We would like to introduce to you our regular columist for 'Herbal Delights' - Merlin's Mommy !

The Pagan Activist

 

Merlin's Mommy is a practising pagan/witch who lives in London and juggles a full time job in the "real" world with amateur herbcraft, healing, animal rescue and care.  She lives with five mad cats, a couple of foxes and a variety of sentient beings, depending on rescue and care requirements.

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2008:

May

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March

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January

2007:

December / November / October / September / August / July / June / May / April / March / February

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As I sit and type this, there is a thunderstorm overhead, rain and hail pours out of the skies – I should have been able to predict it really!  Yesterday we took the greenhouse off our tender bean plants (which we had planted directly into the bed and placed the greenhouse on top to protect them) and I left a batch of seedlings out, as there was no space in the shed, so I should have known that the weather would be awful today.

 

Much of this Spring has been spent trying to outfox the weather, with some positive results.  I still have a conservatory and two greenhouses full of plants as most of the seedlings have made it and we discovered yesterday that both a pea and bean plant had fruited, so all the running about, weighing greenhouses down in high winds and nailing plastic sheeting to windowsills has not been in vain.

 

I finally got hold of wormwood seeds, although my angelica has refused to come up (I sense an update on Herbs that Hate Me – this is the third year I’m trying to grow it).

 

Most other herbs and veggies are growing well and apart from aphids which refuse to die using organic methods - so I am reduced to spraying them with the organic spray to stun them and then wash plants under the tap to get the little blighters off the leaves and down the drain – I am really pleased with the way in which things are progressing.

 

 

This month in the garden

 

I am hoping that May’s weather will be a bit more stable. This month can still be used for sowing, although most slower growing varieties of herbs should have been started in April.  Radishes, parsley, mints, roses and most herbs should be growing fast now, although hardier stemmed plants such as lemon verbena, rue, passion flower and lavender may just be starting to come into new leaf.  Marigolds should be starting to flower and poppies should be starting to come into bud.

 

I have noticed that although blossom is full on the fruit trees, birds are still eating a great deal of commercial bird food, so something in our local ecosystem may have changed from last year to this.

 

I haven’t started cleaning up in the garden yet so need to get a move on, especially with the lawn and pruning.

 

 

Herbs of the month

 

Garlic (Allium sativum)

 

Another plant with a long history of medicinal and culinary use and value, garlic apparently originated in Central Asia, although it is now cultivated all over the world.  It has grows best in a sunny position in good soil. There are so many culinary uses for garlic that I could write a small book (which I won’t here) but some of the more unusual ones I have heard about include cooking whole, peeled cloves with sweet and sour pork, along with the vegetables and ginger as well as peeling a clove and leaving it in olive oil or a vinaigrette before discarding it, to add a delicate flavour to salad dressings.  Many people do not like the strong taste and don’t like the “morning after” smell on their breath.  Eating parsley or chewing cardamom seeds after garlic can counteract this.

 

Medicinally, it is good for reducing blood pressure, controlling bacterial and viral stomach bugs, treating urinary and chest infections, piles, and worms and a plethora of other conditions, as well as being used to treat sexual dysfunction and to create household disinfectant.

 

Magically, it has of course been used to ward off vampires and evil spirits and is still in use today as a pungent addition to protective work and to deal with confrontation and martial issues.

 

 

Aloe Vera (barbadensis)

 

Aloe vera is a fleshy plant with grey/green pointed “leaves” and in flower produces yellow or orange flowers.  Aloe vera grows best in lightly-watered, well-drained soil in a warm position and should be brought inside in Autumn and kept there until the last frosts in Spring.  It is in much use in the cosmetic industry as an ingredient of skin creams and lotions but it is a superb healer in its own right, particularly for cuts and small burns.  The leaves can be broken off to obtain the plant gel, which forms a protective seal over the wound, allowing it to heal.  The gel promotes healing as it contains anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial agents, as well as immune system boosters and anti-oxidant vitamins.

 

One word of warning – all large (ie bigger than a two fingers) or deep burns must be seen by a medical professional. Likewise, aloe vera should not be taken internally, unless on the express advice of a medical professional.

 

There are no current, well-known magical uses for this plant, although I could see the potential of using the gel as a binder for ingredients when making incense for a healing ritual.

 

Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis)

 

Another pretty herb, marshmallow, has similar properties, although they are wider in application.  The leaves and root contain a mucilage which soothes sore throats, mouth and gastric ulcers, treats bronchial infections and is excellent for relieving the pain and itch from insect bites.  Traditionally, it was used to treat fevers with shivering as a main symptom, constipation, boils, burns and bloody diarrhoea.  It was also used as a preventative and strengthener in the Spring.

 

Leaves should be used soon after they are picked, although the roots can be dried for use in Winter months.

 

It was also, as its name suggests, used as a base to create the first marsh mallows, although nowadays this sweet contains gelatine instead.  The roots can be flash-fried in butter and the leaves can be steamed or added raw to salads and was used widely as a popular addition to soups and stuffing for pork.

 

Wormwood

 

Or Artemisia absinthium, to call it by its proper name is one of my favourite herbs, not just because it is used to make absinthe, which is still on my Things To Try Before I Die list.  Wormwood is a very old, well-known herb and is mentioned in most herb anthologies.  Culpepper mentions three types – one he wouldn’t discuss, Sea Wormwood and Seriphian Wormwood.  Research suggests that Sea Wormwood is the plant we know today, also known as Holy Wormwood.  Native to Europe and introduced to North America with the European settlers, it grows naturally near the sea in waste ground, although it also likes a good pot of compost to grow in and will last for years if protected from the worst of winter.

 

With aromatic green/grey leaves that reflect beautifully in moonlight, and as many uses as common names, it is a useful and pretty addition to the herb garden.  Magically, it has protective and purifying qualities and has been used to keep evil spirits and goblins away from the home.  It is used today in cleansing and protective floor washes and incenses, as well as for visionary work. More mundanely it continues to be used as an effective insect and mouse repellent and also as an antiseptic.  It was a key constituent of the many “four thieves vinegar” recipes for this reason – thieves would rub their bodies with it before robbing victims of the plague, although I am not sure about how effective it was.

 

Not to be taken lightly or internally without medical supervision, it is fairly toxic.

 

Recipe

 

Sweet and soup pork with garlic and ginger (serves two)

Two pork chops or an equivalent amount of pork loin pieces

Honey

Vinegar (balsamic is best for this recipe)

Two peppers, washed and roughly chopped

Two cloves of garlic

A good sized piece of ginger, peeled and cut up into fingernail-sized pieces

One onion, peeled and roughly chopped

A tin of pineapple rings cut into pieces and the juice reserved

Dried sage and rosemary

Rice

Olive oil

 

Place a good dollop of olive oil in a pan with the herbs and onions and place on a high heat.  Brown the onions and herbs (be careful not to burn them).  Once hot, add ½ cup of honey and ¼ cup vinegar (you can use less vinegar if you’re using the balsamic type) and stir madly until the liquids come together.  Throw the pork, garlic and ginger in and keep the heat up until they start to brown.  Once the pork is brown all over, throw in the peppers and any other vegetables, turn down the heat slightly and keep stirring and moving the meat about.  You want to thoroughly cook the meat but only lightly brown the vegetables.

 

Just before you finish, taste the sauce.  It should be a good mixture of sweet and sour.  If a bit too sour, add the pineapple pieces and juice.  If too bitter, stir in a bit more vinegar before adding the pineapple (and drink the juice instead).  If the liquid starts to evaporate, you can stir some water into the juice.

 

Put on your rice and once everything is done, serve the pork and veg mixture on a bed of rice.

 

This recipe can be made without the pork if you are vegetarian. Also, you can add whatever vegetables you fancy, although best results come from fleshy vegetables such as peppers, broad beans and carrots, as the texture should be crunchy vegetables with tender meat.

 

© Samantha Jenkin 2008 

 

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March proved less than predictable, as usual.  Over the past two days, an Atlantic storm has hit the UK’s West and South coasts and we have had gale force winds, rain, sleet and by the looks of the damage in my garden, some localised small cyclones.

 

In my infinite wisdom (if this was a pantomime, the chorus would be yelling “No! Don’t do it!”), and ignoring the Ides of March, I decided to get one of those walk-in plastic-covered greenhouses for the allotment.  Buying on a budget as usual, the greenhouse, which wasn’t that cheap, turned out to be made by Bodgett and Shipitt.  One week after Barry put it up, we had to go and rescue the seedlings, which took a tumble when the whole bloody thing went over in a mild wind.  We’ve since weighed it down and in preparation for the storm, Barry did some more pegging and weighting, but my guess is that it will go over again in the weather, reducing my winter-nurtured plants to so much mush and chlorophyll.

 

 

This month in the garden

 

Depending on where you live, April is still very changeable.  Last April’s weather was fairly splendid; although I don’t have the same hope that this year will be the same.  The ground is full of life but the weather seems to be trying to shuck off winter’s last cold embrace and days can seem to contain all four seasons in one.

 

I’m still cleaning up in the garden and have the grass to resow, as well as my flower beds to restore.  I haven’t done them for a couple of years and a change in circumstances means than I will have the time this year.

 

There is plenty of time for seed sowing and in fact some herbs are best sown now, under glass, rather than earlier in the year.

 

Roses can still be pruned back.  In fact, most gardeners swear by pruning only once roses start sprouting again.  I’ve found the best results come from a gentle autumn pruning, leaving enough dying leaves and twigs to provide food over the winter.  This cycle, I’m doing both and next weekend is scheduled for a rose bush tidy up.

 

Grass can be sown now and I’m going to take covers off my pot plants over the next few days, as they have already started to sprout again.  Well, I was until today’s snow showers – I might now wait a few more weeks than originally planned.

 

I’ve planted all the herbs and vegetables I mentioned in March’s article, apart from wormwood, which I am having difficulty getting hold of and chamomile and angelica - chamomile because I’d run out of space and the angelica is wintering in my fridge as it needs a period of extended cold to germinate properly.

 

 

Herbs of the month

 

Not strictly an herb, but a vegetable, radishes (Raphanus sativus) are extremely useful as peppery salad additions and also lovely on their own if you are a fan of their rather earthy, hot taste.  Used from antiquity to clear up urinary complaints, including stones and infections, they can be grown pretty much all year round and are ready within around 12 weeks from date of seed germination, depending on variety.

 

I love them best taken straight out of the soil, leaves chopped off and the root washed.  I’ve spent many a happy hour slumped on a deckchair, watching the sun go down and munching on radishes still warm from the ground.  Having grown my own, I am now spoiled – supermarket varieties seem bland by comparison.  I was relieved to see that it has been proven that organic radishes have more flavour than mass-produced ones – I was afraid I was starting to suffer from “owngrown” snobbery.

 

Radishes can be grown very easily within a small space and can even be grown in pots or window boxes provided there is enough room for the root to develop into a recognisable radish.

 

Stinging nettles (Urtica) start growing new shoots early in the year and in most parts of the Northern hemisphere will be sprouting now.  Nettles have a long history – Roman legionnaires are reputed to have stung themselves with the leaves to protect them from the cold in Britain, they were also used up to the 20^th century to make fabric and a dye extracted from their leaves was used in camouflage up to World War I.  Culpepper rather amusingly wrote that they can be found easily in the darkest night!  He suggested that the roots and leaves boiled into a decoction helped clear nasal passages and lungs after a cold, damp winter.

 

They have also been used effectively as a temporary relief for rheumatism and arthritis, bladder issues including stones, worms in children, as a circulation stimulant and as a treatment for anaemia.  Rich in vitamins A, B, C and iron, nettles can be cooked in the same way as spinach, or made into a rich and nourishing soup.  Leaves should not be eaten raw, as they will burn and blister the mouth and hands (care should be taken and gloves worn when picking the leaves), but cooking destroys the sting.

 

Magically, nettles are used as a protective herb, especially in situations of conflict or crisis.

 

My rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis) plants have just come into flower, although their stems are still quite bare of leaves.  Their small blue or white flowers denote faithfulness and are used in wedding bouquets for this reason.  As with most potent herbs, rosemary can be toxic in large doses and the essential oil should not be taken internally unless under the guidance of a qualified aromatherapist.  One should also not eat large amounts of the plant.  The plant should not be taken internally in medicinal doses or used as an essential oil when pregnant as it can have abortive properties.

 

It is a standard herb to use with roast lamb and also good in stews, soups, pasta dishes and steak.  Rosemary improves memory, is used medicinally to reduce depression, treat gout, taken as an infusion for colds, flu, lethargy and the essential oil is used for relaxation, muscular and joint pain.  Magically protective, it has been used to drive out hostile spirits and in incense and pot pourri.

 

 

Recipe

 

Nettle soup

 

Serves up to 4 people

 

50g butter or oil

1 small onion, chopped

250g young nettle leaves, freshly picked

1 teaspoon of dried mint

250g cooked potatoes, diced into small squares

900ml milk

1 teaspoon powdered nutmeg, cream and fresh parsley to garnish

 

Wash the nettles, removing the stalks.  In a pan, heat the butter/ oil and sauté the onion until just turning brown.  Add the nettles and cook for 10 minutes, stirring well.  Add the cooked potatoes, mint and milk and simmer for another 10 minutes.

 

Allow to cool and then put the mixture through a blender, before returning to a gentle heat and warming up slowly, stirring all the time.  Once hot, ladle into bowls with a swirl of cream, sprinkle some of the nutmeg on top of the cream and add a sprig of fresh parsley

 

 

© Samantha Jenkin 2008

 

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As I write this, we have had a fairly unusual start to Spring.  The weather was bitter – windy, cold and frosty - up to a week ago and I spent a marvellous evening running around the garden in gale force winds, swearing mightily, trying to secure a fence, hold the cold frames down and rescue the beans which had been knocked over and damaged.  Two days later, the weather had changed seasons and it looked and felt like early summer and this continued into the weekend.

 

I took full advantage and started to clear up my garden – I replaced an old rose arch, cleared the patio, started tidying up pots and plants and planted some more seeds.

 

As I was working, I was thinking about this month’s article and have decided on a structure for the year I hope you will enjoy.  What I intend to do is to take you through the growing year but, at the same time highlight a few herbs each month, give you some information about growing and using each herb, as well as some historical background on it and finish with an easy recipe or two using those herbs.

 

 

This month in the garden

 

It’s time in most of the Northern Hemisphere to get your seeds together if you haven’t already done so and start growing in cold frames or outdoors, if your climate is mild, I started sowing mine in December and January and have some vegetables ready to go in the ground already.  However, herbs seem to be more in tune with the seasons and weather, so I start those a bit later – around beginning of February.

 

I have perennials, which include valerian, yarrow, rose geranium (a lovely, fairly rare type called Rose Attar), lemon verbena, lavender, bay, nettles, thyme, globe artichokes, houseleeks, rosemary, sage, passionflower, parsley, horseradish and roses.  In fact, we have so much horseradish on the allotment that I’ve planned a “horseradish” weekend, when we are going to dig it all up, make horseradish sauce and bottle the lot.  I am going to try and grow blue vervain this year, as well as angelica, wormwood and mugwort again (provided I can get hold of some seeds fairly quickly), asparagus, fennel, sunflowers, catnip, bergamot, mallow, summer savoury and a chamomile lawn.  I’ve given up on basil completely and have resigned myself to buying it cut fresh to make pesto sauce.

 

My conservatory is full of seed trays, seedlings and plants and I am hoping to have the time this weekend to put up the cold frame on the allotment so I can move the seedlings across and make space for the next set of seeds

 

 

Herbs of the month

 

There are not a lot of plants about at the moment, so I thought it best to concentrate on the herbs I have used most over the past month or so.  As we get into the growing period, I’ll be more seasonal.

 

Valeriana Officinalis

The first is valerian – valeriana officinalis - to give its correct name.  Valerian is a native of Europe and Asia and is a superb calming herb and sedative for people.  Cats and rats enjoy it too.  The root is mostly used, dried or processed to extract the essential oil.  Both root and essential oil have a perfume that takes some acquiring to enjoy, but it is worth it.  Not for nothing is it called the “dead body” plant.  Ancient Greeks knew it as “Phu”.  Its medicinal effects include the afore-mentioned sedative remedy for stress and nervous conditions including headaches, insomnia and indigestion and it is thought to reduce high blood pressure.  It was used to treat shell shock in the First and Second World Wars.  I have used it recently to sedate a traumatised cat and reduce pain - it worked well on both counts.

 

It grows to about 5ft if left to its own devices and in the summer produces white/pink clusters of flowers in late Spring/ early Summer, which unlike the root, smell beautiful.  Both the root and flowers hold their scent well – I have some dried flowers in a bottle that are over three years old and their scent is still as fresh as the day I dried them.

 

Growing it in your garden also has positive effects on the plants around it as it attracts earthworms and helps fix minerals into the soil.  It should not be used in large doses for long periods – it can be addictive and if misused, will provoke the very symptoms you are trying to suppress – leaving you irritable, out of sorts and nervous.

 

Magically, it is used for purification, protection and for relaxing the mind for meditation.  John Michael Greer, in his book Natural Magic, suggests that it is particularly good for space cleansing before ritual and can be used in tincture form, added to water for blessing and purification work.

 

Cinnamomum zeylanicum

or Cinnamon as it is commonly known is not strictly a herb, but a spice,  Known since biblical times, it became a valuable trading item in the 18^th century.

 

It is still cold enough in the UK at the moment to occasionally want something warm to eat or drink and cinnamon fits both types of consumption.  Cinnamon is super added to a meat and fruit curry.  However, most cheap cinnamon is not cinnamon at all, but Cassia.  Cassia does have similar medicinal effects but smells slightly different.  The only way to ensure that you are buying the real thing is to purchase from reputable herb outlets or buy it in bark, rather than powder form.

 

Medicinally, cinnamon is used to reduce bloating, nausea and has been used to treat mild diarrhoea.

 

It grows best in tropical and sub-tropical areas, in sandy soils and is unsuited to cultivation in most of the Northern hemisphere.

 

It is available in bark, powder and essential oil form.  The essential oil should be used with care and never used on bare skin, as it can be a severe irritant.

 

Magically, this spice too has protective and purification properties and can be used in magical workings to clear the way for growth and to expand one’s horizons.

 

 

Recipe

 

Warming milk

Used as a bed time drink or for a gripey tummy.  Take 250ml of milk and warm gently in a pan.  Do not let it boil.  Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of ginger and mix well.  Add sugar to taste and serve in a mug.

 

Next month I will focus on some early producing herb plants.

 

© Samantha Jenkin 2008

 

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If you have a garden or allotment you can obviously be more creative about growing herbs.  Space, as always, allows choice.

 

This month’s article will discuss different ideas and creative shapes and designs.

 

Planning

Once again, planning is important – measure your space, make sure that it is located in an area where the soil is right for the plants you want to grow, that it has some shelter (no use trying to grow much in a windy area) and that it has sufficient sunlight for a good portion of the day.  I have found the best results in growing in part sunny, part shaded areas, for example, a space next to a tree which will provide shade in the late afternoon.

 

Preparation

This is where a large area enables you to be most creative.  Throughout history, herb gardens have been different shapes, sizes and layouts – some left partly wild, some very structured.  Herb gardens in most monasteries were laid out in a very functional way (although there are some exceptions to this).  Tudor gardens tended to be decorative and very symmetrical.  With enough space and careful planning, you can create lovely shape and colour variations.

                                                                                      

If you have a square area, you can create effective boundaries with box hedge, or stones or even short fencing.  Herbs can be divided by type or by colours. For instance, a square piece of ground can be divided into four equal parts, which each part of the square the same or each part can be used to grow separate items.  In the following example, I have created a bed divided in this way and grown a number of different herbs in it in a symmetrical form.  The benefits of this are a structured layout which is easy on the eye.  It is quite hard to maintain however, especially if a plant dies – it is more difficult to replace the dead plant with one of the same size.  Also, you should choose plants which you either really enjoy or have a lot of use for – as you will have lots of them.

 

 

  

 An easier to maintain plan would still involve dividing the area, but growing different items in each.

 

The following shapes also work well:

 

(i)         A pentacle, with different plants grown in each area to represent the elements

(ii)         Herb beds along the side of the garden, which are curved, so there is a lovely, gentle ripple effect as you look down the lawn.

(iii)        A square divided into four triangles

(iv)        A circle with a paved area around the outside and four paths leading to a central circle (with larger plants grown in the central piece)

(v)         An area (circular or square) with a central, gravelled piece containing ceramic pots

 

A good gardening book will describe exactly what needs to be done, taking into consideration your soil type, location of the area and type of shapes you want to use.

 

Some plants for larger areas

Rosemary, lavender, yarrow, tarragon, mugwort, roses, atrichokes and wormwood are all good plants to use as “backing plants” - you grow them at the back of your space or along a pathway.  Lemon verbena is lovely to use also, as when brushed it releases a lovely scent, but needs to be trained and pruned carefully to retain a pleasant shape.  It also may need to be protected during the winter in frosty areas.  Marigolds, poppies, foxglove and sunflowers can also be grown but have a very limited lifespan – so if you do use them, grow them in between plants which will remain all year round.

 

Medium sized plants include St John’s wort, mallow, lemon balm, catnip, bergamot, rue, valerian and parsley

 

Plants closer to the ground include basil, mint and thyme.

 

A mixture of different sizes, colours and textures looks lovely if laid out in a structured way – for instance, with taller plants at the back medium ones in the centre and the smallest ones at the front.

 

Ideas for divisions

You can use wooden squares as I have in the diagram above to create boundaries and also a space from which to work.  Equally useful are bricks, gravel, woodchip and hedge.  Hedge takes 2 – 3 years to grow to sizeable proportions.  Gravel and woodchip will need some preparation before laying.  My herb bed on the allotment has blocks made of slats of wood which I just placed on top once I had dug it all out, lined it with plastic, replaced the soil and made a compost topping.  They have lasted well and one of my jobs in the next month or so is to re-create the bed (which is now two years old and in serious need of some TLC).

 

Whatever the space you have – plan carefully, prepare thoroughly and you should be blessed with happy and healthy plants.

 

 

© Samantha Jenkin 2008

 

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It frustrates me when I see gardening articles in the paper, giving checklists of what needs to be done that week in your garden.  It normally involves buying loads of stuff and spending about two days pottering about to ensure that your garden looks like something out of a magazine.

 

Currently my garden has in it:

 

Plants, trees, grass and all the usual bits

Two old fridges (don’t ask!)

Next door’s garden furniture (ditto!)

My garden furniture

A huge pile of branches and bits to be chipped

A mess of leaves on the lawn

New plants growing in the cold frame and which are ready for potting on

 

It’s no use telling me what I need to be doing now is mulching my mangoes and burying my bulbs.  I need to be able to plan ahead a little.  So I’m not going to give you an herbal summary for the rest of winter.  What I will do over the next few articles is discuss preparation for herb pots, beds and gardens so that if you are planning to plant herbs in Spring, you have a couple of months to work out how you want to do it, prepare properly and get anything you haven’t already got.  I’m also not going to suggest things that include having to virtually landscape your garden or spend lots of money, as I am currently allergic to both these concepts!

 

Planning

Firstly, you need to measure your space.  You don’t need a tape measure, just a general idea of how much space you have – is it a stretch of garden, a bed, a couple of pots or a window box.

 

Then decide what you want to grow in it.  Do a little research and check that the plants you want to grow will fit comfortably in the space you’ve got.  It is no use trying to grow artichokes (which can reach 6 foot and need quite deep root systems) in a window box – they won’t thank you for it!

 

Check the type of soil your plants will thrive in – make sure that the plants you want to grow will do so happily together.

 

If you are going to grow delicate plants or plants prone to bugs such as aphids, try and grow a “companion” plant which will help keep bugs away.  All good organic gardening books will have a section on these.

 

If aphids are a big problem, consider ordering ladybeetles to combat the problem.

 

It is really easy to get carried away, so think carefully about what you want to grow.  If your space is small then only grow plants you can use or those you will appreciate.  I got so excited when I first got a seed catalogue about ten years ago that I spent a small fortune on seeds, some of which I have yet to use!

 

Be aware that some herbs such as mint, will take over a pot or plot.  If you grow mint in a bed, put it in a pot two sizes too big for it and then plant it, pot and all, into the soil.  This will prevent roots spreading out and taking over a bed.  You can also use this method for plants which are not frost-hardy – you simply dig the pot up in autumn and bring it indoors.

 

Preparation

Make sure that you have all the tools you need to do the job – window boxes, pots, the right type of compost or soil, gravel and broken bits of pottery or pots, spades, forks and/or trowels.

 

If you are considering a bed, remove the weeds, dig it over roughly (to about one and a half spade’s head depth) and let the frost break the soil down further.  Repeat this every couple of weeks, breaking the soil down into smaller pieces each time and by the end of January you will have a well dug bed containing loose soil which will be able to be raked neatly, ready for planting.

 

A fairly easy cheat is a raised bed.  I have one of these on the allotment – I did have to dig the ground over and make sure it was level before placing the frame for the raised bed over it.  I lined it with black bags and then filled it with compost and some of the soil from under the structure.  It worked well at keeping the underground weeds at bay, although it does still need regular weeding to remove air-borne propagated weeds.

 

Starting seedlings off

Depending on your climate, you may be able to start seeds off now provided you have a greenhouse or cold frame.  This doesn’t have to be a complicated structure – mine is a cheap one with a plastic cover.  Provided the seeds are kept moist and the door is kept shut normally but aired for a few hours a couple of times a week, you should be able to grow seedlings quite well.  Before planting seeds, check their germination requirements – some actually do need to be planted in sub-zero temperatures for a time before being able to sprout.

 

If you are using garden soil for seeds, it is worth sterilising it to minimise the risk of plant viruses and bacteria from the soil taking over your seedlings.  Dig up the soil you are going to use, remove any bugs and earthworms and put the earthworms back in hole you made in the soil.  This gives them a chance to burrow back in before freezing.  Spread the soil evenly on a baking tray and bake in the over for three hours at around 180 degrees centigrade.  Take it out and allow it to cool before using.

 

Some ideas for small areas

Here are some ideas for herb gardens with limited space:

 

Large pot or window box for a kitchen garden

Grow rosemary, sage and parsley – these are all quite pretty plants in themselves, but you can grow pansies or geraniums in amongst them for a bit of colour.  Pansies can be used in confectionery and pot pourri.  Geraniums can be eaten in a salad.

 

Large pot or window box for scent and kitchen

Grow rosemary, lavender, oregano, chamomile and a mint. The same option applies for colourful flowering herbs.

 

Small bed

Yarrow at the back, rosemary and/or lavender in front of this and a selection of herbs at the front of the bed including the usual culinary ones, plus chives, rocket and perhaps a few grown as much for their beauty as for their usefulness, such as pansies, cornflowers and poppies.  If your space is square, with no obvious “back” to it, you can grow the taller plants in the centre, with the smaller plants on the outside.  There is a temptation to grow a “wall of plants round the outside but this may restrict light and warmth to the plants in the middle, so think carefully before doing this.

 

Shapes

Beds needn’t be a uniform shape – experiment with circles, crescent shapes and triangles.  I’ll discuss how to create different shapes in the next article.

 

Growing for night-time

Some herbs and flowers look and smell their best by the light of the moon. These include artichokes, wormwood, night-scented stock, jasmine and opium poppies.  I have a patio at the back of my house which is partially enclosed – there is the house wall at the back, garden fences on either side and a rose arch leading to the rest of the garden.  I tend to overfill it with pots rather than use it as an entertaining area.  The benefit is that on warm summer nights, I walk out of my back door into an area that is heady with the scent of roses, rose geranium, nicotania, night scented stock and poppies.

 

Next month, I’ll talk about preparing larger areas for planting herbs and discussing in more depth creatively inspired shapes and beds.

 

© Samantha Jenkin 2007

 

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