pumpkin pie with sage and mums
When I think of herbs for Christmas, I always think of the Simon and Garfunkel Scarborough Fair song: “Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.” Sure there other herbs and plenty of spices but these herbs seem to be the most popular during the holidays. The great thing is that these are easy to grow here in the DC mero area. Continue reading
Currently, my pineapple sage plants (Salvia elegans) are blooming in my garden, their bright scarlet flowers are attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. Members of the salvia or sage family, pineapple sage plants are herbaceous, tender perennial herbs. I have two pineapple sage plants, which I bought last year as tiny babies, and I often use their leaves and flowers in the kitchen. Continue reading
Posted in Edibles, flowers, herbs
Tagged culinary herb, edible flowers, herbs, hummingbirds, pineapple sage, sage, salvia
Yesterday I made pumpkin pies using Libby’s can of pumpkin and recipe (the one on the can). This is a traditional recipe I have used every year and the pies taste great. This year however I decorated the pies with fresh sage leaves and chrysanthemum blossoms from my garden. Keep culinary herbs and edible flowers in mind during the upcoming holidays as you bake and cook. Right now, mums, pineapple sage, rose, calendula and signet marigolds are blooming and can be used to garnish dishes. Perennial herbs such as rosemary, sage, thyme, and oregano can be used when preparing dishes and also to garnish and decorate. Remember to always wash your herbs and flowers before you put them on food.
Posted in edible flowers, herbs
Tagged culinary herbs, edible flowers, herbs, holidays, Libbys, oregano, Pumpkin, pumpkin pie, rosemary, sage, thyme
Currently, my pineapple sage plants (Salvia elegans) are blooming in my garden, their bright scarlet flowers are attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. Members of the salvia or sage family, pineapple sage plants are herbaceous, tender perennial herbs. I have two pineapple sage plants, which I bought last year as tiny babies, and I often use their leaves and flowers in the kitchen. Continue reading
Posted in Edibles, flowers, herbs
Tagged culinary herb, edible flowers, herbs, pineapple sage, sage, salvia
I love being able to step out into the garden and snip fresh herbs whenever I need them. Yesterday, I was making ham and bean stew in the crockpot. I was inspired to add thyme so I cut off a few sprigs from the thyme growing in the front of the house. I looked around and snipped even more herbs: cutting celery, oregano, sage and rosemary. Continue reading
Tagged cutting celery, oregano, perennial herbs, rosemary, sage, thyme
washed but not quite dry sage leaves
For those of you who reach for that jar of dried sage once a year, I encourage you to grow the sage plant in your garden. You will discover that sage is a wonderful plant to have in your garden – its foliage adds texture and interest and you can pick the leaves to use in the kitchen whenever you need them.
Sage is a perennial plant, it will survive our zone 7 Virginia winters. It is an inexpensive plant to purchase in the spring from local garden centers. Mine have lived for many years and are drought and deer resistant. Sage prefers full sun and does not need a lot of care or fertilizer. Although sage is not grown for its flowers, it does produce small lavender-colored flowers that attract beneficial insects and pollinators. There are many different types of sage but Salvia officinalis is the best one for culinary and medicinal use. This type has green, textured leaves that inspired me to make butter pats.
To make the butter pats, I clipped leaves from my sage plant and immersed in a large bowl of cool water to clean. Although I do not use sprays in the garden, I always submerge my herbs in water for at least 20 minutes to drown out any type of hidden pests. While the leaves were soaking, I took a quarter of a stick of butter out of the fridge and placed in a bowl to come to room temperature. When the leaves were “air dried” (not dried for preserving but dry as in no water left on the leaves) and the butter was soft, I put the butter in a bag, clipped the corner, and spread the soft butter on a leaf. I then put another leaf on top, much like a sandwich. These were placed on parchment paper on a tray and put inside the fridge to harden.
sage “sandwiches” with butter inside
The next day I experimented with a baked potato but these sage butter pats could be used for other vegetables or rolls, as a garnish, or for actually serving butter. The top leaf pulls off easily revealing the leaf pattern on the butter.
top sage leaf removed to reveal pattern on butter
Because the sage leaves have long stems, the entire sandwich leaf could be placed on a potato for guests to pull the top leaf back. Guests can pull the leaves off and place aside or fork the entire sandwich into the potato to have a buttery, sage-flavored baked potato for Thanksgiving dinner. Try sage butter pats to “wow” your guests!
sage butter sandwich on baked potato
Posted in Edibles, herbs, landscape edible
Tagged butter, butter pats, sage, Salvia officinalis, Thanksgiving
Currently, my pineapple sage plants (Salvia elegans) are blooming in my garden, their bright scarlet flowers are attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. Members of the salvia or sage family, pineapple sage plants are herbaceous, tender perennial herbs. I have two pineapple sage plants, which I bought last year as tiny babies, and I often use their leaves and flowers in the kitchen.
From spring to fall this year, these plants grew fast, developing many lateral branches. Now they are 4-foot high shrubs, several feet wide. All season long, I harvested the leaves and used them fresh as well as dried them to store them. The leaves add a fruity flavor to many different types of beverages (makes a great hot tea), jellies, baking (line a pan with leaves before pouring the pound cake batter or cut leaves and add to batter), muffins, cookies, chicken dishes and chicken salads, butter, cream cheese, ice cream, sorbet, smoothies, etc.
From September to now, these large shrubs are blooming beautiful edible flowers that can be cut for a vase or used in the kitchen as well. Interestingly, the buds begin upside down. Red petals poke through a nodding green flower stalk and then as the stalk moves up more petals poke through until the stalk straightens up to be raceme of bright red tubular flowers. Pineapple sage flowers have the same type of sage or salvia bilabiate (two lips) flowers but larger. The flowers can be used as a garnish, frozen in ice cubes, beverages, fruit salads, butters, cookies, cupcakes, muffins, baked goods, and cream cheese.
In my garden, nothing seems to bother my pineapple sage plants. They are in moist, well-drained soil but one gets more sunlight than the other and I noticed that it has grown much bigger. They seem to prefer light dappled sun or morning sun and afternoon shade. They need space so they it is best to plant them in the back of the garden as long as there is a path to be able to pick the leaves and flowers. I have read that they are hardy to zone 7 and I have also read that they are hardy to zone 8. Surviving the winter is a 50-50 proposition here in my zone 7 Northern Virginia garden. Last winter, I did not do anything to protect them but the winter was mild so I was lucky that they survived. This year, after the frost kills the leaves, I will cut the plants back to stubbles and put down several inches of mulch to ensure their survival. If I had a sun room or a greenhouse, I could have taken cuttings a few months ago to pot up and bring inside.
If they don’t make it, I will buy more next year and will keep an eye out for cultivars such as Golden Delicious, which has golden yellow leaves; Tangerine, which has rounded leaves and a citrus scent; Frieda Dixon, which has salmon pink flowers; and Honeydew Melon, which has melon-scented red flowers with lime green leaves. Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD, has a stand of Golden Delicious plants that are blooming right now.
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day occurs on the 15th of the month. Garden bloggers around the world post their articles about blossoms in their garden. #gardenbloggersbloomday
Posted in Edibles, flowers, Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, herbs, plants
Tagged Brookside Gardens, Garden Bloggers Bloom day, herbs, pineapple sage, sage, salvia
As I prepare for Thanksgiving this year, I can’t help but think of the beautiful Simon and Garfunkel song “Scarborough Fair.” I grow parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme in my Northern Virginia garden and today, the day before Thanksgiving, I can walk outside and harvest these herbs for my holiday meal. These are very easy to grow here and blend well into the typical suburban landscape. All of these with the exception of parsley are perennial shrubs that will remain in the garden year round.
Parsley
I use the curly parsley as a garnish and the flat leaf type in the Thanksgiving stuffing. Placing a heaping mound of cooked potatoes on a platter of green curly parsley makes the dish colorful. Fresh flat leaf parsley adds flavor to stuffing as well as to turkey leftover dishes such as turkey soup.
In Northern Virginia, parsley can stay green above ground all winter long (I took this photo in January 2016). I always use parsley fresh; it does not dry well. Parsley is a biennial plant that will grow the first year from seed and bloom and set seed the following year. To create the illusion of having parsley in the garden every year all you have to do is scatter seeds every year. I started growing parsley years ago and now I have a string of plants just beneath the deck, in a place that gets morning sun and afternoon shade. Parsley likes organic matter, moisture, and morning sun or dappled sun. To harvest the leaves, cut outer, older leaves at the base with scissors (don’t pull), leaving the core or inner, younger leaves.
Sage
For Thanksgiving, sage can be used fresh or dried. I use it dry in the stuffing and biscuits, but I also use the fresh leaves as a garnish. Placing a ring of green sage leaves on a plate topped with cut up citrus fruit is a wonderful dessert after such a heavy meal.
Sage is actually a small drought resistant shrub that remains above ground all year long in my garden. In the summer, it blooms small, purple flowers that attract beneficial pollinators. I use both the leaves as well as the flower spikes for flower arrangements. Leaves can be solid green, variegated with cream or yellow, gray, gray/green, blue/gray, purple, or tricolor (pink, green, and white leaves). No matter what the color, all the leaves are edible. You can pick leaves when you need them without altering the shape or you can take a branch from the back and strip and dry the leaves for the kitchen, including making tea. Sage plants prefer full sun and well-drained soil on the dryer side.
Rosemary
I use dried rosemary in the stuffing and biscuits but I cut fresh branches for the turkey platter. I either put slices of turkey directly on the branches or place the branches on the side as a decoration.
Rosemary grows well in my garden because my plants are in full sun in a well-drained, terraced site. They want to grow into large shrubs but since I cut the branches throughout the season for drying, cut flower arrangements, or for garnish, I am able to keep them small. The woody shrubs remain above ground in the winter and tends to bloom when you would least expect it. My shrubs have been covered in small purple/blue flowers in December but just a few blossoms during the rest of the year. There are many different types of rosemary; some more cold tolerant than others; some prostrate and some are upright. If you have had trouble growing rosemary in the past, Debaggio’s Herb Farm & Nursery in Chantilly, VA, suggests the following as cold-tolerant: ‘Arp’, ‘Hill Hardy’, ‘Salem’, ‘Nancy Howard’, and ‘Dutch Mill’. Once established, rosemary is drought resistant and deer resistant.
Thyme
I use dried thyme in the stuffing, biscuits, potato dishes, and green beans. Thyme can be used fresh or dried but if dried, the leaves have a more potent flavor. Drying herbs concentrates the oils, thus a stronger flavor.
Thyme can be grown as a groundcover, small shrub, edging, or topiary or used in a rock garden. Thyme is a drought-tolerant, low-maintenance, full sun, woody shrub that prefers well-drained soil. In my garden, my English thyme serves as a groundcover to prevent erosion on a slope and it has spread to cover the soil, thus preventing any weeds. It remains above ground in the winter and blooms in the spring/summer, attracting bees.
Growing herbs is very easy. To be able to harvest fresh herbs for next Thanksgiving, consider buying these plants in the spring at your local nursery.
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Remember me to the one who lives there,
For once she was a true love of mine.
Posted in herbs
Tagged cooking, garden, herbs, Northern Virginia, parsley, rosemary, sage, Thanksgiving, thyme
Today is Sunday June 26, the last day of National Pollinator Week. To increase awareness of how herbs can be great for pollinators, I have posted short articles daily about culinary herbs in my Virginia garden whose flowers are known to attract pollinators. Today’s last herb is marjoram. To learn more about pollinators, check out the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, Pollinator Partnership, Xerces Society, National Wildlife Federation, U.S. Forest Service, and the Horticulture Research Institute’s”growwise.org” page. To learn more about herbs, visit the Herb Society of America.
Monday June 20, Cilantro
Tuesday June 21, Dill
Wednesday June 22, Sage
Thursday June 23, Chives
Friday June 24, Basil
Saturday June 25, Thyme
Sunday June 26, Marjoram
My marjoram is like an old friend, it has been in my garden for a long time, very reliable. I have read that it is hardy to Zone 8, but I have had no problems with it in my Zone 7, Virginia garden. The plant sits in a well-drained, full sun area, next to the driveway so between the warmth of the sun and the warmth of the car, it probably thinks it’s living in the Carolinas.
I trim it back in the spring or fall, depending on how scraggly it gets, and dry the leaves for cooking. It becomes bushy in the summer in a messy way. Although I could call it a landscape edible, really it is a wildflower – a wild looking plant that flowers. In the summer the green stems produce small knots at the ends that open to reveal white flowers. The flowers are insignificant to me but the bees and other pollinators love them.
Marjoram has history, mythology and folklore; it has been used for 3,000 years for culinary, medicinal, cosmetic, and aromatherapy but in my family, we only use the herb in the kitchen. The leaves add a sweet pungent flavor to tomato-based dishes and soups, flat breads and focaccia, cheese dishes, bean stew, beans, potatoes, corn, and corn muffins. It can be a substitute for oregano, which I also grow very close to the marjoram. The marjoram has a sweeter flavor that does well with baking, while the oregano is spicy, with a zing.
Posted in Edibles, Events, herbs, landscape edible, plants
Tagged Basil, bees, chives, cilantro, culinary herbs, dill, Herb Society of America, herbs, Horticulture Research Institute, marjoram, Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, National Pollinator Week, National Wildlife Federation, oregano, pollinators, sage, the Pollinator Partnership, thyme, U.S. Forest Service, Xerces Society
This week is National Pollinator Week. To increase awareness of how herbs can be great for pollinators, each day of the week I will post a short article about a culinary herb in my Virginia garden whose flowers are known to attract pollinators. Pollination is a vital stage in the life cycle of flowering plants. It is especially vital for gardeners who are growing fruit and vegetables. There are many plants that attract pollinators but it is also important to reduce or eliminate pesticides, provide continuous blooms throughout the growing season, create large pollinator targets of native or non-invasive plants, and situate the plants in sunny areas with wind breaks. Culinary herbs are often harvested for the foliage but if left to flower they can attract beneficial insects and pollinators. Plant several of one type of herb so you can harvest some to use in the kitchen while letting a few flower. Or, plant perennial or shrub herbs in your landscape to add flowers to your garden.
To learn more about pollinators, check out the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, Pollinator Partnership, Xerces Society, National Wildlife Federation, U.S. Forest Service, and the Horticulture Research Institute’s”growwise.org” page. To learn more about herbs, visit the Herb Society of America.
Monday June 20, Cilantro
Tuesday June 21, Dill
Wednesday June 22, Sage
Thursday June 23, Chives
Friday June 24, Basil
Saturday June 25, Thyme
A landscape edible, thyme is actually quite versatile in the garden. Thyme can be grown as a groundcover, small shrub, edging, or topiary or used in a rock garden or in a variety of containers such as hypertufa and hanging baskets. Thyme is a drought-tolerant, low-maintenance, full sun, woody shrub that prefers well-drained, slightly alkaline soil.
I have three types in my garden. The English thyme serves as a groundcover to prevent erosion on a slop and it has spread to cover the soil, thus preventing any weeds. I use the leaves in tomato-based meals, such as pasta and lasagna, and beef, chicken, potato, and bean dishes. I have a lemon thyme shrub that looks like a round, mound about 8 inches tall. It adds a lemon scent/flavor to baked goods such as pound cake and quick breads. My silver thyme is my most recent addition; its white/silver variegated leaves contrast nicely with my dark sedums.
Thyme leaves dry very well and dried leaves have a more concentrated scent or flavor so I tend to use dried thyme but fresh leaves can be used as well. I harvest and dry leaves in the spring and then let the shrubs flower in the summer to attract bees and other pollinators. Bees love thyme, apparently they make a very tasty honey.
There are many different types of thyme: different scents and different shapes. DeBaggio’s Herb Farm and Nursery in Chantilly, VA, sells over a dozen varieties including golden lemon, green lemon, orange balsam, caraway, coconut, spicy orange, woolly, and silver thyme. Add thyme to your garden for your kitchen and to attract pollinators.
Posted in Edibles, Events, herbs, landscape edible, plants
Tagged Basil, bees, chives, cilantro, culinary herbs, DeBaggio Herb Farm and Nursery, dill, Herb Society of America, herbs, Horticulture Research Institute, Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, National Pollinator Week, National Wildlife Federation, pollinators, sage, the Pollinator Partnership, thyme, U.S. Forest Service, Xerces Society
