Annuals - Herbs

Annuals - Herbs

The Basil Italian Large Leaf, 'Ocimum basilicum', is a sweet basil that is particularly good for pesto and is also excellent for fresh use. There is nothing like the smell of basil, it is the smell of summer. There is no more useful herb. The Italian Large Leaf Basil has just that, a larger leaf than other basils. Fresh basil makes a nice tea, an excellent vinegar, and tastes great fresh with fish, poultry, rice, mild vegetables, eggplant and many others. Plant 1 to 2 weeks after the last average frost date. Place the Basil seeds in well drained soil with lots of organic matter.

Basil Purple Ruffles Herb

The Basil Purple Ruffles, 'Ocimum basilicum', is a beautiful form of basil that grows about 1 1/2 feet high and has ruffled jagged leaves. The scent and flavor are slightly different from sweet basil with more licorice and cinnamon flavor. Purple Ruffles Basil can grow in shadier areas than sweet basil but still needs about 3 hours of sun per day. Plant 1 to 2 weeks after the last average frost date. Place the Basil seeds in well drained soil with lots of organic matter. To harvest, cut about a third of the branch from the top, down to where a new set of leaves is beginning to grow.

Berggarten Sage Herb

The Sage, 'Salvia officinalis 'Berggarten', has broad gray leaves that grow great in herb planters and in a compact in garden. Berggarten Sage can be used in any recipe using Garden Sage. Berggarten Sage is a special selection of the common Garden Sage. Berggarten Sage rarely blooms and this helps to extend the life of this short lived perennial. Trim often by taking three or four inches of new growth. Plant in a full sun location. This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds. Berggarten has average water needs. So water regularly and do not over water.

Common Chives Herb

The Common Chives, 'Allium schoenoprasum', has beautiful edible flowers and delicate onion flavored foliage.The Common Chives are at home anywhere. Not many plants do as many things as this plant does and are as easy to grow, maintain, and they come back every year. The Chives plant is 12 inches tall and has narrow, hollow leaves. It is very famous for use on baked potatoes with butter and sour cream and chopped chives on top. Plant in the early spring as soon as the soil can be worked or 2 months before first fall frost. Chives prefer rich, well drained soil.

Common Rosemary Herb

The Rosemary plant, 'Rosmarinus officinalis', has a piney flavor and is a must for lamb, pork, poultry, carrots, and peas. Rosemary is an excellent container herb for indoors and adds a wonderful aroma. The very aromatic smell of the rosemary will make you fall in love with this herb. The Rosemary has very narrow grey-green needlelike leaves that are 1/2 to 1 inch long. Both the leaves and the flowers are edible. Plant in the spring. Common Rosemary has great versatility in landscapes, containers, and gardens.

English Lavender Munstead Herb

The English Lavender Munstead, 'Lavandula angustifolia 'Munstead', is one of the Lavandula angustifolias or English lavenders. Munstead is a fragrant robust lavender that makes a great hedge. English Lavender Munstead flowers profusely in the spring, after which a good pruning will provide an attractive gray bush with highly aromatic leaves. Waiting even a day or two to pick, can affect the flavor. It is best to eat only the flower petals. Pull the flowers away from the little brown or green cap that they are attached to. Lavender flowers can be fresh-frozen or dried.

Fernleaf Dill Herb

The Fernleaf Dill, 'Anethum graveolens', Fernleaf or dwarf dill grows to 18" high and has dark green leaves. It is slow to bolt and is grown especially for its leaves rather than its seed. It is a unique dwarf that was developed for container culture. The dark, finely divided foliage on the basal-branching plant offers excellent flavor. Dried Dill leaves, called dill weed, can also be used but the fresh leaves are much stronger and taste better. Plant Dill in the spring after the last day of spring frost. Dill prefers fertile well drained soil with lots of organic matter.

French Tarragon Herb

The French Tarragon, 'Artemesia dranunculus sativa', cannot be easily purchased. To obtain French Tarragon, you need to obtain plants or to use cuttings. French Tarragon has a spicy anise flavor that turns ordinary main dishes into masterpieces. Tarragon goes well with meat and vegetables and is a top choice in any hearty recipe. The soil should be well drained and watering should be thorough. Keep a good supply of fresh tips for cooking by cutting it back to the ground several times during the growing season. French Tarragon also makes a good choice for growing in a pot.

Golden Sage Herb

The Golden Sage, 'Salvia officinalis aurea', has beautiful golden variegated leaves. Golden Sage is an ideal plant for color contrast in the home landscape. The leaves of sage have a sharp, peppery taste. Use Golden Sage to flavor sausage, soups, dressings, cheese dishes, and stuffings. Sage tea is also worth a try. Young leaves are eaten fresh in salads or cooked in omelets, breads, poultry stuffings and all types of beans, cabbage, and garlic. Plant in the spring in well drained soil. Golden Sage is a source of vitamins A and C and is a neat shrubby plant.

Greek Oregano Herb

The Greek Oregano, 'Origanum vulgare hirtum', is a more prostrate and more highly scented than Italian oregano. Origanum vulgaris hirtum is the true Greek Oregano with flavor so intense it numbs the end of your tongue when fresh, and like all culinary oreganos, the flower of Greek Oregano is white.Greek Oregano chopped and mixed with garlic, salt, and olive oil makes a great marinade for pork, beef, or roasted potatoes. Add a little Rosemary to the marinade and use it on poultry. Greek Oregano can be used fresh or dried.

Italian Parsley Herb

The Italian Parsley, Petroselinum crispum, has flat leaves that makes this a prefered plant of gourmets.The Parsley Italian Dark Green Flat, is prized by gourmets as the most flavorful of all parsleys. Do you love and grow roses? Grown near roses, parsley is thought to improve the scent and health of roses. Flat Parsley is a very nutritious herb containing large quantities of vitamins and mineral such as calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. They are great in window boxes and pots either inside or outside. Plant in the spring in well drained soil.

Lady Lavender Herb

The Lady Lavender, 'Lavandula angustifolia 'Lady', is faster growing than other varieties and has a great scent and beautiful blooms. Lady Lavender is a dwarf cultivar of Lavandula angustifolia. Lady Lavender is a 12" plant with compact violet blooms on 4-6" stems. Shear following bloom for shape and to prompte rebloom. Plant in early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked or in late fall. The Lavender can be used for a short hedge, edging, rock gardens, and pots. Lavender also are used in sachets and pot pourri.

Lemon Grass Herb

The Lemon Grass, Cymbopogon citratus, is a very fragrant grass and it is a versatile performer in the kitchen where it can be used in teas, beverages, herbal medicines, and Eastern inspired soups and other dishes. The leaves of this plant are used for many medicinal purposes. They can be dried and used in the making of Vietnamese and Thai curries. They are steam distilled to extract lemongrass oil, an old standby in the the perfumer's palette of scents. It also does well in tubs and containers. You can also pot it up for the winter and keep it in a brightly lit area indoors.

Peppermint Herb

The Peppermint, 'Mentha silvestris crispa', is a spreading plant with numerous upright shoots that may reach a height of 2 feet. Dark green leaves are produced from reddish stems. Peppermint grows best in moist soils. Peppermint makes a refreshing herbal tea. Use 2 TBSP of fresh or 1 TBSP dried for each cup of tea and steep for 5 minutes. Herbal users promote drinking peppermint tea during meals or after meals to aid digestion. Lots of fresh mint leaves, chopped with some whole for garnish, improves every fruit salad and most green salads.

Pineapple Sage Herb

The Pineapple Sage, 'Salvia elegans', is a semiwoody, mostly herbaceous, subshrub, 3-5 ft () in height with an open-branched, airy habit.. Like most mints, pineapple sage has square stems.The bruised foliage of Pineapple sage really does smell like fresh pineapple. Use pineapple sage in the center of beds and borders, where its open, airy structure will not hide other plantings. Crush a few fragrant leaves into hot or iced tea for a flavorful treat. The delicious flowers add color and flavor to salads and deserts. Pineapple sages make a stunning center piece or border plant.

Spearmint Herb

The Spearmint, 'Mentha spicata', is the classic mint. Spearmint is also known as mint, brown mint, garden mint, lamb mint, mackerel mint, Our Lady's mint, and sage of Bethlehem. Spearmint is used in teas, flavored teas, sauces, jellies, and vinegars; leaves in fruit salad, and in peas, plus many more. Spearmint marries well with lamb, and minted apple jelly and lamb are a classic twosome. The plant is easy to grow if wet soil is provided. The spike of purplish flowers is produced in the summer. Cut back to the ground at least twice/summer.

Sweet Majoram Herb

The Marjoram Sweet, 'Origanum majorana', has a sweeter, milder flavor than Oregano. Some describe the flavor as having a hint of balsam. Try substituting Sweet Marjoram for Oregano in many popular dishes such as eggplant Parmesan or pizza. The plants are bushy, 1 to 2 foot tall and 2 foot wide.Marjoram is used with sausage, egg dishes, cheese dishes, lamb, veal, fish, green vegetables, darrots, beef, eggplant, cauliflower, dressings, squash, and tomatoes. Legend has it that if you touch Sweet Marjoram before bedtime, you will dream of your future spouse.

Tricolor Sage Herb

The Sage Tricolor, 'Salvia officinalis 'Tricolor', has green, white, and purple varigated leaves and the color intensifies in full sun. Tricolor Sage is beautiul in the garden. Salvia officinalis is the basic sage long famed for culinary and medicinal value, but it is also highly decorative in the garden. It one-ups the usual Purple Sage by mixing green, white, & purple foliage on a single pubescent-leafed plant. This eye-catching variegated sage makes a perfect evergreen edge for a sunny border.

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ACORN HILL

Acorn Hill is the name we’ve given to our home. Situated in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, it is so named for the thousands of acorns produced by the red oaks growing here. We spent years looking for just the right spot. Some of the most important criteria were plenty of room to garden and space for our menagerie of dogs and cats to safely run and play. And we found it here.

We have undertaken several big outdoor projects and have many more planned. I have been taking pictures and making notes, which in essence constitute a journal of these projects. I thought it might be interesting and perhaps helpful to share our progress. So in addition to my Garden Journal where I routinely note what’s happening around the garden, we’ve added Acorn Hill Garden Projects to our site and intend to update it as we complete specific projects. The Acorn Hill Garden Projects detail specific projects from start to finish with notes on what we learned in the process.

When we first came to Acorn Hill, one of the first things I realized was that I had more great ideas than I had time, energy, or money. I had so many things that I hoped to accomplish the first year, but luckily we didn’t get very much done. I say luckily because when starting a garden in a new place it is critical to observe, for at least one full cycle of the seasons, how the seasons change the existing landscape, how the views from your house differ in summer and winter, and how you and your family use your outdoor space. So lesson number one was be patient. Something I’ve been known to have trouble with.

The projects listed below are things we’ve done so far, and things we intend to complete in the near future. As I write the story of each, I’ll include my thoughts on what we’ve done right and what we’ve learned from the things that haven’t gone as planned. I hope you find these stories useful and, if nothing else, amusing. We try to have fun at whatever we do, otherwise, why do it!

So look for these stories coming soon to Acorn Hill Garden Projects:

A year of observation, four seasons at Acorn Hill
A path through the wilderness, making the upper and lower trails
The long and short of it, creating a view from the porch
Keeping the hounds at bay, do-it-yourself garden fencing
High on a hill, creating the hilltop garden

We hope that you've enjoyed our collection of Annuals - Herbs. If you're looking for something other than Annuals - Herbs, we hope that you'll find it here. We also hope that you'll come back often.