| Herbs are one of the delightful pleasures of life. They | | | | Garlic |
| add flavor to your food, scent to the air and beauty | | | | Garlic is possibly the easiest plant in the world to |
| to your garden. In colonial times, no home was | | | | grow. Simply break apart a clove of garlic (yes, right |
| complete without an herb garden for the lady of the | | | | from the grocery store!), and plant the cloves about |
| house to use in her kitchen, and it wasn't unusual for | | | | 4 inches apart, 2-4 inches deep in light soil. Water |
| those herb gardens to be separated by use - savory | | | | lightly, and watch them grow. Harvest when tips of |
| herbs, tea herbs, medicinal herbs. That's a tradition | | | | leaves turn brown - do NOT let them flower. To |
| that's made a comeback in many modern gardens. | | | | harvest: dig up the bulbs, and use them. In the |
| One of the more popular types of kitchen gardens is | | | | interests of keeping a fresh supply going, plant one |
| a spaghetti garden. Oregano, basil, garlic, bay and | | | | or two cloves from each bulb! |
| parsley are such easy to grow plants that it's a pity | | | | Parsley |
| for anyone to use dried and bottled herbs if they | | | | Parsley is easily the most used herb in the world. It |
| have a sunny patch of ground or a window-box. A | | | | comes in both flat (Italian) and curly varieties, and |
| few square feet of garden space can easily yield all | | | | complements the flavor of everything from delicate |
| the herbs that you'll need for delicious Italian meals. | | | | sauces to hearty stews. It's often used as a garnish |
| They're even easy enough to grow in a sunny | | | | on plates, or chopped and added to soups, dressings |
| window for year round use. | | | | and salads. It adds vitamins and color, and subtly |
| Bay Laurel | | | | brings out the flavor of other ingredients in the meal. |
| Bay leaves add a piquant hint of spice to stews, | | | | The parsley plant is a biennial, flowering in its second |
| soups and especially spaghetti sauce. The bay laurel is | | | | season. It prefers a little shade on a hot sunny day, |
| a small tree that grows slowly - about a foot per | | | | and should be kept well watered to avoid wilting and |
| year - making it eminently suitable for growing in a | | | | drying. To harvest: pinch back woody older stems all |
| container. Unless you live in a mild climate zone | | | | the way to the base, allowing new leaves and |
| (where the temperatures don't drop below 25 | | | | branches to grow. |
| degrees in the winter), you'll do best to keep the | | | | Oregano |
| tree in a pot and bring it indoors during the winter. | | | | A perennial ground cover plant, oregano is a prolific |
| Basil | | | | grower that can send out shoots that grow up to six |
| Basil is an annual, but it seeds itself so easily that I've | | | | feet in a single season. If encouraged with pruning |
| never had to buy another after planting my first | | | | and bunching, oregano can grow into a small border |
| year. There are many varieties of basil, but all grow | | | | plant. It prefers light, thin soil and lots of sun, so keep |
| fast and require frequent pinching back to keep them | | | | it on the south side of your garden. Harvesting can |
| from growing leggy and tall. To harvest: when the | | | | start when the plants reach 4-5 inches. Simply pinch |
| plants have reached about 6-8 inches tall, you can | | | | back as you would basil. The young leaves are the |
| begin harvesting. Simply use your thumb and | | | | most flavorful part of the plant, and are actually |
| forefinger to pinch off the top 1/3 of the plant, just | | | | considerably stronger dried than fresh. To dry, lay |
| above a leaf intersection. Be sure to pinch off any | | | | the harvested leaves out on newspaper or drying |
| flower buds before they go to seed. Six to eight | | | | screens in the sun until the leaves crumble easily. |
| plants will provide enough basil to make pesto for the | | | | Dried oregano will retain its flavor for months. |
| entire neighborhood. | | | | |