HAHA Potagere......Thats it.....Pernod or Pastis. but I have been to East Berlin. ( i wasnt too impressed there)
We lived in France from 1954 -1957 ( i'm telling my age, eh). In the 6 years we lived in Germany, two different Army Posts, 3 yrs each, we visited LaRochelle quite often as my parents had become good friends with their Landlords during their stay there. In fact, they visited us in in Germany and in the US in the 80's. My dad and I had a chance to visit my uncle in the UK (Wimbleton) (sp) for 2 weeks so during that stay we jumped on the Euro Star to Paris for a few days and to visit the wife of their former landlord. It was one of those 'you can't go back home' visits. everything was run down and not very much resembled my memories or the pictures we have. i digress.....
I just remember my dad was asking for it and maybe they didnt understand him. But as we were walking out of this hole in the wall - a basement that was a restaurant, and the food was brought down the stairs from the floor above, I saw a guy at the bar drinking a milky-cloudy drink and I was bold enough to ask what it was called. Yes I'm a big flirt, ... I ended up getting a free drink and a toast =) I wouldnt want to drink Pastis every day, but the licorise fan in me enjoys it on occasion.
Now..to scroll back and find those herbs.....Enjoy this day. I have gardening to do. Beans Beans Beans.
CULINARY HERBS
Thanks, nannie, for sharing those memories.
Not Ouzo? (I'm sure I spelled that all wrong.) I think that was a Greek drink that you mixed with water and it turned cloudy and tasted of licorice.
zhina I'm coming to the Seattle show next spring and hooking up with some other dahlianuts. Thinking it into your plans to hook up would be great if doable!!!!!
Might be possible, let me know when. I'll probably need to wait till closer to see if I can do it.
No problemo. If its doable great if not next time. Feb 18-22 2009 Northwest Flower and Garden Show, Seattle. I never missed it when I lived in Vancouver BC. Keep it in mind. http://www.gardenshow.com/seattle/theshow/ They haven't got everything in the website yet but believe me its a gooder.
Sounds fun! How much is it?
I can't rememberLOL I've been in Cowtown for over 10 years now. Even if you don't want to do the show perhaps hanging with us dahlianuts? I mapgoogled you and you are soooooooo close.
About an hours drive, but I go up there often enough. I'd be interested, just need to see what my time looks like. Remind me closer to the days you're going to be here.
will do my herbie friend. I'll dmail close to the date.
Potagere, I'm always happy to try different chocolate and be convinced! I like to keep an open mind about these things. :-)
And LOL, Middleburgh is 3 hours north of NYC. However, I leave in a few days to teach (crazy quilting) in Maine. (And today a garden club is coming for a tour and afterwards, a reporter is coming to do an article on our gardens.) But, if she could get here Tuesday afternoon, I could be convinced to make some...
I have moved way too many times in my life. The move here 6.5 years ago was move 17. Each time, I had to leave my beloved herbs behind. Although, I cheered myself with the thought that those plants I gave to friends when I moved made them happy. Perhaps that's why I have gone overboard in my collection of herbs now. Who am I kidding? It would have been like this many moves or no.
I can't send plants to France, can I? With all those rules and regs? However, if your wife were to get here Tuesday, I could give her a slip of pineapple sage.
BTW, speaking of drinks that turn milky when you add water, we are growing herbs for a lady who is making absinthe. (It is now legal to produce in the States.)
shhhhhhh absinthe is illegal here too, so are opium poppies. I'm prepared to go to jail cuz I'm not giving up my poppies. I luv them. Many of us are collecting and maintaining seed stores just in case it becomes impossible to get seed. Do they have DG in jail? shhhhhhhhhhh
Dahlianut, absinthe is LEGAL in the US now.
Technically, opium poppies are illegal to grow in the US, but rarely is that law enforced. In fact, I have heard of just one instance (and who knows if it is urban myth?) of someone who grew FIELDS of poppies. Gosh, every flower catalog carries them!
O sorry herbal betty I misread. We are hearing that they are enforcing on opium poppies in Ontario but maybe myth too. I think they're looking for fields. Hopefully my little poppy patch is ok.
Dahlianut, you'll have to change your name to poppy nut. Those are gorgeous! "But, honest officer, the poppies are just for looking, not for opium!" Here's a lavender peony-flowered poppy I grow...
I was thinking we were getting off topic, but, of course, you can make lemon poppy seed muffins!
Poppy seeds are OT for sure. They have a nutty smell when roasted besides all the usual uses. I seeded the lavender peony poppy for the first time this year. I hope mine is as nice as yours.
herbalbetty - I've moved cities 9 times, Olympia repeated 3 times. I can't even remember all the houses we've lived in. 6 I think since we moved back to Olympia in '95.
My DH really wants to try absinthe and was so happy when they made it legal. I was also dissed by several friends for not trying it the time I had the chance to.
zhinu, when I was in my 20s and 30s, moving was an exciting adventure. Guess I'm getting old and cranky now. :-) Don't want to move again. Plus, I love where we are and the gardens are maturing. I don't care for absinthe (nor any alcohol anymore, guess the cider did it for me back in England). But, I really do love growing the herbs for the absinthe maker and really love all the ritual surrounding absinthe. I mean the Art Nouveau absinthe fountains and spoons and glasses are just gorgeous.
I want to move once more, and I want that move to be to land I own. There is a reason move is a four letter word.
Dear HerbalBetty,
Well, 3 hours north of Manhattan, I don't guess you'll see Ms Marta there! Too bad!
I just received some iris corms from Pennsylvania. Should be able to get a cutting of pineapple sage (whether I am able to actually root it and grow is another issue! When I get seeds from the States, there is no problem at all. People send plants/cuttings marked as "Collectibles". Wellm they are, aren't they? In truth, there seems to be no problem sending plants OUT of the US or, in most cases, INTO Europe; it's sending plants INTO the US that is iffy!
Yes, they just re-legalized absinthe here a couple of years ago. Although I do like the Art Deco and Art Nouveau parapenalia, I think the "ceremony" is a bit much. And, I can't rell it from Pastis, except it's so sweet after you dissolve the sugar cube!
Nice poppies, everyone. I only have the "Flanders Field" poppies all over the yard in Spring and early Summer, a hillside of California poppies (only the orange variety, though) and a few struggling Iceland poppies.
Here too. Big broo haha for plants, bulbs, and dahlia tubers too sigh.
Betty, I've just discovered your post and haven't read all the way through, but you asked about cardmom living outdoors and I wanted to let you know my experience. When I was in Orlando, zone 9, I had two small cardamom plants that grew very quickly, so I transplanted them outside. Within two years, they had spread out to one huge plant. I tried cutting them off at the base to keep them in bounds. That didn't work well, as their bases became woody and started growing again. Finally I had to dig a good deal up. If I were planting in zone 9 again, I would definitely either keep them contained within a large pot in the ground or plant above ground in a huge pot or half barrel and expect that within a few years they would break the pot. I do love them. The smell is exquisite and they get large orchid like flowers if you have enough grow time, which I think you must.
~pamgarden: Thanks for that info! I am going to try growing them! I love both cardamom and orchids!
Potagere, I'm so glad you're going to try them. I don't know if they would survive winter in the ground here in VA (z7), but maybe they wouldn't be bordering on invasive if they did. I haven't tried to find a plant here. Maybe I'll try a few of my cardamom seeds---nah they're probably five years old if they're a day.
HELP!!
I left Ginger on the porch last winter and a freeze killed the tops. The rhizomes are still alive but there is absolutely no growth as of July 23. What's going on? It is in the same large pot as Cardamom and Turmeric and they are growing well.
Could the Cardamom be inhibiting the growth? Addendum: not Cardamom but Galanga in pot.
This message was edited Jul 23, 2008 5:50 PM
Herbalbetty, I scrolled up today because there were a few herbs that I want to add to my list of 'needs' and saw that you were teaching Crazy Quilting....how long have you been quilting, and is that quilt one that you add all kinds of scraps/fabrics and do embroidery all over the seams?
i've been quilting for a lil under 3 yrs; it's good therapy. Like gardening.
Some of you have mentioned pinapple sage. I just noticed that mine in the garden is doing quite well. Such an unusual scent - I love it.
What do I do with this stuff? Maybe put it in fruit salad? Cook it with fish - I don't know. Any suggestions are welcome.
Anyone have tarragon?
I do. Why, you need some?
My father used to grow it. I'm trying to. I already rotted a cutting someone gave me. I guess I need to buy an established plant. I know it will overwinter for YOU, but will it for me? Unless you want to FEDEX me a root division? LOL.
No, in fact it does not overwinter here! I dig it up and bring it inside in the winter!
If you are serious, send me a DMail. Then, when I dig mine in the late Fall, I'll see if I can't cut you a piece.
It does prefer to be dry more than wet, so wherever you get another start, mix a good bit of sand into the soil mix. Short of a lot of mulch and some serious cover, real tarragon will NEVER overwinter in your area. Only extremely well-established plants make it thru the winter here )and we are called "similar" to Zone 7. That's why I bring mine in every year.
Gosh, I wonder how my father (he was in Santa Fe, NM) managed his as perennials? Of course, all the soil out there is "rapidly draining!" Is it like lavender? I kept that in the garage this winter (actually a misunderstanding between me and my husband) but it stayed dry enough for once and actually bloomed! As far as the tarragon goes, I think my best bet is just to buy some and enjoy it for the summer. (I'll repot with a lot of perlite!) But thank you kindly for your offer!
Which fall culinary herbs does anyone have planned for the deep South?
I bought a tarragon plant, no thoughts for winter care yet. (How rash of me!)
No plans yet....I'm still harvesting my veggie garden whilst trying to get a 2nd crop started on a few things.
(can I brag on my white bush scalloped squash now? what a find that was accidently finding it at wallyworld of all places)
what kind of plans do they make in AL? ( lol @ deep south. only because I used to live near Auburn, AL. on the Ga side )
Real French tarragon overwinters in my zone 5 garden just fine. Has for years. I also grew it in a zone 5 Nebraska garden.
Nannie, yes, crazy quilting is done using velvets, silks, satins and then hand embroidery/beading/embellishment all over it. I've been on Simply Quilts on HGTV demonstrating crazy quilting too! Here is a pic of one of my quilts. It is called Homage to Ardelia and has won several prizes in shows. I just returned home from teaching in Maine. It was a great trip, but I'm exhausted!
How cool!!!!! Is that the show that Alex Anderson hosted? I watched her when I could , however they took that off the air a few months ago in our area. I tried my hand at doing applique on a quilt top, but I didn't care for it, so I don't know if I'd like doing a crazy quilt. I''ve belonged to a Thimbleberries Club for the last 3 yrs. We're working on a double wedding ring stitched entirely by hand. haha thats the one I always take to for Dr's visits or waiting rooms.
It's a great stress reliever.
Thanks for sharing that herbalbetty. Many in my zone have french tarragon that overwinters. I just got a division so hopefully I will be one of them ^_^
I must be doing something wrong here, because I have already lost 3 of them in what passes for zone 7-8! So I just routinely bring my current plant inside each year. I have lost a few rosemary plants as well. Maybe it's exposure to cold winds as much as the temperatures themselves.
Are they exposed, because rosemary is hardy here?