Herbs

Having a good array of herbs available in the garden gives a good start to any dish we might think of preparing. Arriving back here in NZ at the end of winter, or is it the beginning of spring, I appreciate having a large choice of perennial herbs in the garden. They also look good in the garden.
The first group could be called the Italian herbs. Oregano, garlic chives, rosemary, sage and thyme. They provide the flavour for spaghetti sauces or pizza. Though it is hard to beat rosemary on roast lamb, or a bed of sage under the roast veges.

 

Then there are the herbs that go into a hearty soup or stew. The parsley self sows, and is perpetual without me having to think about it. My bay tree is getting rather large in spite of the yearly pruning it receives. The garlic I planted last autumn, so it has another few months to grow. The chives are looking very pretty at this time of the year with their purple flowers.

 

There are a handful of herbs for a refreshing cup of herbal tea. I would like to have lemon verbena, but I lost mine a few years ago. The pineapple sage flowers are reason enough alone to grow this herb. It does get scraggly sometimes and needs to have a good pruning regularly. The mint wanders around under the fruit trees where it can't get too out of control. The lemon balm self seeds a little too freely,but it means there is always a clump ready to harvest.

There are always a few flowers to brighten up a salad, like the calendulas and nasturtiums. The lavender gets chopped back after flowering and the trimmings go into drawers and closets to provide that traditional lavender perfume.

We do a lot of Thai cooking so couldn't do without our lime tree and lemon grass. The lemon grass always looks messy at the end of winter, but the clumps are always increasing in size to produce lots for cooking. Lemon grass tea is also delicious. The spring onions are always around. I try and move them to a new location every year or so when the clumps get large and need splitting up.

 

Then there is the black fennel which self seeds like crazy.It looks wonderful at this time of the year when the soft new growth is happening. And the seeds are delicious to chew on.

The annual herbs get started each spring. I grow several types of basil. The Italian large leaf basil is the best for pesto. The Thai basil for Thai cooking, though I would grow it just for the lovely purple flowers. I also grow a small leaf Greek basil that naturally mounds up and looks fantastic in the planter on the deck.

If the cilantro doesn't self seed I'll start more of that. It goes to seed so quickly some summers, that I try and start some every few weeks. The seeds we use as coriander in our curries-lightly toasted and freshly ground with a mortar and pestle.

We have a perennial chili pepper plant that has been producing chillies for about 8 yrs now.

I love my New Zealand garden for producing all these herbs. Most which don't require much work on my part and survive being neglected for a large part of the year.