Summer Stories
It has been a long, hot summer and motivating myself to plunge into the steamy depths of my herbal jungle on a 100 degree day is a difficult undertaking. I feel lethargic and my herb gardens are suffering as a result. However, I am not discouraged. Cooler weather is on its way and then I will rush to my gardens armed with clippers, trowel, and shovel. Stand Back!!!
Let me tell you what this summer has been like in the gardens or Mother Herb Creations. In May, I purchased several potted herbs at the Tucson Botanical Garden's Herb Fair. Among them were lettuce-leaved basil (Ocimum basilicum `Lettuce Leaf"), purple ruffles basil (Ocimum basilicum `Purple ruffles'), what I believed to be Mrs. Burns' lemon basil (Ocimum basilicum var. Mrs. Burns'?), bronze fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), and several varieties of scented geraniums (Pelargonium).
Basil adores the hot sun of summer if kept well watered. I planted mine below a new tree on the south side of our house. The lettuce leaf basil is huge and lovely and has provided me with many batches of pesto. The purple ruffles basil is mostly green. This is probably due to its placement at the back of the patch where it gets less sun and because I have not been pinching it back enough. I was disappointed to discover that the lemon basil was not my beloved Mrs. Burns' but another, less vigorous variety. Right now, all of the basil plants are attempting to flower and since I haven't had time to cut them back I have been frantically pinching their tops to keep them producing. I will cut most of it back to dry, use in vinegars, and to make pesto and I will let the rest go to seed for the next season.
The bronze fennel did not survive and I lost a valerian (Valeriana officinalis) plant. The garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is gone, and as usual during the summer, the Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare spp. Hirtum) has turned an anemic yellow color. It will perk up to its usual deep green with the cooler weather. Some of the Italian parsley has gone to seed and I left it to flower so that it would attract beneficial insects. The lemon grass and lemon verbena are looking simply lovely, as is the lamb's ears, marjoram, and Spanish lavender. The lemon thyme is looking very stressed and I fear for its survival. I managed to set up a timed drip line for all of my potted herbs before leaving for a ten day vacation. Two of my scented geraniums had died. However the mint, which resides in large half whiskey barrels, seems to love the more consistent watering. I am so pleased with the Dittany of Creet which is simply thriving in its whiskey barrel.
Now on to the Attack of the Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans). I will never, never, plant pineapple sage in the ground again! It has grown to mammoth proportions and the stem actually has developed what appears to be bark. Some of the herbs cowering near this "invader" are suffering from lack of sun but are still hanging on. These include my favorite upright rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), lemon balm, the ever lovely elfin thyme (Thymus serphyllum `Elfin'), common thyme (Thymus vulgaris), and French tarragon (Artemesia dracunculus var. sativa). Because it has been so hot I have not removed the pineapple sage. I simply stare at it in disgust as I pass by it with my laundry basket and occasionally hack at it with my clippers. When the weather cools this plant is history! I may save one small plant for potting but at this point I'm feeling pretty hostile and wouldn't mind if I never saw it again.
The front of our house is a low water use zone. I have planted an annual wild flower/herb garden here by scattering assorted scavenged seed. Whatever cannot survive minimal watering is simply allowed to wither. This bed contains garden sage, calendula, German chamomile, love-in-a-mist, Queen Ann's lace, hollyhocks, and many others. The chamomile is threatening to take over the neighborhood so I harvest it continuously during the spring for potpourri and tea. Calendula is a bright addition to this area and will be used for lotions and salves as their numbers increase. I was disappointed by the love-in-a-mist. They germinated later than the other, taller plants and suffered from lack of sun and probably lack of water. The plants that did manage to break through in the spring were quite beautiful. The garden sage has produced continuously and remains green all year. Its stalks of lovely, deep purple blooms produce many seeds which germinate easily.
I will celebrate the arrival of cooler weather by digging up and separating clumps of herbs for replanting, adding compost to existing beds, and planting some new herbs and old favorites to my new garden. I'm also looking forward to experimenting with saffron crocus. If all goes as planned my gardens will be shown as part of the new organic garden tour the Tucson Organic Gardeners has planned for February of this year.
By Mary Sisson EIbs
Email the author at momherb02@yahoo.com
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