pod - do both - put some tarragon in a medium size pot , then plant the pot - put some in the ground. Then, next summer see if the "in the ground" makes it back and make a final dicision then - like will it hold over outside or have to be brought in.I have such limited "inside" winter space that I try to stay with herbs that will be on going without a lot of fussing.
My mint (fert and water greedy), thyme, oregano, sage, garlic, rosemary, lavendar, ginger (water greedy),bee balm and chives seem happy out in the "wild" so, there they stay. All of the above are planted in the ground and stay (and come back) year round. Dill must be started each spring, but so worth it - if you can plant enough to keep the butterfly cats fed and still have some left for your own use. I usually try to put chives and dill into icecube trays to freeze for later use in soups and meat dishes.
I'm in zone 7 (a, b? who knows?) so you and brigid should be able to do many of the same things. In fact, brigid may have even better luck with slightly cooler summers.
Bottom line - you never know til you try!
Remember - clay pots "breathe" and need more water than plastic pots if they are above ground. I prefer clay, but some things just have to be worked with until you find the right combo.
Brigid - with the prices of herbs these days, it will pay you to learn as much as you can about growing, drying and storing the ones that you use the most. Don't try to grow *everything* the first round. Just work with the things you use the most, and build from that knowledge for future expansion.
You herb garden is absolutely a dream come true!!!! Have FUN!!!
ginni
Herb garden in development..
Brigid, that's it, exactly. experiment and find out what works. I love portulaca. Your chiminea is adorable...such a wonderful idea. None of my passiflora germinated...I'm so disappointed. I'm trying again on the P. incarnata because it's hardy for my zone, but it's so late I'm probably wasting my time. Can't wait to see yours take over your whole arbor!
It's just wonderful! I enjoyed the tour. you have so much in there. and really room for so much more as things grow and develop and you see what you like and what works.
All your hard work is beginning to pay off. Bravo!
Thanks, everybody! I'm enjoying, and learning, and what's life for if not that? I'm sure next year I'll be narrower rather than broader. I love messing with the plants, but if they really don't want to be there, I'm not going to insist! Stevia seems to have similar requirements to french tarragon, and I can't grow either in a pot, but the stevia in the ground is doing beautiful things. Maybe the FT will follow suit -- I hope so, as I LOVE it.
Gardens looking good! Keep up the good work and keep us posted.
I bought a pineapple sage plant, I had one in cali and loved the scent it out. I have never used it in cooking. Anyone know if you can or have any ideas? I would have no clue as to what to use it in. I also noticed that there is a cinnamon sage plant where I bought my pineapple sage plant, might have to go back and get it. I am new to this herb garden type of gardening, and until we buy a house I am limited as to planting. Podster has helped me out quite a bit with my gardening questions. I need to get started and planting some of the seeds she sent me. i cant wait to see how they turn out! Thanks again podster!
Hi Lil ~ Beans Pineapple Sage I have heard used in teas. I never heard of a Cinnamon Sage plant, you need to add that one to the collection. It sounds wonderful!
Thanks podster. I think I will go and see if I can find the Cinnamon sage. I enjoy the scent they put out. I bought one of thos Herb kits that had 5 terra pots and my thyme has come up alresady. I think the others are sweet basil,cilantro,oregano. and I cant remember the other 1 right off hand withouu going out & looking. I have to close for now. Hubby has to go to dr. and get one of the Cortazone (however it is spelled) shots in his spine this morning. First time he is very nervous! Have a great & blessed day!
lil, I sure hope the shot works for him! I've heard it can make a tremendous difference. My mother got her first last week and is set for two more. She says she's seeing improvement. Let us know how it goes!
Please report also on your cilantro. I got one of those little strawberry pots at W/M where you plant different herbs in the little bays and put the cilantro in the big opening. It came up and did fine for a while, then faded and there's not much to it. Then in "Herbs for Texas" (Garrett) I read it should be planted at Halloween. Hmmm. Does NOT like a lot of heat apparently. Is yours outside? Mine was on the kitchen windowsill. I planted thyme in each of the 4 bays and it's doing exceptionally well. I didn't plant the other 3 herbs so I think I'll pull out what's left of the cilantro and try something else in the big part.
Cinnamon sage sounds delicious. I have common, garden, and pineapple doing well -- if I can find the cinnamon I'll certainly try it. I would think it would add a nice waft to a stew? Or eggs? It's a pity my herb garden is doing well and I seem to have stopped cooking!
Are common sage and garden sage the same thing?
Bridge where did you get your copy of Herbs for Texas? My Cilantro has bolted and gone to seed *sniffle* so back to buying it. But I did get one stalk of lemon grass to root that we bought at HEB.
www.amazon.com is where I got mine. Southern Herb Growing is also good -- I think the author's name is Hill; she ran the Hilltop Herb Farm until it was destroyed. Nice on the lemon grass! I've planted a new set of seedlings and hope this one takes. grrrr...
Brigidlily I am glad to hear that you mother is feeling better. My husband came thru it ok.When I asked him how he felt this evening, he said he didnt know, thinks it helped. Tomorrow he maybe able to tell alittle more if it helped. It probably will take a few days before he can really tell I dont know. As far as my cilantro goes, yes I have it outside for now. I think whenit gets a little more growth to, I am going to try putting ion the patio in the shaded area and see what happens. I planted it one yr. back home in the garden and I went outside one day and there was this starange smell, and it was my cilantro burning in the garden! It said full sun, but the dry heat was to much for it. I never thought of replanting in a pto or int hte shade after it started growing. I will sure let you know how I come out with this cilantro tho. Maybe I will finally be able to share my findings insead of sking, asking, asking! LOL!
Well Ia m going to say goodnight for, it is almost 11:30 p.m. and I would like to get a early start and get the things done outside I would like to accomplish before it gets to hot. Goddnight & God bless each & everyone of you!
The real secret --
awwwwwwww!
They do seem like wise garden guardians at times, don't they? At the risk of turning this into a kitty photo thread LOL, here's Blake watching over some new daylily seedlings...
no kitties in my garden, herb or otherwise. but I love 'em :-)
Grampapa ~ What! No catnip either? LOL
Brigidlily is that your comfrey plant that feline is basking under? It is gorgeous and in bloom too! I am impressed. Don't know why but I thought they bloomed a blue or purple.
No reason for catnip with no kitties to enjoy it :-( I had 2 very sweet kitties (one for 18 yrs and the other for 17), but now is just not a good time for new pets. I miss them a lot.
yours are all so cute, basking in your gardens
pod, the comfrey blooms are pale purple -- the sunlight just washed them out for the picture. This is the second time they've bloomed this year, and the hummingbirds and bees loved it. What's your garden cat's name?
critter, Blake looks like a very good garden cat. And ain't nothing wrong with turning ANY thread into a kitty thread!
gram, I've found that when you're ready for another cat, one will come along. I've never had to do more than think about it and open the front door! Mine are usually snoozing by the catnip, but Miss Lulu got SO comfortable under the comfrey. Maybe the dirt there was nice and cool.
The comfrey is gorgeous, how long has it been in ground? How tall has it gotten? Thought you were using your plants to shade other plants ~ I think it is for shading the felines. : ))
Gram ~ Brigidlily is right ~ one will come along when you didn't even know you were ready for another one.
The white one did. She was scrawny, flea bitten and had a raspy Janice Joplin voice. Her voice and her color got her the name Pearl. Pearlie has the prettiest blue crossed eyes and doesn't like men. DH says she sees two of him and hates both of them... LOL
It's hard to tell from the pic, but the comfrey is in a huge pot. I'd read it can be hideously invasive so I figured I'd keep it there. I'm going to have to divide it, probably in the spring, so I may be offering some later on. I got it from Richter's two years ago, and it was just one fairly puny leaf at the time. This spring brought the first bloom. You have to water it quite a bit in the (add your own expletive) summer but it seems happy there. It approaches 2' tall and it's close to 3' wide. The bottom leaves die off and I just put them in the compost -- I've heard they're really great in the compost bin.
Poor little Pearlie -- she just found out the truth about SOME men and applied it to all of them. I can relate! ;p
All my cats (3) and my dog just "came along" in one way or another.
As the summer nears... here's the north --
East, with lemon balm at the base of the arch (at the left) and catnip behind that, and calendula growing along the forward edge --
South, with the St. John's wort coming along nicely just to the left of the portulaca --
And finally the west, with my blush Knock Out rose at the center of the edge --
Oh, you must be thrilled at how everything is coming together and filling in! Your design is delightful, and your plants look wonderful!
Hey, new pics! better & better...it's amazing how fast everything is coming along.
Thanks for the compliments! I just hope the lushness holds out through the heat. We shall see! It will at least let me know what to plant and what to avoid next time. It's very nice sitting on the back porch, just looking at it.
Okay, this thread is getting TOO long, and I think the herb garden is probably as beautiful and full as it will get, considering our heat index at 8:00 this morning was 91. So, these are the final pictures for this thread. When something gets amazing, I'll post it elsewhere. BUT for those interested, here is the usual full view of the garden:
I don't know why these came out looking misty -- the sun was VERY bright this morning. Here is the north quadrant. The comfrey (between the girl and the gnome who loves her) only looks that big because it's in a huge pot.
Here is the east quadrant; it's hard to tell what anything is, but at least it's green!
Here is the south -- I'd pulled out garlic that I'd planted at a very bad time, apparently, to plant garlic. The cape gooseberry is taking over this one, and Something is eating the berries... grrrrrr...
And the west. That dog fennel is a volunteer, but I think it's kind of pretty. Anyone know a use for dog fennel?
Is this what St. John's wort is supposed to do? I hope so, because this is what it's doing.
The valerian is looking healthy...
As is the vanilla grass (I have two clumps of this, and the problem is that if quack grass starts to come up in it, I can't tell them apart!) and I LOVE the smell of it.
I'm very happy with the calendula...
Thyme does SO much better in the ground here than in a pot! (That's a portulaca wanting its 15 minutes of fame...)
And here is the view of the garden from my back door. Sometimes I think this is what Eden must have been like, or Tir na Nog. It makes me happy, anyway.
Brig, I can certainly see why it makes you happy. all your hard work has paid off and your beautiful vision is now there for everyone to see! thanks again for sharing your journey.
lurking and loving it . thanks for sharing.
Beautiful garden! Though at 91 degrees, I'd be passed out on the swing. I'm no longer acclimated to that kind of heat.