If you want to add good flavour to your cooking, then you need to have some herbs growing in your garden. Photo / 123rf
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Originally published September 7.
Kem Ormond is a features writer for NZME community newspapers and The Country. She’s also a keen gardener. This week, she extols the virtues of herbs.
OPINION
Over 45 years ago, I became interested in herbs. I propagated them in a small glass house and sold them at my front gate.
I have designed and built a couple of herb gardens over the years and still to this day, my vegetable garden feels naked without having some mainstay herbs.
I enjoy a cup of herbal tea made with fresh herbs from the garden, especially lemon verbena, and even good old mint.
I may have given up on the comfrey fritters and the horehound cough lozenges that I used to make but I can still put together a great bouquet garni, or a gorgeous tussie-mussie, also known as a nosegay, and feel confident knowing how to use most herbs.
If you want to add good flavour to your cooking, then you need to have some herbs growing in your garden.
You don’t have to have a special herb garden, depending on what herbs you want to grow, you can pop them in your flower garden if necessary.
Herbs are hardy, they like to grow in light, free-draining soil and they also do well in pots, and tubs, in fact, any vessel that has been prepared with good soil and has good drainage.
There are two types of herbs, annuals, and perennials.
Annual herbs are soft, such as basil, coriander, dill, parsley, chervil, fennel, and borage.
They live for a season and then die. In saying that, left to seed, you have a good chance of new seedlings next season - especially borage.
Perennial herbs are more of the woody type that need to be trimmed and will come alive come spring; such as rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage, lemon balm, marjoram, and mint.
Spring is a perfect time to renew your herbs as annual varieties go to seed at the end of the season.
You may be lucky enough to have some seedlings already showing their heads in your garden.
Perennial varieties, such as rosemary, thyme, sage, or marjoram need to be replaced every 3-4 years as they can become woody, and you will find they produce less new, fresh foliage.
I plant most of my annuals straight into the ground and until they are a decent size, I tend to use cloches over them as the snails think I have grown them especially for them!
Herbs need to be planted close to your kitchen, as this way you will tend to use them more in your cooking.
You need to pick your herbs regularly as this will encourage new fresh growth.
Most love the sun but the softer herbs such as coriander, chervil and dill prefer some shade.
It is so easy to go crazy with your herb selection, especially when new herb plants arrive at your local garden centre.
You seem to think you need every kind of mint and that you need to add one of everything to your herb garden.
You only need to grow herbs that you are really going to use, and a good few to start with are rosemary, parsley, chives, mint, thyme, oregano, and sage.
Some other you may like to add are basil, coriander, dill, and tarragon.
Rosemary is great to use with lamb and I have used bunches of rosemary as a basting brush when barbecuing.
Parsley can be used for sauce, with salads, and is a great garnish.
Chives are great in salads and as a garnish.
Mint makes a wonderful sauce and adds a freshness to a salad.
Thyme adds flavour to a casserole, is great sprinkled on a quiche and is a terrific addition to meat.
Oregano is great for drying and using over winter, fantastic on pizzas and in a winter casserole.
Sage is used in stuffing for your chicken, and I cook it with butter, which is delicious added to gnocchi.
Basil is great to make into a tasty pesto and a perfect partner for tomatoes.
Coriander complements Asian dishes and is a fantastic addition to stir-fries.
Dill is not everyone’s favourite but works well with salmon.
Tarragon is a lovely herb to use in a creamy sauce with chicken.
When it comes to the mint family, I really do advise to plant these in containers.
I have grown mint in an old cooking oil tin, a large old teapot, a trough, and an old copper.
I often have them underneath an outside tap, so you remember to keep them watered and they get drips from the tap.
In the garden, they tend to take over!
Have fun with your herbs, be adventurous, dry them, make pesto, experiment with different herbs in sauces and remember bees love the flowers some of them produce, so make them easily available to our little fuzzy friends!
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