Urban Herbs HAVE YOU EATEN YOUR GREENS TODAY?
I
grew up on an Ohio farm, where my exposure to herbs, other than a sprig of parsley garnishing a plate, was nonexistent. They weren’t in my mother’s kitchen, and they were certainly not in the garden. I remember when I was in college being given a spice rack and opening the bottles cautiously as I sniffed and sampled them. Which things were spices and which were herbs? How should I use them? It was a mystery. Shortly after coming to California 40 years ago, I planted herbs in my garden. Chives, rosemary, oregano, tarragon and mint are attractive and drought-tolerant, and they reliably survive year after year. These, along
AC By Anita Clevenger Garden Jabber
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with an annual planting of sweet basil, are the extent of my herbal adventures. A recent talk by Daisy Mah at the Sacramento Perennial Plant Club inspired me and other seasoned gardeners to think of planting more types of herbs and using them more boldly. One of the mysteries that Daisy cleared up was why we Americans don’t pronounce the “h” in “herb.” It’s a French word, and that’s how it’s said there. English speakers elsewhere scorn such Franco-frippery and defiantly pronounce the “h.” Some of us weren’t exactly sure what Daisy meant by “herbs,” because instead of using just a pinch or teaspoon at a time, she likes to make a meal of them. Herbs don’t just go into salad dressing—they are the salad. She grows and eats so many herbs that she’s begun calling her home garden “Daisy’s Herb Farm.” To a botanist, an herbaceous plant is any seed-bearing plant that doesn’t
have a woody stem and that dies back after flowering. Daisy limits herbs, however, to the usual definition of edible leaves, flowers and stems from plants that are used for medicinal, aromatic or savory qualities. She uses them generously in every meal.
One of the mysteries that Daisy cleared up was why we Americans don’t pronounce the “h” in “herb.” In order to make herbs a regular ingredient, they need to be accessible, she advises. “Don’t put them out in the back 40,” she says. One of the nice things about growing herbs is that
you can harvest them when they are in optimal condition, not dried out and flavorless in a bottle. She keeps a colander in the garden, cuts herbs into it and rinses them off whenever she prepares a meal. Many of us have had the experience of mint spreading uncontrollably through a planting bed. If you cut it often enough, Daisy says, that won’t be a problem. Frequent cutting also keeps basil compact and producing tender new leaves. Parsley and coriander bolt, sending up seed heads, when they feel stressed by hot weather. Trimming them often, and growing them in partial shade, may prolong their life. You don’t have to limit yourself to a few familiar herbs. If you can’t find what you want in a local nursery, order seed and grow your own. Lemon basil, winter savory, unusual oreganos and bronze fennel are but a few decorative and delicious herbs that she recommends. Daisy has been