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Magical Herb Gardening
Magical Herb Gardening
A friend who knows about my gardening blues sent me this. Oh, for a patch of land
that doesn't have a pot around it!!!
*BB*
gypsy
by Scott Appell
Soil Basics
Many of the best-known herbs-sage, savory, thyme, rosemary, and
lavender-prefer soils of good fertility, moisture retention, and impeccable
drainage.In fact, overwatering is the primary cause of death for most
containerized herbs.
So in order to make a good start with your herbs, be sure to purchase a good
quality packaged soil, and to treat the soil so that it drains well in most
cases. Nowadays, packaged soil must list its ingredients on the label. This
in turn has finally guaranteed that buying prebagged soil is not a
hit-or-miss affair. Though there are many good soils on the market, one of
the best brands is Farfard, which is packaged in Canada but easily obtained
from most large nurseries and garden centers. In general, a good soil
contains organic ingredients such as compost, decomposed manure, guano
(rotted bird or bat manure), horticultural charcoal, and ground oyster
shells. To improve the drainage of any soil, you should add one quarter by
volume sharp sand to the package. The addition of small amounts of New
Jersey greensand, cottonseed meal, and bone meal will round out the mixture
for long-term container plantings. Add the amounts listed with the package
directions of each of these materials.
Note: Some herbs-such as basil, lemongrass, and stevia, for example-need
soil that is relatively sand-free. They require instead the incorporation of
more compost or peat moss in order to increase water retention.
Container Selection
With most garden hardscaping, or the assembling of the inanimate aspects of
a living garden we always work from the ground up. In the case of potted
plantings, we begin with the container. The container we select is as
important to the overall design scheme as the plants chosen to grow within
it.
Anything that can hold soil can be used as a container garden. This, of
course, expands our container selection into realms far beyond the standard
terra cotta flower pot or ubiquitous drab-green plastic windowbox. When
deciding upon a container, we may be as creative as we want, or we may
choose to be traditional minded, innovative, daring, whimsical, or
intriguing.
Jardinets are glazed ceramic pieces designed to look like small, eight- to
eighteen-inch-high, moss-covered tree stumps. Arborettes on the other hand
are far more elaborate, taller, made of molded terra cotta, and shaped like
trees with multiple jagged branches each with a planting hole at the end.
Both are useful for illeir individual unusual features, placing plants at
eye level in various situations. Though originally designed to hold forced
spring-flowering bulbs, arborettes and jardinets work outdoors as well. Try
them planted with any number of your favorite magical, culinary, or
medicinal herbs. In areas with cold winters, these containers should be
brought indoors.
Baskets
Baskets are by far one of the most beloved and familiar containers for
planting herbs. Whether they are recycled curios, garagesale gems, or
dime-store finds, they make aesthetically appealing decorative containers
rich with natural colorations and fibrous textures that offset the flowers
and foliage of innumerable flora. , rhe better a basket is protected from
the elements, and from the effects of multiple waterings, the longer it will
last. Treating valuable and collectible basketware with varnishes,
polyurethanes, or other preservatives is beneficial. Being woven, of course,
baskets have open spaces through which potting soil can fall or plant roots
be exposed. To combat this, the basket must be lined prior to planting. The
needed tools include sheet moss (easily procured from florist supply
houses), clear or black sheet plastic (available from hardware stores), and
potting soil. Line the selected basket with the moss, decorative side out.
Re-line the basket, over the moss, with the plastic, being sure to punch
drainage holes in it at regular intervals using an ice pick or other tool.
Fill with soil, and plant in the usual fashion. To prolong the life of the
basket in winter, it should be emptied of soil, and stored in a cool dry
area with the lining removed.
Herb Selection
Although herbs can be divided into three basic horticultural groups-annual,
perennial, and biennial - I prefer to distinguish herbs by whether they
prefer moist soils or drier conditions. When planning your herb garden,
don't mix these two different types. Such mixed plantings will not succeed;
inevitably only one type of plant will flourish. In a mixed planting that is
kept moist, t lie drought-loving herbs will rot. Conversely, in a mixed
planting that is kept drier, the moisture-loving herbs will wither. Plant
like herb with like herb to guarantee success.
This east and south African small shrub makes an unusual and beautiful
addition to a sunny, drought-tolerant, mixed container planting. Considered
both a magical, aphrodisiacal, and medicinal herb in Africa (particularly
Kenya), lion's ear is consumed by males of certain tribes prior to festivals
that involve amorous alliances and lion hunts. It purportedly endows the men
with a lion's bravery and sexual prowess - that is, when lions mate, they do
it dozens of times over a twenty-four hour period. In fact, this plant's
scientific name is quite remarkable: the genus Leonotis is composed of the
Latinized Greek "leon," a lion, and "otis," an ear-thus, "lion's ear." The
fuzzy flowers look somewhat like a lion's ear. The species name, leonurus,
is composed of "leon" and "ouros," or tail - therefore, "lion's tail." It is
a herb with very leonine attributes.
The taste and texture of lion's ear is pleasantly spinachlike. These very
woody annuals can withstand frost with no ill effects and are hardy to USDA
Zone 9, where they can become quite shrublike and grow up to four feet.
Lion's ear is a perfect butterfly and hummingbird plant, as their wonderful
whorls of orange, tubelike flowers (produced late in the season) are
impressive to behold. They make terrific cut flowers, and a series of potted
specimens will make a unique potted annual in garden rooms or as a seasonal
containerized hedge.
Athough basil can hardly be called unusual, this particular rare species is
worth locating. Ocimum gratissumum, East Indian, or tree basil, a native of
west and tropical Africa, has pungently clove-scented foliage up to six
inches long. Depending on your palate, the foliage can stand in for any of
your favorite recipes. Additionally, as this basil develops thick woody
stems, there are uses for this plant that are not possible with the more
familiar sweet basil (O. basilicum). For instance, try using the freshly cut
shrubby stems as flavor-imparting skewers for vegetable brochettes. Or use
them as trussing needles for poultry and fish, or thrrow the stems onto
charcoal to impart a smoky-basil flavor to grilled food. This plant, like
other basils, prefers full sunlight and evenly moist soil. Seedlings are
particularly sensitive to overwatering. Tree basil is hardy to USDA Zone 10.
Aficionados of Japanese cuisine know this plant as shiso, the aromatic fresh
or pickled accompaniment to plates of sushi and sashimi. The foliage of this
annual herb, native from India to Japan, makes an excellent addition to raw
salads, or an edible garnish to all types of Asian cuisine. It prefers a
sunny exposure and a rich, evenly moist, but not soggy, soil. Perilla is
also an important medicinal plant in the Chinese pharmacopeia, where the
leaves are recommended to stimulate gastric activities, treat coughs and
influenza. Perilla is hardy to USDA Zone 8, and grows quickly to two to
three feet in height.
The balsam apple, a cousin to the bitter cucumber popular in much Asian
cuisine, is a medicinally important plant. A member of the gourd family,
there are about forty-five species in the genus Momordica. Balsam apples are
native to tropical Africa eastward through Indo-malaysia, where they are
cultivated for food. Similar to other gourds, they grow as rambling, twining
vines. Balsam apples produce oblong, highly textured fruit, which are matte
green when young, and yellow or orange when mature. Upon ripening, the
fruits burst open into a star-like configuration revealing glossy,
red-coated seeds. These species have been introduced into North America,
where they are considered a noxious weed of roadsides, hedgerows, and vacant
lots.
Balsam apple gourds have medicinal value as they contain a substance similar
in effect to insulin. In fact, balsam apples are still an important part of
the Chinese Materia Medica. The fruit of the plant cool the body's systems,
and act as a tonic and purgative. The seeds are utilized to treat fever,
chest complaints, liver and spleen disorders, hemorrhoids, malaria, and
bruises and swellings. The indigenous peoples of Costa Rica use the balsam
pear in a number of medicinal recipes to fight gastritis and diabetes. Juice
from the leaves and fruit is used to treat colic and worms. It is also used
to combat some rather unusual afflictions as well, including chilblain,
leprosy, and malaria. Momordica charantia has many uses in Puerto Rican folk
medicine as well combating skin fungus as a tincture. To make this medicine,
fill a bottle with fresh balsam pear leaves, and cover it completely with a
mixture of three-parts cooking oil and one-part rubbing alcohol. Let it
steep for several days until the liquids absorb the color of the botanical.
Apply to the infected area as often as needed. Alternately, you can boil up
some foliage in water until it becomes deep green. Apply the resulting
decoction to the skin h)r dermatological problems.
Balsam apples have been cultivated in European gardens since the
seventeenth-century. They prefer full sunlight, and a rich,
moisture-retentive soil. Momordica requires a trellis, obelisk, pergola, or
other structural plant support on which to climb.
Originally from the west Mediterranean, bear's breech was introduced into
Britain during the Middle Ages. Although rarely encountered in the wild
today, it is an integral part of European herb gardens. Its beautiful broad
dark-green leaves and spikes of tubular white and mauve flowers are easily
recognizable. The plant's genus name Acanthus comes from the Latinized
Greek, akanthos, meaning "spine"; the specific variety mollis, meanwhile,
translates as "soft," and indeed, the leaves of the plant are covered with
soft hairs and spines.
Dioscorides, the classical physician, included bear's breech in I i is book
De Materia Medica. The plant contains mucilage, tannins, glucose, and
pectin-like substances, and was used as a healing herb for soothing bums,
and in cases of gout. It prefers a compost rich, well-drained soil, and is
hardy to USDA Zone 6. Further north, it makes a handsome greenhouse or
conservatory plant.