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HERBS & FLOWERS
CATNIP
Catnip has a minty aroma that cats absolutely love. Dry leaves can be used in cat toys or sprinkled sparingly on cat food as a special treat. This is a great variety for both indoor and outdoor growing.
HYSSOP
OP. “Also known as Korean mint, this tender perennial is best planted as an annual yearly. Excellent filler material for floristry, it is long lasting and has a lovely anise scent with bright green leaves and delicate looking fuzzy lilac coloured flower spikes. An excellent pollinator plant, the hummingbirds love it too! Edible leaves.”
EPAZOTE
“Epazote leaves are essential in Mexican and Caribbean dishes as a rich flavouring agent. Epazote helps to counter indigestion and flatulence effects from beans and high fiber foods. Epazote dries well, or you can try bringing a plant indoors to over-winter for fresh leaves. Grows vigorously and prefers sandy soil with full sunlight, best planted in pots to control its growth. Will grow out to have yellow-green flowers that appear in clusters and are known to attract beneficial insects.”
CILANTRO
OP. Use the leaves and seeds for coriander spicing! Tolerates the cold and can be cut several times.
CHIVE
OP. “Great for harvesting the leaf over a long season. Slow to bolt, but when it does its a good producer of flowers and seed. Vibrant green color.”
NASTURTIUM
OP. “Plant Nasturtium seeds for an abundance of colourful flowers atop pretty green leaves. The whole plant is edible; the stems, leaves, flowers, and seed pods. The flowers add an exotic flourish to summer dishes, the leaves and stems pack a peppery punch, and the seed pods can be used as a caper substitute. Nasturtiums are easy to grow and look striking tumbling from containers or adding bright colour to the garden bed.”
FENUGREEK
Fresh fenugreek is so so good. Rich, pungent, curry-ish, fenugreek leaves give incomparable flavour to Indian recipes of all kinds.
CALENDULA
Tear the edible petals off and sprinkle them over summer meals. Most Calendula varieties require little care once established, so they are a good candidate for xeriscaping. While they may self sow, they are easy to control, so will not become weedy.
MARJORAM
Sweet Marjoram grows into a bushy plant with light green leaves. Pull the whole plant and hang to dry at the end of the season.
GERMAN CHAMOMILE
OP. “Beautiful small flowers on a low growing plant. Use flowers fresh or dry for a soothing tea. Sow early and again late summer. Will self seed.” Seeds from Good Earth Farms.
SAVORY
OP. “A fast growing annual can be used fresh or dried to add a delicious savory taste to any dish. Soups, sauces, gravy and meat and bean dishes to name a few uses! This has become my go to herb.”
TAJ MAHAL MARIGOLD
Heirloom. “Striking red / orange velvety blooms on 2-3' tall branching bushes. Beneficial to soil, good border. Indian heirloom originally collected at the Taj Mahal.” Seeds from Good Earth Farms.
BORAGE
Borage has delicate blue flowers - beautiful to the eyes, refreshing to taste, and loved by bees. This self-seeding annual hails from Syria, but has naturalized through much of Europe. A great addition to the edible flower garden and especially nice in tea or to use for decorating salads, cakes, ice cubes etc.Seeds from Good Earth Farm.
SUNFLOWER
“Red, brown, and yellow shaded sunflowers. Multibranched plants set bud more than once for continuous blooming. Can be used for autumn cut flowers. A real beauty.”
GREEK BASIL
A bushy compact basil with 1cm very tasty leaves. Sprinkle over salads and they dry very well for winter too. The leaves dry much better than Genovese. It is a great container plant. Almost every Mediterranean house has one of these on their kitchen windowsill.
BERGAMOT
OP. “Commonly known as Bee Balm, Wild Bergamot is a wildflower that produces blooms that vary in shades from pink to lavender. Wild Bergamont is unrelated to the bergamot citrus fruit that lend Earl Grey tea its distinct flavour, but the leaves are excellent in tea, with peppery/lemony/minty notes. will likely self-sow. All bergamots are highly attractive to beneficial pollinators like butterflies and wild bees.”
GENOVESE BASIL
This heirloom variety has large, shiny leaves and is excellent in all things, especially pesto. Pinch off growing tips to encourage plants to produce more. Plants will grow to about 24” tall. Seeds from Saanich Organics.
DILL
OP. “Must have for pickling. Great for harvesting the leaf over a long season. Slow to bolt, but when it does its a good producer of flowers and seed. Vibrant green color.”
ITALIAN PARSLEY
OP “Italian flat leaf parsley with robust strong long stems that can be harvested by the stem or knife-cut for bunching. Dark green and flavourful option to garnish your plates in the summer and fall. Its very vigorous growth allows for multiple harvests over the summer, fall and into the winter.”
more to come…