisical host, am happy to let them be. I weed, feed, and mulch in the spring. I replant the annuals like basil, rosemary, and parsley, and I try to keep it all looking somewhat trim, but if you will cast a glance at the photo at the top of this piece, you will note that for the most part, neat and orderly have given up the ghost.
Starting at the rear right hand corner is mint, then sage, and the big bright green patch in the whole upper left hand section is the basil. The shorter stuff right next to the birdbath is parsley and directly in front but out of sight behind the bath is one rosemary plant. The messy looking plants in the forefront are oregano (the only one still growing from its original planting). Unseen on the left is thyme, and on the right and in the shade are chives and tarragon. That dangly thing you see hanging over the birdbath is the lower part of a decorative dingle-dangle next to the hummingbird feeder. Such is my herb garden.
I went out yesterday to trim the basil, also hoping to cut back the dying flowers on all the other plants as well, but what you can’t see in the photo is the army of bees buzzing from flower to fading flower. I had to cut back most of the blooms on the basil if I wanted it to keep growing for harvest, but I let the rest go. Bees have become seriously endangered in recent years, and leaving the rest of the herbs looking raggedy is a small price to pay for keeping the bee population happy.
