Garden Herbs: Feverfew

Tanaceetum parthenium
Originally, feverfew was a native plant of southeastern Europe, but is now common throughout Australia, Europe, and North America. It is a moisture-loving perennial, and in the photo is my personal plant in year 2 (so it can certainly survive a Midwest winter). It can grow up to 2 feet (60 cm) tall, and [...]

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Garden Herbs: Drying Fresh Herbs

We’ve discussed growing several garden herbs (see Relaxing With Gnomes category), and the various health aspects associated with them..but what to do when you are overrun with fresh herbs? Here’s where we’ll talk about drying those delicious, fresh herbs you work so hard to grow. For the example photos here, I’ll use lemon balm..but the [...]

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Garden Herbs: Dill

Hopefully Spring will be here soon, which means getting back into the garden. So here begins the reinstatement of the Relaxing With Gnomes category!
Dill is a crucial ingredient in chickpea noodle soup, among other recipes. Freshly cut, chopped leaves enhance [...]

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Garden Herbs: Tansy

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) is a great perennial herb to use as a natural pest-repellent. It is also commonly known as Common Tansy, Bitter Buttons, Cow Bitter, Mugwort, or Golden Buttons. Its leaves have a fernlike appearance, and the scent is similar to that of camphor with hints of rosemary. The leaves and flowers are said [...]

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Teatime: Jasmine Sun Tea

Ok, so I realize I’ve been on a tea/herb kick lately. But over the weekend, I did an experimental run on a sun tea that Dad requested. He wanted an easy sun tea, so I concocted a blend and here it is:
Ingredients:
2 tsp Jasmine flowers
2 tsp Rose buds (dried, or fresh petals from your own [...]

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Garden Herbs: Valerian root

Oh, this is one of my absolute favorites! I always had trouble sleeping, but was unaware that I was having trouble. You know, you go to bed..and it takes a while to fall asleep. Then when you do, even though you get about 7-8 hours you wake up feeling exhausted. That occurs when you’re not [...]

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Garden Herbs: Lemon balm

One of my new favorite herbs is lemon balm (Melissa officinalis). The leaves emit a lemon scent when bruised, and they also taste distinctly lemony. The plant will die down in the winter, after blooming from June through October, but is classified as a perennial so it should come back in the following growing season [...]

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Garden Herbs: Pennyroyal

Dad has been asking about how to keep pesky insects at bay. And after I quickly squashed his hopes of using harmful chemicals..I told him I’d put together a list of the various plants and herbs that are said to have pest and insect repellent properties. First on the list, we have Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium).

It [...]

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