Six Great Herbs You Can Grow

These are some of the herbs which you are most likely to plant or about which you might like to know. Although there are usually several varieties of each, this list includes only those most commonly grown in our gardens. These herbs may all be grown outdoors, and those marked (I) may also be grown indoors. Naturally you will not grow them all, but this should help you make your choice.

ANGELICA (Angelica atropurpurea This American variety of angelica should be better known than it is. It is a striking background plant, growing as high as 6 to 8 feet. The large leaves resemble those of the tuberous begonia. Angelica has umbrels (umbrella-shaped whirls) of tiny white flowers. The entire plant-hollow stems, roots, seeds and young leaves-can be used. The stems are good candied, or blanched and eaten like celery or stewed with sugar as is fruit. The young leaves are delicious with fish.

Start self-sowing angelica from seed or plants, and let it grow either in a shady spot or in one which is at least partially shaded.

(I) ANISE (Pimpinella anisum)
This annual is grown mostly for its sweet, licorice-flavored seed. Its grey-green foliage is lacy and deeply notched. It has umbrels of tiny whitish flowers. Fresh leaves are appetizing in fruit salads, soups and stews, dried seeds in breads and cookies.

Start anise from seed and give it a great deal of sunlight.

(I) BASIL (Ocimum)
Chances are, you will grow either sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) for culinary purposes, or the attractive bush basil (0. minimum) as a border bush. The leaves of the sweet and bush basil plants are light green, tender and smooth. Curly basil ( crispum) has much larger, curly leaves. The flowers are in small but conspicuous white spikes. The whole plant is strongly aromatic. You can use the leaves of sweet basil (best for cooking) either fresh or dried in salads, vinegars, ground meats, all tomato dishes and in poultry stuffings.

Start basil from seed and make sure that it has a sunny place in which to grow.

(I) BAY (Laurus nobilis)
This true laurel is an evergreen shrub and can be grown outdoors as a tub plant and taken indoors in the winter. You will have to buy your first plant to begin. Although it is not very hardy, the fragrant bay is worth cultivating for its beauty. It is a lovely shade of green. It’s leaves are waxy and elliptical in shape. However, if you want to use bay only as a seasoning, it is best to buy the leaves commercially packaged. This plant requires a great deal of`attention.

BERGAMOT, WILD (Monarda fistulosd)
Bergamot belongs to the mint family and this 2- to 3-foot plant grows wild in most of the United States. It has brilliant purple and red flowers, and its leaves have a pleasant lemon scent. Red bergamot (Monarda didymd) of the eastern states is often known as “bee balm” “Indian’s plume” or “Oswego tea.” Bergamot tea was used by the colonists when they refused to buy British tea. Plants may usually be obtained from the roadside or woods.

(I) BORAGE (Borago officinalis)
The leaves of borage are rather rough and hairy, and since the plant tends to be straggly, you should grow it in clumps to keep it erect. It is well worth a spot in your garden for its bright blue, star-shaped flowers which bloom all summer. Use the young fresh leaves in salads, the fresh tips and the flowers in cold drinks. John Gerard’s Herball (1597) suggests that borage “gives a grace to the drynkynge.” Borage flowers may be candied . A spray of cucumber-flavored borage is delicious cooked with beans, peas or cauliflower. Borage is easily started from seed. Once established, it will self-sow; our borage has seeded itself for years.

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