Category: Herbs

Edible Plants / Evergreen Perennials / Garden Design / Heirloom plants / Herbs / Hummingbird Gardening / Plant Literacy / Summer Color Plants

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Herbs Every Master Gardener Should Know

Evergreen Herbs Lavandula spp. and hybrids, Lavender L. angustifolia (L. officinalis), English Lavender L. stoechas, Spanish lavender L. x intermedia ‘Phenomenal’, Hybrid ‘Phenomenal’ Lavender Mentha spicata, Spearmint Mentha x piperita, Peppermint Petroselinum crispum, Parsley (Biennial) Salvia officinalis, Culinary Sage Salvia rosmarinus , Rosemary Santolina spp. Santolina, Cotton Lavendar Thymus spp., Thyme Teucrium chamaedrys, Germander   Landscaping with Herbs in Williamsburg:  Part I Evergreen Herbs     Deciduous Herbs Aloysia citriodora, Lemon Verbena Ocimum basilicum, Basil Melissa officinalis, Lemon Balm Monarda...

Prized Plants at the Olympic Games

Container Gardens / Edible Plants / Evergreen Shrubs / Evergreen trees / Fragrant Plants / Heirloom plants / Herbs / Ornamental Shrubs / Therapeutic Gardening / Trees

 by Betsy Beyer

Prized Plants at the Olympic Games

  The Olympic Games, a symbol of international unity and athletic excellence, incorporate plants and flowers into their ceremonies. These botanical elements enhance the visual appeal of the events and carry cultural and historical significance as well. Laurel and Olive in Ancient Greece In ancient Greece, victors of the Olympic Games were awarded olive wreaths, known as kotinos, made from the branches of the olive tree which is sacred to Zeus. This tradition dates back to 776 BCE and symbolizes...

Tricolor culinary sage

Container Gardens / Edible Plants / Evergreen Shrubs / Food Forest / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Herbs / Hummingbird Gardening / Propagation / Summer Color Plants / Wildlife Gardening / Williamsburg Botanical Garden

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Sage ‘The Savior’

  “Why should a man die in whose garden grows sage? Against the power of death there is not medicine in our gardens But Sage calms the nerves, takes away hand Tremors, and helps cure fever. Sage, castoreum, lavender, primrose, Nasturtium, and athanasia cure paralytic parts of the body. O sage the savior, of nature the conciliator!” From the Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum ca 1100-1200 CE   The name Salvia officinalis, designating our common culinary sage, derives its species name from...

Carbon Garden / Edible Plants / Evergreen Perennials / Food Forest / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Herbs / Holiday Plants / Ornamental Shrubs / Pollinators / Wildlife Gardening / Williamsburg Botanical Garden

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Mythical Rosemary

  Mythical Rosemary The woody, green fragrance of rosemary brings happiness.  Rosemary has served as food, fragrance, medicine, as a religious tool, and as a favorite garden plant for millennia. It is considered a sacred and magical herb, associated both with Aphrodite and with Mother Mary.  Rosemary has been planted in monastery, temple, medicinal and royal gardens over many centuries. Known now as Salvia rosmarinus, rather than the Rosmarinus officinalis we all learned, rosemary has one of the longest cultural...

Edible Plants / Evergreen Perennials / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Herbs / Pollinators / Spring / Summer / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Magical Thyme

  “I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine: There sleeps Titania sometime of the night, Lull’d in these flowers with dances and delight; And there the snake throws her enamell’d skin,  Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in:” William Shakespeare, from A Midsummer Night’s Dream Magical Thyme If you are wanting to conjure a bit of magic in your...

Animal repellant products / Birds / Bulb Gardening / Citizen Science / Conservation / Edible Plants / Flowering Shrubs / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Herbs / Native Plants / Native Trees / Nuisance Plants / Poisonous Plants / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Plant Knowledge

  “Power rests on the kind of knowledge one holds. What is the sense of knowing things that are useless?”  Dr. Carlos Castaneda     When a young graduate student in anthropology wanted to learn more about the medicinal uses of plants for his academic research in the early 1960s, so the legend goes, he sought out an old Mexican native, a brujero, known simply as don Juan, who lived in the Sonoran Desert.  Carlos asked to interview him about...

Conservation / Crafting With Plants / Evergreen Shrubs / Fragrant Plants / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Herbs / Holiday Plants / Invasive Plants / Wildlife Gardening / Winter

 by Elizabeth McCoy

How to Make a Natural, Compostable Wreath

  You may already have everything you need to make a simple, wildlife friendly, natural Christmas wreath.  Can you remember Christmas before the decorations were all made with plastic and came from a store?  This is a simple wreath that you can make in an afternoon, enjoy during the season, and then add to your compost pile.  It will be fresher, more fragrant, and will last longer than any purchased wreath.  Best of all, you can find the materials as...

climate change / Compost / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Geophytes / Herbs / Native Plants / Native Trees / Perennial Care / Permaculture / Sustainable Gardening / Water Wise / Watering / Weather

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Making a Resilient Drought-Tolerant Garden Part I: Right Plant, Right Place

  Maybe it will rain, and maybe it won’t.  It has been unusually dry in our area for the past several months.  Some of the little starts I planted with high hopes in March and April have been struggling to take hold.  I need to water large areas of our garden several times a week, as though it were July already.   And regular irrigation just isn’t an option for many gardeners. We are relatively fortunate in coastal Virginia because we...

Container Gardens / Edible Plants / Food Forest / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Herbs / Propagation / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Landscaping With Herbs Part III: Annual, Biennial and Tender Perennial Herbs

Benefits of Garden Herbs Herbs attract hummingbirds and butterflies like few other plants.  It is worth planting a few herbs whether you plan to harvest and cook with them or not because they are tough, easy to grow, and beautiful.  They come with side benefits; their essential oils not only offer fragrance and flavor, but they also deter grazers.  If you have watched deer chew your roses and impatiens like deer candy, know that your herbs will survive their curiosity. ...

Beneficial Insects / Container Gardens / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Herbs / Invasive Plants / Perennial Care / Permaculture / Sustainable Gardening / Tender Perennials / Vegetable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Landscaping With Herbs Part II:  Deciduous Perennial Herbs

What is an Herb? Why is mint an herb, but clover isn’t?  Have you ever given it much thought?  Botanically, any plant with a soft stem, that dies back in winter, is ‘herbaceous.’  Were you give a stack of a dozen cards, each with the name and picture of a plant, could you sort them into ‘herbs’ and ‘not herbs’? If asked, most of us could probably name at least five herbs.  Those used in cooking, like basil and thyme...