The summer flowers of garlic chives attract honeybees and other pollinators. Do you see the tiny pollinator near the honeybee? (Photo: Donna Legare)
I am writing this in July and it is hot, hot, hot. But even in September and into October, our high temperatures can remain steadily in the 90s. Despite the heat, my herbs look great.
They are planted conveniently just out the front door for ease of gathering. Rosemary, garlic chives, lemon grass, lemon balm, Greek oregano, bay laurel, and comfrey in our yard are all at least 20 years old, planted in the first few years of living in our house. Of these, I use Greek oregano the most.
Greek oregano is an aromatic perennial that can be used to season many dishes.
Greek oregano is a useful landscaping plant. I shear the new growth with scissors whenever I need some. Cut it regularly during the growing season and it will form a tight, attractive 12-inch tall shrub. In early summer it will bloom and attract honeybees, as well as an assortment of native bees and other pollinators.
I use it in zucchini tomato casserole, in a delicious marinade for chicken, in soups, and in all things Italian. I never have to buy dried oregano because this plant is prolific and provides generous amounts of aromatic oregano for all my recipes.
If a recipe calls for a teaspoon of a dried herb, substitute at least three times as much of the fresh leaves. I generally don’t measure the fresh herbs. Just be sure to use the leaves and the tender new stems as the older stems are too tough for use.
Rosemary is another great pollinator plant and is especially loved by bumble bees. This year I also watched a hummingbird drinking nectar from rosemary flowers. It is another very useful cooking herb. Use in savory dishes, such as roasted root crops (use Greek oregano here too), but also use it in cookies, cakes, and other sweets. For a cake, use three tablespoons of chopped rosemary. Delicious!
Here’s a hint: use scissors to cut the tender sprigs of rosemary that you have gathered. Avoid cutting the woody growth of your rosemary plant. Harvest the tips regularly from your plant and you will have a nicely shaped rosemary bush, approximately three feet tall.
Grow lemon balm to enhance the flavor of summer hydration
Two other herbs that look wonderful right now are comfrey and lemon balm. These are planted along the north side of our house and get good light but little direct, hot sun. They are thriving. I originally planted the comfrey in the sunny butterfly garden with rosemary and Greek oregano, but the plant struggled.
Once I moved it to a shadier spot, it took off. I have only used it once to make a poultice for a friend with a broken foot, but it is a gorgeous landscaping plant and blooms off and on in late spring through mid-summer. The lemon balm is in the mint family; I use it mostly to flavor ice water and tea. Very refreshing.
I have other herbs right now that do not have as long lives as the ones mentioned above. Fennel, both bronze and green, are quite showy and are very attractive to black swallowtails. The adult butterfly lays her eggs on fennel or rue. Fennel is considered a perennial and lasts two to three years.
Rue is a medicinal herb that usually lasts up to five years in my garden. It is a host plant for the caterpillars of black swallowtail and the giant swallowtail butterflies.
African blue basil is colorful, an excellent pollinator plant, and tasty as well.
One of the best pollinator plants in my garden is African blue basil. It is usually alive with bees and other pollinating insects. I substitute it for sweet basil, which has become difficult to grow because of a downy mildew problem.
African blue basil is stronger in flavor than sweet basil, so use less of it. It is a very pretty plant with a somewhat purplish cast to its leaves and is a prolific bloomer. Technically it is a perennial but will only come back if we have a mild winter. Grow it with other sun-loving herbs.
Spearmint is a must have. I keep it in a big cast iron pot that has a crack in it for drainage. Mints will spread rapidly so I always confine them to pots. If it gets a little unsightly during the heat, cut it back and fertilize with a small amount of fish emulsion. It will usually produce a nice flush of new growth.
Keep using it by pinching off the tips and it will shape up nicely. It is my favorite plant to flavor a pitcher of ice water. In winter I put a sprig of it in my hot black tea.
Herbs are indeed some of the most useful and beautiful plants in the landscape. I encourage you to experiment with them in pots or in the ground.