Ocimum, Lemon Basil, Ornamental Basil, Thai Basil 'Siam Queen'

Thai Basil overwinters easily in a small greenhouse or even on a sunny windowsill. It is ornamental enough to use as a houseplant as lon...Read Moreg as it gets enough light, and then you can enjoy its aroma all winter. Its spicy flavor can be used in many dishes that benefit from a lemony, peppery flavor such as fish. The blooms are also very long lasting.

One of my favorite garden plants. It is beautiful with its purple flowers and it is delicious in various Thai dishes that I like to coo...Read Morek. To purchase it I would have to drive 100 miles so, I grow my own in the summer. Sometimes I have even been able to overwinter it indoors.
The Thai people eat the flowers and leaves both and frequently add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of them to various of their dishes that would serve 4 people in the US.
I have not found it necessary to cut off the flowers to keep the plant growing all summer as in Italian basil. I enjoy the blooms both as ornamentals and in cooking.
Siam Queen is the easiest variety to grow that I have found though there are many others.
Not to be confused with Holy or hot basil.

I love Thai Basil, but have a hard time finding the plants locally. Next year I'll be growing my own! I use Thai Basil in a flavored oi...Read Morel recipe I use, not only for the lovely flavor, but because it looks so nice and holds up so well. In a gallon of canola oil I put several cayenne peppers, whole pepper -corns, garlic, thai basil and whatever else I've grown in the garden that year! If anyone wants the whole recipe, I would be happy to share! The oil has a wonderful flavor and aroma, and makes a nice gift too.

Usually the time for me to grow herbs in my desert garden is winter, but this herb prefers instead the summer time. Whereas the seeds did...Read More sprout during the winter, they remained small seedlings for months until the weather warmed and summer came around. This is when the plant really began to grow and become mature.

Before I began growing Thai basil myself, I would purchase it during rare trips to an Asian grocer and freeze it in a plastic bag. This would allow me to add that 'missing taste' to my Thai cooking when it was impossible for me to have fresh Thai basil. Granted the dish does not look as beautiful this way, but the taste of the basil is preserved despite the freezing process.