Flowers and Plants for the home.

A greenhouse, no matter big or small, opens views and offers the gardener endless possibilities and delights.

"To plant a row of tiny seeds, small and delicate seedlings, or dusty bulbs in the raw earth of spring and eventually to gather armfuls of flowers and vegetables are a miracle that causes even the most nonchalant gardener to be filled with pride."

HERBS

ALOE VERA--Annual. Tropical plant. Full sun. Moist soil. Great medicinal plant: good for burns and cuts even sunburn; I keep my plants in the kitchen.
ANGELICA--Annual. Sow the seed heavily, not a very viable plant. Damp and partly shady place. Cut the stems in late May and early June while they are tender...or cut side shoots in August. The stems can be used (fresh) with rhubarb for a great jam (it reduces the acidity and adds flavor) also the oil from the seed is used in liquers.
ANISE HYSSOP--Annual. Sunny location. Porous, light, rairly rich soil. Gather seed in August, dry and use for sprinkling over cakes, pancakes, salads soups and young carots.
ARTEMISIA OR WOODWORM--Propagate by dividing. The whole herb is used either fresh or dried for flavoring or combine in a mixture of aromatic leaves.
BALM OR MELISSA OFFICINALIS--Propogate by dividing. Plant about a foot apart in fairly good soil. The leaves are used fresh or powedered in fish sauces, stuffing or as a substitute for lemons. Fresh leaves can also be used in salads and summer drinks.
BASIL--Annual. Sunny location. Ordinary garden soil. Hardy plant. Use the leaves to flavor soups, in tomato dishes, salads, omelets, sausages and chopped meat.
BORAGE--Annual. Grow in poor, stony or sandy soil. A tea can be made of the fresh or dried leaves (hot or cool). An attractive cold drink with the blue borage flowers in it. The flowers can be candied.
CARAWAY--Annual. Ordinary soil, where sunny. Plant 1 foot apart. Dried seeds are used in cakes, breads, salads, and mixed wiyh cream cheeses. Sprinkle on lamb or pork chops before cooking.
CHAMOMILE--Perenial. Rich soil. Plant about 9 inches apart. The leaves fresh or dried make a great tea. The tea is known for alleviating insomnia and cramps. It is also used as a tonic. Dry flowers quickly for use in tonics and shampoos.
CATNIP--This aromatic herb is for cat lovers for their cats. It drug induces the animal into a playful bliss. Plant it around your garden to keep the cats out!
CHERVIL--Annual. Sow over and over from spring to fall, thinning the seedlings to 6 inches apart and water in dry weather. Pinch back flowers to produce good leaves. Cut leaves 6 to 8 weeks after planting. Fresh chopped leaves impart great flavor to salads, sauces, and soups. (tartar sauce) Use dried leaves in stuffing. You can make Chervil vinegar, an alternative to cider or wine vinegar. Chervil vinegar is made the same way as tarragon vinegar. (see below)
CHIVES--Perennial. Tops are used. Needs dividing every 5 years. Great house herb. Fresh leaves are a popular seasoning, a mild onion-like flavor for salads, egg and cheese dishes. (Also used in tartar sauce.)
COMFREY--Propagate by seed or division. Damp soil. Plant two feet apart. Leaves are used to alleviate pain and reduce swelling from breaks and sprains. Young shoots can be blanched and eaten like asparagus.
CORIANDER--Annual. Seeds planted at monthly intervals during summer. One foot apart. Gather leaves (young) for seasoning soups and salads. (Flavor equals dried orange peel) Seeds used on cakes and breads, milk puddings and cream cheeses.
DILL--Annual. Any garden soil. Space six inches apart. Dill water was used for soothing babies. Seeds have a sharp flavor for pickles and soups. Soak in wine vinegar for a few days and you will have dill vinegar which is used for pickling cucumbers. Chopped leaves are used in sauces for fish, sprinkled on boiled potatoes or fresh salmon and used in omelettes and salads along with other herbs. (Use sparingly)
EUCALYPTUS--Full sun. Rich soil. Indicative of Australia. Hard to grow. Leaves used in steam rooms and to vaporize. Good for breathing. Also great in arrangements. Has a nice clean aroma.
FENNEL--Sunny Place. Can grow up to six feet. Use fresh or dry leaves for fennel tea. Can be used in sauces, particularly those for oily fish. Seed can be sprinkled in soup or pastries. Can cook the thick fleshy stalks like celery or use them shredded in salads.
GARLIC--Place plant sets in light, loose soil. Nine inches apart or near rosebushes or in garden. (Helps keep bugs away) Use the cloves (sections of the bulb) of garlic in meats, sauces, and salads. And for a wonderful treat, try them in mashed potatoes. Also if your plant creates mold or gets bacteria, take a clove of garlic and stick it in the dirt...it cures it!
HOREHOUND--This herb is used in making coughdrops.
HYSSOP--Sunny place. Dry soil. Hyssop is an evergreen shrub, with blue, pink, or white flowers. Now used as a garden decoration; but once its shoots were made for tea. Valued as a remedy for the relief of coughs, colds, and sore throats.
LAVENDER--Full sun. Poor soil. Plant two to three feet apart. Pleasing aroma. Used commercially for lavender water. Domestically as a moth deterrant and as an ingredient for potpourri. Flowers can be candied. To make lavender bags, cut the flower stalks in the summer when almost mature to capture essence of oils, dry and rub the flowers from stalks between the hands or on a board.
MARJORAMS--Plant in hot, dry place. Leaves are used in vinegars, soups, egg dishes and dressings.
MINTS--Plant in shady area. Damp soil. Propagate by dividing. Important ingredient for mint sauce, jelly, butter and tea. Place sprigs in iced teas or cook with young vegetables. Can be dried for winter use. Used in some potpourris and hair tonics.
NASTURTIUM--Annual. Poor soil. Space six inches apart. Season salads with leaves and flowers. (If seeds picked when young, can be substituted for capers)
OREGANO--An herb used as a spice in tomato dishes, soups, sauces and on pizza. Dry the leaves to use.
PARSLEY--Damp soil. Light shaded area or sun. Plant in spring, thin out. Used fresh for flavoring salads and vegetables. Also good fresh or dried in stuffings. Can make tea, butter and jelly with parsley.
PATCHOULI--Difficult plant. Need to bring bush in during winter. Likes moist to dry soil. Early morning sun only. Can be planted outdoors in summer. Grows big and bushy. Keeps away bugs. Leaves can be used when dried to store in clothes. Also the oil from the seeds is used in making a delightful scent to wear. (I wear patchouli oil all the time)
PENNYROYAL--Plant in moist, shady place. Six inches apart. Use tender tips of shoots sparingly to add pepper mint flavor to salads.
PEPPERMINT--Propagate by dividing. Rich moist soil. Dry the leaves for flavoring sweets and making peppermint tea.
RHUBARB--Grow in vegetable garden. Full sun. Used for making pie. Cook with sugar for eating.
ROSEMARY--Plant in sunny area in a porous soil. Sprigs can be used as cut flowers in early summer. It is an evergreen shrub. Only in warm climates. Use the fresh leaves for flavoring lamb, rabbit, and veal. Use in stuffing. (Small sprig for each dish) Tea from this herb is pungent and refreshing, made for treatment of headcolds.
RUE--Grow in dryish soil. Two feet apart. It is the herb of grace. Makes a rounded evergreen bush, with divided leaves of dark blue-green, which have a bitter, acrid taste. (Not hardy in severe winter areas) Provides medicing for poultry and cattle diseases. Rue tea was used for the relief of indigestion.
SAGE--Plant two feet apart in light soil in a well drained location. Sage spreads, so give it plenty of room. It reseeds itself. Dried leaves are traditional in stuffings for pork, turkey, duck and goose.
SAFFRON--Oil from seeds is used as a cooking oil.
SAVORY--Annual. Grow in rather poor soil, six inches apart. Fresh leaves used for flavoring snap beans. Fresh or dried leaves used in fish, cheese, egg dishes, stuffing, soups.
SORREL--Moist soil. Sunny. Plant deep, one foot apart. Young leaves used in salads. Sometimes used to flavor soups.
ST. JOHN'S WART--Used for alleviate depression.
SUNFLOWER--Warm weather plant. Plant about two and a half feet apart. Plants are tall and should be tied to stakes. Full sun. Leaves are harvested as fodder for rabbits, horses, and cattle. Leaves can be dried and used as an herb tobacco. Flower buds may be cooked and eaten. Oil from the seed is used to make soap and cattle feed. Seeds, while on the plant, have values as food for poultry and wild birds. They may be roasted and ground to make sunflower coffee.
SWEET BAY--Dried leaves used in putting up tomatoes in jars. And used in making sauces.
TANSY--Plant in an ordinary garden, one foot apart. Has an unpleasant smell. Produces yellow, buttonlike flowers, midsummer. Spreads rapidly. Formerly used as a pot herb, and in tansy cake for Easter. Used to make wine.
TARRAGON--Sunny. Dryish soil. Fresh leaves used in bouquet. Can make vinegar with tarragon. Used in tartar sauces and omelettes. Can be dried for winter use. (To make tarragon vinegar, wash the fresh leaves and barely cover them with white wine vinegar in a bowl. Cover the bowl and soak leaves for two weeks. Strain carefully and bottle)
THYME--Sewn directly into the garden in the spring. Sunny. Dry, porous soil. Use fresh or dried leaves in stuffings for veal, poultry and fish. And in stews and casseroles.

To grow plants...one must know plants.

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