I want to plant a perennial herb section - what have you had success with and what would you recommend. I suppose the obvious ones are chives, oregano, thyme, mint and rosemary. Has anyone tried more unusual ones with success and what were they used for?
Hi Okra
I've planted the usuals that you mention, along with lemon balm, lavender and a few different varieties of the usuals - orange and lemon thyme, garlic chives, pineapple mint (which I don't rate much for eating but it's a pretty plant). I also planted chamomile which I thought was an annual, but it seems to have kept on growing since last spring. Also trying some lemon and lime basil and confetti coriander.
As for uses: lemony things are good with fish, and just about everything else I either make a brew out of or chuck in a salad, or make a bouquet garni for the stock pot.
Good luck!
feverfew - sows seeds like the most evil weed on earth. A mass of very pretty white flowers that need to be cut and burned before they turn to seed. Be careful if eating it can have nasty side effects - I urge you to read up on it first.
garlic chives
fennel for the seed as well as leaf
sorrel
Tarragon, but make sure it's French tarragon, the Russian stuff is tasteless. You can't grow it from seed, though.
What's confetti coriander?
don't know whether lavender is a herb but I grow it in the herb bed, good in biscuits and pot pourri
parsley, coriander for seeds and leaves..
Bay...
;D
I introduced feverfew to my plot my first year, and it's now a weed, but not one I'd want to be without. I just weed out what I don't want; it's easy to control. The interesting thing is that the original plants were all singles, many of the ones I get coming up are doubles.
Another herb which has done the same thing is borage (an annual), but again I wouldn't really want to be without it, and it's very easy to pull out where it's not wanted. It's also very good in a cup of tea. Feverfew is said to cure headaches, but you need to take it long-term to get any effect.
I have no idea, I do the veg and my wife does the herbs!
BUT I do grow horseradish on my plot - I would not be without it!
http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments2_my_allotment_in_liverpool.html
Can you keep it under control? I've got some, and after the things I've heard about it, I'm a bit wary. I don't want to be done for having a herb which is not under control.
Feverfew also seems to work well as a sacrificial plant as it'll attract blackfly off of anything - of course, you can never be entirely sure whether it attracted the blackfly in the first place :-\
anyone mentioned sage? slow growing plant, but good with chicken from my mums experience!
and available in many colours!
;D
Have some of the herbs already mentioned, but also included:
Soapwort - use leaves for washing hands on garden, easy to grow and control, pretty pink flowers too, self seeds easily.
Rhubarb - because someone said this counted as a herb, but now I have a bed alone for it.
Angelica - use stems for candying, found this one difficult to germinate for some reason so bought young plants in and hope they self seed this year. Grew easily lasy year.
Good King Henry - not sure if this counts as a herb, but easy to grow and keep in one clump, and leaf is tasty when young.
Rhubarb was originally grown as a herb; the root is supposed to be really good for constipation.
Yup, rhubarb certainly gives you a good run for your money!
What about pineapple sage? It has a lovely scent, delicious flavour and almost fluorescent shocking pink flowers! I've taken several cuttings - when they've rooted I'll bung 'em in the Swap shop.
I think welsh onion and garlic chives are very useful perennial herbs.
I have sage, lavender, bay, rosemary, chive, thyme, lemon balm, oregano, bronze fennel, pineapple mint and spearmint as well. They all are easy to grow. :)
There's actually a really long list if you think about it...here's a list I've found...it's copied and pasted, so I don't think some people will recognise all of them - I don't either!
Aconite, Agrimony, Alexanders, Alfalfa, Allspice, Aloe Vera, Angelica (biennial, often treated as short-lived perennial), anise (frost-tender though fairly hardy annual, sometimes treated as a perennial), anise hyssop (half-hardy, short-lived perennial), Arnica, Arrowroot, Astragalus, Balm of Gilead, Bay, Bayberry, Bergamot (Monarda), Bistort, Black Cohosh, Blue Cohosh, Brahmi, Bugle, Calamint, Capers, Caraway (frost-hardy biennial which may become perennial in mild climates), cardamom, catmint, catnip, Roman Chamomile Chamaemelum nobile, Anthemis nobilis -half-hardy perennial, usually grown as an annual), German Chamomile Matricaria recutita (similar in appearance, habits and uses to Roman Chamomile), Chaste-tree (deciduous perennial), Chicory, (biennial, sometimes perennial), Chillies (annuals in cold climates, perennials in warm or hot climates), chives and garlic chives, cinnamon, Clove Pinks, Clove tree, Coffee, Coltsfoot, Comfrey, Asian Coriander (Eryngium foetidum); Costmary, Curry Leaf Tree, Curry Plant, Dandelion, Elder, Elecampane, Epazote (annual, often treated as a perennial), Evening Primrose (biennial, sometimes treated as a perennial), Fennel, Feverfew (short-lived perennial), French Tarragon (half-hardy), Galangal, Ginger, Ginkgo biloba, Ginseng, Good King Henry, Gotu Kola, Hawthorn (May), Heliotrope (usually treated as an annual), Hops, Horehound, Horseradish, Hyssop (semi-evergreen, hardy but short-lived perennial), Juniper, Kaffir Lime, Kava Kava, Lady's Bedstraw, Lady's Mantle, Lamb's Ears, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Lemongrass, Lemon Verbena (tender, deciduous perennial), Liquorice, Lovage, Marjoram/Oregano (tender perennials), Marshmallow, Meadowsweet, Mints, Mother of Herbs (Cuban Oregano, Spanish Sage and numerous other names), Motherwort, Mugwort, Mushroom Plant (tender perennial), Nasturtium (annual in cold climates, perennial in warm climates), Nettle, Nutmeg, Passionfruit (short-lived, tender perennial), Pepper (as in peppercorns), Plantain, Pyrethrum, Rose, Rosemary, Rue, Saffron, Sage, (Pineapple Sage, too), Salad Burnet (evergreen in mild climates), Santolina, Sassafras, Winter Savory (Summer Savory is an annual), Scented Geraniums, Scullcap, Self Heal (Prunella), Sesame (annual sometimes treated as a perennial), Soapwort, Sorrel, Southernwood, Speedwell, Stevia (tender perennial in warmer climates, treat as an annual in cold areas), St. John's Wort, Sweet Cicely, Sweet Woodruff, Tansy, Thyme (short-lived), Toothache Plant (tTropical perennial grown as an annual in temperate areas), Turmeric (dies down in winter, comes back in spring even in warm climates), Uva-Ursi, Valerian (short-lived), Watercress, Wild Yam, Winter Tarragon (also called Mexican Marigold Mint and many other names - dies down in winter), Wood Avens, Wood Betony, Wormwood, Yarrow, Yellow Dock, Zedoary
If that's not enough to fill a herb bed, you must have one over an acre! Hope this is useful :)
Pete
Alecost(cost(a)mary) is a lovely herb-no culinary use I have found but the crushed leaves smell wonderful. It`s a `strewing herb`ie put down for folk to walk on in the days of spit and sawdust ale houses.
And the unripe seeds of sweet cicely I have mentioned before