Sweet Herbs for the Home ...

... and garden.

There's nothing quite like a SCENTED GARDEN, and one useful way to achieve such a garden is to plant HERBS ... USEFUL herbs, like marjoram & thyme & basil & lavender & rosemary ... culinary herbs, sachet herbs, herbs for brewing teas & tinctures ... the uses are unlimited, as are the plants you can use to complete your "projects", whatever they might be.

LAVENDER is lovely in a sachet - when left beneath or on your bed pillow all day, it will bring you restful slumber that night.

" Balm brings you sympathy and Marjoram joy
Sage is long life ... Sweet Woodruff augurs well for health ---
A blessing richer far than wealth.
While Lavender means deep devotion,
Herb of sweet omen, Rosemary conveys
Affection and remembrance all your days.
May Heaven and Earth and Man combine
To keep these blessings ever thine. "
-- Rachel Page Elliott

I learned (from Sarah Ban Breathnach, of course) that for centuries, herb gardening in Benedictine cloisters has been considered an important ritual in the daily round of religious life. Wow! Even more compelling: the devotion to growing herbs can be traced back nearly six thousand years, before the Christian era began.

And think of this - if your space is limited, even apartment and condo dwellers can have an herb garden - or, come to think of it, a garden to attract birds & butterflies (known as a Habitat Garden) ... you can have a windowsill garden, or a container garden, and if you add a hummingbird feeder, a seed feeder (on a Shepherd's Hook, "planted" in your larger pots), and a water source - voila! A garden that will appeal to you AND your wild friends.

Consider this lovely mix of herbs for a windowsill or potted garden: Basil, Dill, Parsley, Sweet Marjoram, Thyme, and Rosemary ... and personally, I just love Tarragon (esp French Tarragon). And don't forget Dill - delicious on all your fish dishes.

One year, for Christmas, Mark and I potted up miniature herb gardens for our family ... and I created a little Herbal Guide, with information on each herb in their garden, including USES and RECIPES and HISTORY OF said herb/s. Everyone loved those little gardens, and I think some folks still have their little booklet - some even used those recipes & reported back to us :-) !!!

So get to thine neighborhood NURSERY, friends,

and start your own little kitchen garden.

Report back to me!