Herbs and Spice and All Things Nice

 

Fresh herbs 

The herb garden is one of the most underrated additions to any home garden, balcony or window sill. 

Have you ever purchased the herbs from a supermarket ? I have. Many times. 

In Australia they are carefully wrapped in plastic like a bunch of flowers. They look great in the supermarket and you take the bunch home and use the required amount, only to nurse the remainder of the bunch for as many days as you can in order to get 'full value'. Well.... that's my experience.... and it has never worked out well. I always end up throwing a mushy bunch to the chickens after a few days. 

I even by the organic bunches, but I am never using them all and often wasting most of it. Even fressing them in olive oil after whizzing them in the blender is still.... well, we will say 'not great'. 

Over the years, I have had various iterations of herb gardens, big pots and smaller pots on the window sill. 

The trick for me ss usually putting the plants in a location that I don't forget to water. In permaculture terms we would say zone 0 or zone 1 meaning close by the house and easily accessible. 

These gardens have been the most successful because they are fully overgrown with no space for weeds. 

This style suits me as I am working hard all week and don't give a single thought to the garden... but when that need hits and I get all domestic again.... it's wonderful to walk out and get just the right amount of fresh herbs..... no trip to the supermarket, no throwing most of the soggy left overs away, no cash spent and most importantly... no plastic wrap! 

Ther herbs I seem to use the most are rosemary, oregano, thyme, parsley and garlic chives. Maybe I just use them the most because they are there! 

What I am really missing at the moment is basil and coriander. In years gone by I have had a lot of basil, but something has taken to eating all the leave and I don't have anything but stems left. Coriander is a herb that I really need to get started again because we use a lot of it in the summer in salsa and in the winter we use it in soups and curries. 

Where are you up to with your herbs ? Are you yet to get started ? Do you have the little pots on the window sill in the sun or are you off an running with a healthy supply. I'd love to know!. 

April Theme: Re-organise and Transition

In the Southern Hemisphere, April is in Autumn. 

The days here are still warmish, but there is a sneaking whisper in the wind. That whisper is saying 'winter's on its way'. 

This time of year always makes me think about the transition into winter. I start to prepare things for the cooler months. 

We often reserve spring time for cleaning, but there is a also a cleaning energy that arrives in April. It's more of a 'reorganise and transition' type of energy. 

I find myself packing things away from the summer, decluttering, washing bedding and preparing blankets knowing that I can still wash them and dry them in the warm sun well before winter arrives. 

I often think about herbs, oils, foods, flowers and other things around me with a seasonal view. 

It's a time for harvesting lots of rosemary, adding cinnamon to my coffee on cooler morings, using lavender oil on my pillow for a better sleep, baking apple pies and watching my trees turn from green to shades of yellow and then orange. 

My April summary would be:  

Word or Theme: Re-organise and Transition

Herb: Rosemary

Spice: Cinnamon

Oil: lavender

Fruit: apple

Colour: golden yellow

Seasonal Tasks: preparing bedding

Song: 59th Street Bridge Song (Simon & Garfunkel) 'Slow down'.

Garden tasks: harvest the last of the summer crops, prune back any overgrown plants, burn off the garden and tree lopping for charcoal and ash, prepare the soil and plant the winter crops like peas, broad beans, onion and garlic.

Does April bring a particular feeling for you each year ? What is happening where you live ?

Next year I will look back and see whether the April theme comes again on the wind.