This is Thyme:
This is Parsley:
This is Chives:
This is Bay - grown from a cutting, not from seed, but looking very vigorous:
The Pineapple Mint from last year's Rocket Garden is coming up strongly. I think it is more white and less green than before.
The colour on the fresh young leaves of Variegated Sage is really vibrant at present:
There is a lot of fresh new growth on the Lemon Balm too. We never use this herb in our cooking, but it's a good-looking plant though.
These represent just a small selection of the herbs in my garden; there are herbs everywhere. That's the way I like it!
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P.S. I have transplanted the Thyme seen above...
Could I ask you a question about the bay tree please. Aldi were advertising some bay trees for sale last week and I went to get one to add to my herb collection. The label on it said not for human consumption so I didn't bother getting it. I didn't realise that you could get different varieties and I'm not sure what I need to get that I can use for cooking with.
ReplyDeleteHazel, as far as I am aware the leaves of all Bay trees can be eaten. We certainly eat ours!(Well, use them for flavouring...). Maybe the plant you saw was "Bay Laurel", which is a different thing, and Laurels are generally poisonous.
DeleteThey didn't make it very clear as it was advertised as a bay tree but then said not for human consumption. Not sure if that means you could use it for flavouring though buy didn't want to risk poisoning the family. Will have a look in the garden centre, should be safe enough from there, thanks
DeleteIf in doubt check the latin name. The bay trees used as a herb are laurus nobilis. These are the ones Aldi sell and they are edible, however whatever they have sprayed them with may be poisonous so they are covering their backs . I know that all citrus plants are edible but the ones they sell in the garden centre are marked as not fit for human consumption. I bought a lemon tree from Aldi this year and the label said the fruits on it at that time were not fit for human consumption but any that grew later would be. It may be the same with the bay. They spray them with chemicals that linger for around a month, after that the plants are ok to eat.
DeleteThere are varieties of laurus nobilis that are grown for ornamental reasons, they are still edible but they are grown for looks not flavour so they may not work as well as the normal type. If the plant label has another name after the laurus nobilis, then it is an ornamental type - such as "laurus nobilis 'aurea'" which has yellow leaves.
Ah, now that sounds like a reasonable explanation. Thanks.
DeleteThanks for that, think I'll go back and see if aldi still have some but leave it a while before I use the leaves
DeleteI so love my herbs too. I need to redo the English thyme (probably what you would call common thyme). It was getting old and the old stems tend to rot out. I need to take some cuttings or maybe layer it and then once I have new plants, dig out the old ones and toss them.
ReplyDeleteI find that the variegated herbs do not grow anything like as strongly as the green leaved ones.
ReplyDeleteThyme is looking good - the snails have had all mine, the little blighters!
ReplyDeleteThyme is looking good - the snails have had all mine, the little blighters!
ReplyDeleteDitto for lemon balm. Never use it, but tried drying some leaves last year for herbal tea. Never used it. I agree it is attractive, but no one ever deadheads it. The seeds get spread around and it pops up everywhere. It has become a pest in the community garden.
ReplyDeleteDitto for lemon balm. Never use it, but tried drying some leaves last year for herbal tea. Never used it. I agree it is attractive, but no one ever deadheads it. The seeds get spread around and it pops up everywhere. It has become a pest in the community garden.
ReplyDeleteI found lemon balm in my garden last week and dug it out, it is a thuggish plant and I find the scent to be sickly. I am told that the leaves make a healthy tea but have no intention of trying it.
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to see your parsley grow. I've never had problems with germination - which is where the difficulties traditionally lie - but I have never yet grown little plants into big ones. It's a shame because I can eat it by the handful. (My pineapple mint appears to have died over winter - along with another that smelled of basil.)
ReplyDeleteA great time of year to be able to use fresh herbs from the garden, I love it :)
ReplyDeleteLovely collection Mark. We used to have some Lemon balm in a pot but it died & we've yet to replace it. Another trip to the garden centre I think.
ReplyDeleteSo nice - nothing beats fresh herbs, both in the garden and kitchen. I once purchased a bay tree, but it didn't survive more than a year from what I can recall. Of course, we have to grow it as a potted plant here, which is likely why it didn't make it.
ReplyDeleteGrowing a Bay tree in a pot does at least give you the possibility of bringing under cover in the Winter (until it gets too big to carry!)
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