The Herb Garden

by Peter on Jun.01, 2009, under garden, herbs

When we moved from Chicago to Wisconsin and bought a house I was thrilled with the prospect of having a garden. Unfortunately, we bought a house with a rather small yard and a giant Silver Maple tree that shades the entire property. I really enjoy the shade all summer long, but it makes it rather difficult to grow many crops. And then there are the dogs, both of whom love to dig, so I’ve given up dreams of a garden, for the moment, and turned my attention to herbs. Soon after moving to our house I created a large flower garden for my wife and then quickly commandeered about half of it to plant an herb garden, which has done amazingly well. Currently the garden contains Sage, Lemon Balm, Spearmint, Cat mint (which I am trying to destroy, but it just won’t die!), Lemon Thyme, Creeping Thyme, and a large stand of French Tarragon. The tarragon is one of the first plants to break ground in Spring, often just on the heels of the tulips and daffodils. By the end of May it has shot up to about 1 1/2 – 2 feet tall and it takes a tomato cage to hold the stalks upright, while providing enough tarragon for my needs and the needs of a friend’s restaurant.

In addition to these perennials, this year I planted some Basil and Cilantro, from which I hope to harvest both cilantro and coriander. I also planted a couple of chile peppers this year, including Habaneros, Hot Cherry Peppers, and Poblano peppers. Their fruits should add some late season color to the herb garden and provide me with plenty of chiles to keep me happy through the fall and winter. There’s still a little room in there so maybe I’ll find a few other things to plant in there as well, there’s time.

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