AS YOU have probably noticed, my interest lies mostly in
the realm of ornamental! gardening rather than that of food

production.

This-does not arise from a dis-
dain of vegetable gardening,for
do have interests there as well;
rather, it comes from a more pro-
nounced inierest in the visual
aspects rather than the culinary.
Some just say { have no taste!

Be that as it may, one type of

garden that seems to marry the two
very nicely is the herb garden. The
large variety of colors, shapes,
habits and texturés available in the
herbs provide a nice array of ma-
terials to work into a showy, as
well as tasty, garden.
. Herbs can be used in formal
patterns, in the English cottage
garden, in rockery and miniature
gardening or simply as attractive
and useful additions to the jand-
scape garden.

As a general rule herbs do best
in Italy or Greece but, if the move
is out of the question, try to
duplicate the conditions which you
would expect to prevail in those
countries. :

The more sun and heat they get,
the better the flavor they will pro-
duce. Planting near a south-facing
wall or in a rockery will have the
added benefit of the radiated heat

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trapped during the day.

The soil should be a sandy, rich
loam which will both provide the
necessary fast drainage and yet
hold on to nutrients and water to
be released more slowly over drier
periods.

Most varieties of herbs require
tegular watering throughout the
growing season as they will tend to

thin out and become leggy in
drought conditions. This legginess
can also occur in some plants
without consistent pinching and
pruning, so use them fresh fre-
quently and dry what you can’t use

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PAINTS

Herbs (as in herbaceous) come
to us as perennials, those which
survive from year to year, or as
annuals, which die off each year.
Some of the perennial plants are
known as half-hardy as they are
not hardy enough to withstand our
coldest winters; these must be
either protected or replaced from
year to year.

The easiest method of obtaining
a good selection for the garden is
from your local garden centre,

over the
garden gate
by Geoff Tobiasson

especially as the perennial forms
are difficult to grow from seed,
The following is a list of some of
the more common herbs and some
of their characteristics:
Basil — annual, from seed, six

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19 - Friday, June 19, 1987 - North Shore News

plants per household, water and
pinch regularly, cut to within one
inch of ground as flowering
begins, start second crop in mid-
August.

Chives — perennial, from divi-
sions, 10 to 15 plants per house-
hold, divide every three to four
years, remove flower heads.

Dill) — annual, from seed, five
to 10 plants per household, let
flower and seed ripen for use in
pickling, remove flower if leaves
only are wanted.

Garlic — perennial, from divi-
sions, 30 to 40 per household plant
in late winter or very early spring,
good drainage, harvest in fall after
leaves die.

Sweet Marjoram — half-hardy
perennial, from seed, five per
household.

Mint — perennial, from divi-
sion, likes cool, moist, stightly
shaded location, can be invasive.

Parsley — perennial, from seed,

15 to 20 per household.

Rosemary — half-hardy peren-
nial, from cuttings, one per
household.

Sage — perennial, from seed,
two per household, harvest leaves
when in flower and dry in shade,
divide every three to four years.

Savory — perennial, from divi-
sion or cuttings, five per house-
hold, replace as plant becomes
woody.

Summer Savory —- annual, from
seed, five per household, milder
than perennial form. .

Thyme — perennial, from seed,
cuttings, and division, two per
household, divide every three to
four years, prune after flowering
to keep dense.

Of course there are many other
herbs available and many other
forms of the ones mentioned
above; try some of them as well
and enjoy.

as
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