I am keeping my fingers crossed on the seeds much less the blooms. LOL It is loaded with buds. Your climate should be better for it although it does require lots of water. I have this one potted up to try my hand thru the colder days... You will be on my seeds list ~ should I get lucky Cyra. : ))
What! NO herb afficianados this summer?
Thanks, & btw...your arnica seeds are going out in the mail today, minus that last blossom...am tired of waiting for it to dry! That way you'll still get your seed in, before the spring rains...
Thanks for letting me know ~ will keep you posted.
Potster, although I didn't look this up in the official registry of herbs, I think the good news is that the hibiscus Jamaica IS a herb, since it its leaves have a use for flavoring and tea.
Thank you for the info Foxnfirefly. It is a lovely shrub and I can't wait till it blooms. After I picked it up, I learned the negatives. Hoping for seeds and perhaps to pull it thru the winter... ever the optimist ~ pod
What negatives, (re: Hibiscus) , other than that it's not cold-hardy? I personally love hibiscus as a flavoring and coloring agent, in teas, and a coloring agent, in cosmetics...
I'd love any info on this plant you'd care to post; -this is one herb I haven't tried growing, although I am trying to grow my first tropical plants this year...
Tucking my herbs away for fall. They say if rosemary grows well for you, then you are mistress of the house. Sure...Now I'm off to scrub the tub. ha ha. I have enjoyed talking to all the herb lovers here on this forum.
Heard that one, Arias...:)
Heard that if rosemary grows by your front door, you run the household.
Mine grows by the back door, and thrives there, only have a spindly cutting by my front door. As a single mom, (smile) I'm guessing that this means my kids rule our household....
LOL ~ mine is on the side of the house... evenly split between front and back. Must mean the critters rule! LOL
There's Rosemary, that's for remembrance. ~ Shakespeare's Hamlet To Ophelia
Yep, Arias...
Medieval brides once wore or carried it as a token of fidelity.
Poor Princess Diana [ may she rest in peace] had a head piece made of Rosemary. It was traditional for all Royal English Brides to wear one. Diana's was custom made by a little elderly lady who's family had been in the business for centuries. I think Diana may have worn the diamond headpiece for the church ceremony, and switched later for the private reception. I have read several places where Diana wanted one just like Catherine Of Aragon wore when she married Henry the 8th. Only the very wealthy had masses of Rosemary. Not so today. We are all blessed with an abundance of this heavenly herb, and can grow as much as we want.
I'm thinking that maybe Henry the 8th should've worn the rosemary instead....Poor Catherine of Aragon was put aside for his other mistresses and wives. On the other hand, she fared better than most of her replacements...
How true. Can you imagine rolling over and looking at him the morning after your marriage? I would have put my Rosemary away, and tried to forget what a big mistake I had made. Oh !! He was terrible, and I don't think all the Rosemary in the world would have kept him faihtful. Anne of a Thousand Days would testify to that.
(Smile)...
According to his portraits, I wouldn't have wanted to spend time looking at him before, or after marriage. In fact, I would've refused marriage were I one of his prospects....(syphylis was rampant back then!).
Hmm. Rosemary dies with the cold, so does the flame of new love....Does basil have anything to do with it?? I read somewhere that basil was the symbol of infidelity. Some insecure couples won't eat out at Italian restaurants for fear of a break-up. LOL.
Well, rosemary is probably in a cure-for-syphilis remedy somewhere... maybe that's the other reason brides wore it.
Pocket full of posies and all that.
Foxnfirefly ~ you might look for Arp rosemary. It is more winter hardy. Then, plant it against a sheltered wall to step up a zone warmer? Worth a try. The two I grow aren't rosemary or I would try to root one for you.
Brigidlily ~ Drsaul requested photos of herb gardens in the linked thread and I thought of you. Maybe you could tempt him with a picture or two? Pretty please? With stevia? lol http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/771305/
This message was edited Sep 17, 2007 10:33 AM
Done, pod, and it really warms my heart you thought of me! The only pic I had up here is from May, but it does the job, I think.
Someone give me a use for purslane!!! It is growing GLORIOUSLY in my herb bed!!!
Brighidlily...You can saute your purslane with your morning eggs...
and Boxnfirefly, my rosemary never dies of winter, only overwatering.
Not even last winter's freeze did mine in.
Foxnfirefly, in addition to Arp I'd recommend Gorizia. I found it at a local nursery and it survived the coldest winter I've seen here in a while it got down in the teens. It had a foot of snow sitting right on top of it for more than a week next to my deck. In the spring, the tips were damaged a bit, but it went on to bloom and is twice it's size by now.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/83208/
Purslane is good and full of vitamin c and anti-oxidents. Sautee it with a little bit of garlic and put it in eggs or with pasta or rice.
Purslane is also a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids. We eat it raw in salads.
I grow the golden purslane variety as the leaves are larger and easier to harvest.
Thanks, Potster and Renwings--I'll try to find those varieties. I remember looking at some in a nursery and the ones that were the most fragrant and delicate were tender.....I had a variety called "Hardy Hill" once that was tough as nails and survived a blizzard a while back but I did not like the flavor as much and it wasn't that aromatic. It was more "woody". I have something outside now but I lost the label. It is okay. It is getting woody so it might survive but I'm not getting my hopes up.
I think that might be 'Hill Hardy' if anybody goes looking for it... seems to me that's one I remember from DeBaggio's site. It's supposed to be as hardy as 'Arp' and a bit more compact ('Arp' is a monster).
Although they don't do mail order, their catalog is a great source of information also... http://www.debaggioherbs.com/
Thanks for the purslane info! I trust the flowers are edible, and stalks? Or just the leaves? What about the roots? I pulled one up that was growing in the wrong place and figured I'd killed it since I saw a large very broken root -- it's growing like... a weed...
We eat the leaves and flowers raw. If the stems are thick, then I'll cook them.
Never tried the roots.
In Holland they pickle them as well.
Never have eaten the roots either.
Foxnfirefly, personally I think the flavor of Gorizia is excellent. It's not overpowering and has an interesting zing that I like and no bitterness. It has a lovely shape and fills out nicely without looking wild or rangy. The branches are very tall and straight and strong. I love the stuff!
*making a note*
I could use a rosemary that's less strongly flavored than 'Arp', which is a little resin-y for some dishes.
Thanks!
LOL, Critter--"Arp" the name even sounds like a monster!! Yes, I see DeBaggio's still carries Hill Hardy and, oh, Gorzia, as well. Most of the hardy ones get shrubby and rangy if pruned a lot. They'd make a good hedge, if you like, but are bullies in a small bed.
Renwings--"Gorzia" sounds very, very good!! I will have to try that one, from your description. Hill Hardy got rangy when pruned. Branches grew every which way. I like rosemary for its scent, as well as flavor, and the ones that made a lasting impression on me were "Salem" and "Collingwood Ingram". Those were divine to whiff....and I think the flavors were equally memorable, but, alas, they would drop their needles naked when it got cold here. Too bad.
Yes, 'Salem' was supposed to be hardy here, but mine didn't make it -- even against a protective wall. I thought I'd lost my huge 'Arp' this spring, since it had just started greening out when we had that week long cold snap... 90% of it died back, and I pruned those parts off, and now it's almost back to last summer's size. I think that's amazing! I've got it in a mini raised bed (more like a bottomless planter) that I made by putting some stacked rock on one side of a patio boulder and filling between with potting mix. The good drainage and the rocks acting as a heat sink seem to be helpful... this is the first rosemary that's survived a couple of winters for me.
Here it is last fall... nearly 3 feet tall, and about 4 feet long and 2 feet wide...
That is a beautiful rosemary Critter! Dang. Rosemary won't overwinter here in my zone 5. So, I bring it in each year.
Critter, Arp is a good-looking monster. Looks like you have a roomy place for it. So, you've tried Salem, too? I just loved that one.
I wish to ID the one I have now--it was purchased from a local nursery (not DeBaggio's) with a label that read just "Rosemary" so I would think it is officinalis or common type around here. It is a bit resiny but smells nice if you crush it.
Alas, here is my best attempt at lavender. I won't be trying it again. Sorry you'll have to lie on your left side to look at it, but you can see how there are some good blooms and some brown ones. They just came out that way. Too hot, too humid.
Lavender? That looks like hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) to me.
I love the smell of Hyssop:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/88/
Did you post the right picture?
Lavender:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/289/
hmmm...This is growing where I'd tucked some Spanish lavender, but it very well could be hyssop. I'll smell it when I get home, and if it smells like "good 'n' plenty" it's from the anise hyssop, blown around from another part of the bed!
WHICH IS YET MORE ASSURANCE that I'm not a lavender grower!!!
Thanks for the input!
Ta Da!
Hibiscus sabdariffa ~ Roselle
FLOWERS!
YES! 8 ))))))
Podster, that is one gorgeous flower!! Ya done good.
Arias