Grow Organic Herbs (it’s super-easy!)
Growing your own organic herb garden is a rewarding experience. It’s not just about adding fresh flavours to your meals; it’s also about embracing a healthier lifestyle.
Imagine plucking fresh basil for your spaghetti or a sprig of mint for your tea right from your garden. The satisfaction you get from nurturing your plants is incomparable. Plus, it’s a fantastic step towards reducing your carbon footprint.
100 Herbs to Grow is by herb-growing expert Jekka McVicar. It includes herbs that are easy to grow, taste great and have culinary and medicinal properties.
Many herbs (borage, parsley, Pennyroyal mint etc) are unsafe near animals.
If you share your home with animal friends, learn about pet-friendly gardens (many plants and mulches are unsafe near animal friends). And use nontoxic humane slug and snail deterrents.
Avoid netting and read tips for wildlife-friendly gardens. Also how to create safe havens for garden birds and stop birds flying into windows (never face indoor foliage to outdoor gardens).
Tips for organic herb gardens
Most herbs need 6 to 8 hours of sun a day, although parsley prefers a little shade. Good soil is also important. But avoid standing water. If you get pools of water after rain, raise the beds or improve your soul.
Good starter herbs are basil, parsley and mint. Basil needs replanting each year, but perennials like thyme survive the next year. Some herbs are good with other plants (basil loves tomatoes)
Regular pruning encourages more robust herbs, so pinch the tips off regularly. Aphids love herbs, so encourage ladybirds to your garden (they eat them).
An illustrated language & history of herbs
The Complete Language of Herbs is a beautifully illustrated compendium of over 500 herbs and spices, in a pocket edition for easy references. Along with visual depiction, each entry includes scientific and common names, historic meanings and powers, even some herb poetry!
In the Victorian era, floriographies (dictionaries of flower meanings) were an amusing pastime and a way to subtly communicate unspoken emotions.
S Theresa Dietz has scoured historic sources to find the powers of hundreds of common and forgotten herbs and spices from around the world. The book includes 2 indexes, and is a must-have for gardeners, chefs and foodies.
Grow Your Own Scented Lavender
There is not much more English a lovely thing than a lavender garden or field. Lavender looks beautiful, smells beautiful and has many benefits for both us and pollinators.
Bees and butterflies in particular adore lavender’s sweet scent, as it’s a vital source of nectar, and the pollen offers proteins and fats.
Ensure you put flat stones in any water sources, so these creatures have a safe place to land, if they are nearby examining your lavender bushes!
The dense foliage of lavender also offers protection for bees and other pollinators, in harsh weather (and protection from natural predators).
Lavender blooms in England from June to September, and has been grown for over 2500 years. In Roman times, a pound of lavender was the same worth a month’s salary!
Just grow organic lavender for the bees. It’s too complicated and expensive to create your own oil (you would need 150 pounds of flowers to produce just once once).
The good news is that lavender is fairly drought-tolerant so easily grows with little or no help in sunny dry conditions.
Read more on no-dig gardening and humane slug/snail deterrents. If you live with animal friends, read up on pet-friendly gardens (most pets won’t eat lavender, but don’t plant too near, as stinting bees will visit).
If growing or displaying plants indoors, never face them to outdoor gardens, to help stop birds flying into windows.
Never use aromatherapy oils near pets (air rooms before allowing them back in, cats in particular can’t break the oils down in their livers).
Which Scent to Choose?
Native lavender is best, with English lavender (no surprise here) being a good choice. Tamar Organics sells a good organic version. These scented lilac flowers are ideal for hedges.
Sow the seeds in trays with good organic compost (any time of year) at a temperature of around 20°C. Until ready for repotting. Or directly sow into the soil in May.
Watering and Pruning Care
In the first months, water your lavender if the soil is dry, at root level. Once the roots settle, water rarely (but deeply, only when the top few centimetres of compost are dry).
English rain is usually enough to keep mature plants from drying out.
After flowering, cut back stems by about one third. This keeps bushes tidy and prevents gaps. Use sharp snips and avoid cutting into woody, leafless stems, as these rarely sprout new growth.
Prune in late summer or early autumn.
If you do pick lavender, only pick a third of stems from each plant, so the rest keep bees and butterflies happy!
