Herb gardens
I have been neglecting this blog a bit in the past week - I've been busy with other things I suppose, and also, I confess, a little uninspired but reluctant to chicken out and resort to my inspiration tricks. But I'm back. And today's topic is herb gardens.
Why? Well I have just bought a few more herbs for my own herb garden, so it's a sort of happening thing in my life. But before I write about my own very shabby herb garden, I thought I would start with the beautiful diagram/painting above of a medieval herb garden in a cloister. It is actually much more beautiful than the real thing, because what struck me when I was looking for images for this post was that on the whole they are not that beautiful. I found one in China - but really when I looked at it, it was the scenery not the garden itself that was beautiful. And I found this one below too.
And this one is, at least striking - mostly because of the curves and the patches of red colour. For the thing about herb gardens is that there isn't a lot of colour is there? And I guess this is understandable, because if you let the herbs flower, you have probably lost the best of the herb. All the energy goes into the flower and not into the leaves which are really what you are after. Once a parsley plant is in flower, you're done really. You can keep them for the seeds that fall and regrow, and flowers are pretty in a wispy, pale yellow sort of way - but no more leaves. That said, sage, rosemary, oregano and thyme have lovely, if delicate and small flowers. The other thing is that herb gardens are often laid out in lines - in symmetrical patterns like the medieval one. They are very formal. I guess this is because they were gardens to be used rather than admired and if you had smallish beds with particular herbs in each one, then it was easier to find what you were looking for.
They're supposed to be very easy to keep - herbs are generally supposed to be hardy and weedlike, but I have to say it has taken me several years to get to the not very impressive state of my own herb garden today. They die regularly or else they just go to seed and then die. I just don't have the touch. But I do keep trying, because it is just wonderful to have at least the common herbs on hand outside your back door. This is what it looks like:
As you can see - not very impressive. At the moment I am without parsley. My last lot went to seed as it inevitably does - and then you don't have any leaves, and the next lot has not quite matured - but it's getting close. The rosemary is good - but I don't use that a lot, and the mint is coming on, as are the nasturtiums. Mint is supposed to be dangerously rampant, but I have yet to achieve this. I wish it was because I love ming. And the oregano is recovering from a flush of flowers that rather drained its energy. The basil is hanging in there but something is eating holes in it, and the thyme is still a bit straggly.
I suppose the great thing about herb gardens is that you can have one anywhere. Even if you live in a tiny flat, you can probably find a space for a few pots of the essentials - whatever they are to you. It might be basil, it might be parsley, it might be chillies. Whatever is your thing. And really you should give it a go. I'll just keep trying. The aim is to cover all that bare earth with something herbal and tasty.
