Lovage (Levisticum officinal) is an old herb from the Mediterranean region that we can grow here in the DMV as a perennial. This very useful herb is a member of the Apiaceae family (celery or parsley family).
Buy the plant in the beginning of the growing season and place in an area with morning sun and afternoon shade. Provide moist but well-drained soil — it likes its moisture. The leaves are green but jagged, like someone ripped them. Young plants do look like celery or parsley.
In the summer, lovage will get to be 2-3 feet tall with a much taller flowering stalk. We usually harvest the stems and leaves so the flowering stalk can be cut if you do not need it to seed. You can harvest any time in the summer.
Lovage tastes like celery but with a zing. To me it is a strong celery flavor with pepper. It is best used fresh but can be dried. Lovage has a natural salt taste and during the war in Europe the leaves were dried and used as a salt substitute.
Lovage blends well with the lemon herbs such as lemon basil and lemon thyme. Lovage is good with chicken, potatoes, potato salad, eggs, fish, tuna, creamed soups, and savory pies. The foliage can be cut into strips and cooked with summer veggies. The flowering stems can be candied. The stems are hollow and can be used as drink stirrers or straws in drinks such as a Bloody Mary.
Lovage produces umbels of small, yellow flowers and the resulting seeds are used as spice. The seeds can be candied, added to pickles or breads, or added to dishes for flavor, similar to celery seeds. Or leave the seeds on the plant to feed the goldfinches.
Although one plant should be enough for one family, you can divide the plant in the spring every few years to make more for you or to share with friends. Lovage can be grown from seed indoors before the last frost but germination takes a long time plus the seeds have to be fresh. In our area, small plants are easy to find in nurseries in the spring.
Try growing lovage for your culinary needs, to add ornamental value in the garden, and to support the pollinators and birds.
