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These
notes on herbs were written by Elaine B. (member of the Clayton Garden
Club) for a talk she gave. I decided to use them for an e-mail because
they contain good basic information about growing herbs.
Growing
Herbs
Most books on herb gardening use the term "herb" in a general way,
meaning any useful plant. In this e-mail about herbs, we usually think
of the culinary herbs that we grow for taste, for fragrance, that can
add pleasure to our food, provide beauty in a garden, and give delight
to our senses.
There are many plants that are used for culinary herbs and many of them
are associated with the foods of the regions of the world where they
naturally grow. To grow them in our area, we need to provide similar
conditions of soil, light, and amount of water available. In California,
the herbs of the Mediterranean region are easy to grow, as we have
similar climate, with mild winters and long, warm summers.
Most of the Mediterranean herbs are commonly available. They usually
grow well in soil that allows lots of air and water to pass through
(not thick, sticky clay or standing water). They grow well in sandy
soil, or in pots or raised beds. Most want several hours of strong
sunlight in a day.
These are some of the herbs we have available for sale:
·
 Basil – an annual,
meaning that the plants only one year, sets seeds and dies, so it has
to be replanted every year. There are several flavor varieties and some
have purple leaves instead of green. Best in pots, needs regular water.
Grows less than 1 ft high.
·
Oregano – a perennial,
meaning that the plant will live for several years, usually needs to be
trimmed or cut back once a year. Italian, Greek, variegated, golden
forms, some oreganos are meant to be ornamental with show flowers.
Doesn't need fertilizer or a lot of water. Grows up to 18" high.
·
Rosemary – a bushy
perennial that is often used for landscaping, several forms are
available: trailing (prostrate) gets about 18" high but spreads out on
the ground or over a wall, medium-sized forms are get about 3' high and
upright forms (Tuscan Blue) can get 6' tall. All of them can be kept
cut back, some make topiary in pots. Typically has blue flowers in cool
seasons and bees love it.
·
Thyme – perennial,
low-growing, sometimes a creeping ground-cover. There are several
varieties of flavors and leaf colors: English Thyme (dark green
leaves), Lemon (yellow leaves), Silver (white-edged leaves, Lime (light
green leaves), Creeping and Woody Thymes are ornamental.
·
Sage – perennial
with strong scented leaves, often used for poultry stuffing. Must not
get too much water. Sometimes dies back after hard frost, cut back once
a year. Fancy –leaved varieties are Tricolor, Purple-leaved and golden
sage, Berggarten (very large leaves. Fancy varieties aren't quite as
tough as ordinary garden sage, and need a little shade and frost
protection. Up to 18" high, some will spread 3' across.
·
Lemon
Balm – one of the
mints, spread around by seeds. Leaves are lemony flavored, used chopped
fresh or as herbal tea. Lemon Balm needs regular water and cutting off
of the flowers to keep from reseeding. Cut back in late winter as new
growth comes up.
·
Pineapple
Sage (Salvia elegans)
– perennial to 5' high, 6' wide, except in dwarf form 'Honeymelon' to
3'. Delightful scent and flavor of fresh leaves in herb tea; scarlet
flowers bloom tin fall and attract hummingbirds. The flowers make a
scarlet herb tea or jelly. Some shade in afternoon, regular water, but
not too much. Dies back in heavy frost, cut back in winter. "Golden
Delicious' has light green leaves.
·
with
even more in our herb beds.
Rosemary
This is a good
time to shop for Rosemary as many varieties are blooming. Now available
at Markham:
 ·
Barbecue – 4' lavender
blue
·
Blue
Lagoon – 12" deep blue
·
Blue
Spides – 4' medium
blue
·
Corsicus
prostrates – 1' – 1 ½',
dark blue
·
Foxtail – 3' medium
blue
·
Haifa – 4" x 24"
medium blue
·
Huntington
Carpet – 1'-2' x
4'-8' deep blue
·
Irene – 2' blue
violet
·
Ken
Taylor – 2' lavender
blue
·
Tuscan
Blue – 6' – 8' dark
blue
Thanks
for the Succulents
We had a good
response to our call for succulents several weeks ago. Thanks to the
following individual and organizations for donations:
·
Diane
III for an
assortment of succulents
·
Danville
Garden Club members for
mixed succulents and rooted cuttings of orchid cactus
in pink, red, and yellow
·
Chris for
Echeverias, "Hens and Chickens" are always popular
·
Karen
M. for pups of a
very nice Aloe
Next
Saturday Plant Sale, April 5th,
10am – 2pm
All
for Now… See You Soon at the Markham Nursery?
How about Tuesday a.m.?
Call or e-mail
us if you have something special you are looking for and we'll see what
we can do.
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