Happy Herbs! 😁

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Herbs…don’t you just love them? I do! I think they are the most satisfying plants to grow and they generally behave themselves! Not only that but they provide a variety of scents and they are wonderful for the bees and other pollinators. I can’t get enough of them in my garden! I have to admit that, although I love them all, Thyme and Marjoram are my favourites.

Marjoram Herrenhausen – Origanum laevigatum

Take this beautiful Marjoram, above. With its gorgeous, dark, pink flowers and dark, green leaves, it’s an asset to any wildlife garden and it has a very long flowering period. The bees love it as do the butterflies…

Below, and you can see that a white Marjoram is getting on with life, quite happily.

The butterflies love this! I seem to have a number of Gatekeeper butterflies in the garden at the moment…so lovely to see!

 

Creeping Red Thyme

And then of course, there’s this stunning, ‘Creeping Red’ Thyme. Happiest in pots, at least in my garden, as it’s not keen on damp, clay soil. You have to remember that these plants thrive in the Mediterranean, in the most dry and most sunny spots! And it smells wonderful and even more so when the sun is on it! Needless to say, the bees love it and they also love this Thyme, below, ‘Pink Chintz’.

                                         

                                        Purple Sage – Salvia officinalis purpurascens      

 Sage is another lovely herb and I have various Sage plants in the garden but I’m particularly drawn to this Golden Sage…a hardy evergreen perennial with lovely leaves. Sage is of course known for its medicinal qualities too! But it is also delicious in pasta sauces etc.

I could go on and on about herbs but finally, and for the time being, I have to mention Mint! Mint is just superb…BUT…be warned! Its roots spread like wildfire and you do not want to plant it in the ground! Grow it in a container large enough; an old bucket that’s had its days and has holes in it, would be my best choice! Mint is versatile…there are oodles of varieties with so many different aromas. It’s also almost indestructible; it loves the sun but it will grow happily in the shade too.

I have three mint plants in containers…Mint ‘After Eight’! ( Top right); Moroccan Mint ( top left ) and Mint Peppermint ( bottom)

I’m gradually getting this raised bed organised. Last year it was a bit of a hotch potch as I used it to plant many Foxgloves and many Honesty! Now there’s one, large, white Honesty and one, pale pink Foxglove, remaining; I have left these there, for the moment, as I’m drying the seeds! And I’ve a few dwarf Sunflower plants, simply planted there as I had no room anywhere else! 🤣 I’m looking forward to making this raised bed a ‘Herb only venue’ !😁

I mustn’t forget the old, tin bath! Last August we trundled across Dartmoor to Tavi, to buy this tin bath….

And now…

I guess that you’d say that we are pretty herb friendly here! ( But there’s always room for more…somewhere! 🤣)