Favorite Forgotten Herbs

What’s not to love about plants that are largely drought tolerant, thrive in neglect, often beautiful or interesting to view, and also delicious and fragrant? Herbs are so easy to grow in most parts of the country, but for specific information on growing them, you might enjoy Iowa State University’s publications on herbs: Cilantro, Garlic, Growing & Using Basil, and Growing and Drying Herbs.

Today, I'd like to talk about some of my favorite herbs that are often forgotten while we’re planting our basil and parsley.

Lavender
There are many types of lavender available, depending on how you’d like to use them. There’s the traditional English Lavender, Lavandula angustifolia, grown for it’s dark purple blossoms that are mildly fragrant. They’re just right to strip and add to a bowl of sugar creating lavender sugar for tea or baking. Or you might like the more fragrant Lavandula x intermedia 'Provence' grown for the French perfume industry. These deeply aromatic flowers make perfect sachets for drawers and closets. Lavender is a zone 5 plant and will often die back to the ground over winter in our area; sometimes dying out altogether. But a plant worth replanting!

Sweet Woodruff
I’m so fortunate to get to tell you about this often unknown herb that’s an important part of May Day celebrations in parts of Germany. Sweet woodruff, sometimes sold as Galium odoratum sometimes as Asperula odorata is a low growing herb different from most as it loves partial and deep shade. The flowers and leaves of this plant have a sweet, toasty vanilla smell and arrive just in time in the spring to be added to the traditional May Bowl on May 1st. The May Bowl is filled with a sweet white wine, sliced strawberries, and sweet woodruff to taste. Be sure to drink it in a couple hours or, like too much vanilla, the sweet woodruff will make the wine bitter.

Dill
Those of you who have dill, and who love dill like I do, appreciate the many endowments of this ferny plant. As if the bright, minty zing of dill weren’t enough to demand its planting, dill reseeds itself each spring with a verdant carpet of green that’s easily tamed back to the area you’d like to keep in dill. Dill grows quickly, rewards with usable leaves almost immediately, and even the seed are delicious for breads and with meats. I think dill is a beautiful and fascinating plant; so upright and springy, but when cut becomes soft almost immediately. During winter, remaining stalks add winter interest.

Think of some of the forgotten herbs this spring (there are many others) and make your yard, your way.

Instant Pond, Just Add Water

Lusting for your neighbor’s… water garden, but not sure if it’s right for you? Love aquatic plants and the visual interest of water, but not the commitment of space and cash for a pond? Why not try a ‘sampler pond’ before you try a big one: a container water garden!

Why would you want a container water garden instead of going the whole nine yards? There are lots of reasons I do it.

Low Cost
For the one-time cost of a container (a large pot without holes or a half barrel), plants, and water to fill it, you have the feel of a pond without the excavation and hardscape costs of a pond.

Easy to Start
Pot your selections in a plastic container with plain soil (not potting soil, clay soils are good in this case), add pea gravel on the surface to keep the water from clouding, place in the large container you selected, fill with water, and you’re done. If you select floating plants, just drop them in! Heck, you’ll be enjoying your water garden 15 minutes after getting home with your plants!

Scale to Your Space
You can fit your water garden (or water gardens) anywhere they make sense in your landscape. The only consideration is a fairly level surface and 4-6 hours of full sun.

Low Maintenance
Compared to pots of annuals, perennials, or shrubs, water gardens can be planted and ignored for weeks at a time! Just fertilize now and then, remove dead leaves, and occasionally top off the water if needed. If you add a small fish, it will keep the mosquitoes under control too!

The Plants
They are the best reason of all! Iowa State University Extension offers great suggestions and care instructions in their publication RG604 Water Gardens: Aquatic Plants.

Floating Plants
Perky, little plants like duckweed, azolla, water hyacinth, and water lettuce float on the surface, and can be grown in small and sometimes very shallow containers.



Submerged Plants
Elodea and hornwort are graceful plants that remain below the surface and oxygenate the water.




Shallow Plants
Marginal or bog type plants like water iris, umbrella sedge, and papyrus give height and interest to your container.




Deep Water Plants
These are the key plants in most containers and include both hardy and tropical water lilies, as well as lotus in especially large and deep containers.

In no time, you’ll see your ‘sampler pond’ is a beautiful and simple way to enjoy aquatic plants. In fact, I’ll bet container water gardens will become an annual part of making your garden your way.

Herb Fun

As long as there have been humans and plants, we’ve not only eaten them, but also recognized plants for qualities beyond their nutritional value. Some alter perception, a few kill, but many were believed to help with common ailments. Science is still researching herbalism, so it’s important to take care before using herbs for medicine and consult your doctor. Some herbs are very safe already for everyday medicinal purposes, but there are more "medicinal" herbs for sale that require some research before you ingest them

Parsley
Nutritionist Adam Blackman claims parsley can enhance mental alertness and your immune system. The American University of Beirut demonstrated parsley has a diuretic effect that releases sodium, but retains potassium in your system. It may be this effect that caused Native Americans to believe parsley could strengthen the bladder. The high chlorophyll content in parsley is believed to kill some types of bacteria that can cause bad breath. According to herbalist Scott Cunningham in his Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, it’s this old belief that originally prompted parsley’s introduction to the dinner plate – to prevent contamination!

Basil
Known as the ‘king of herbs’ to ancient Greeks, basil has long been considered powerful. Iowa State University’s Growing and Using Basil explains that in the 1800s, basil was added to teas and bathwaters for its mild sedative effect. And while its heady perfume makes this drowsy effect seem plausible, basil was once considered so powerful that it could keep evil spirits away and help witches fly if they drank a draught of basil juice!

Mint
The high menthol content in mint is used in products from pain creams to vapor rubs. Humans have enjoyed this wonderful mix of warming and cooling for centuries. Ancients rubbed mint on their foreheads to cure a headache. Mint is often suggested today as a digestive and relaxing tea. It also has a trace amount of tryptophan, the chemical that makes you sleepy after a big turkey dinner, which may increase this calming effect.

Rue
Some herbs have fallen out of favor as culinary herbs for western palates; rue is one of them. Highly bitter, rue is almost exclusively considered a medicinal herb by American gardeners. It’s believed to relieve gas and improve appetite (one has to eat something to get the awful taste out!). Oil of rue is sometimes used externally to relieve joint pain. Some people experience severe discomfort on ingestion of rue, so be forewarned before wolfing down on a plateful.

Tansy
Another former kitchen herb once used for baked goods and desserts, tansy is rarely consumed today. A bitter tea made from tansy was used to cure worms. Tansy leaves are still used today to repel ants and rubbed on the skin as a natural insect repellant. Tansy contains high amounts of thujone, which ingested can cause convulsions, vomiting, and death. Despite its lethal punch it is an interesting and beautiful, ferny plant with yellow button flowers.

Each spring, I’m surprised by the increasing number of medicinal herbs like hyssop, artemisia, and stinging nettle finding their way into even common grocery store greenhouses. Interest in these almost forgotten plants is increasing as people find this selection is another way to make your yard, your way.