The Kitchen Herb Garden
by Jean Stark
Last fall, while considering a project to adopt at Tilth, I was happy to learn there was once an herb garden. It was overgrown with grass on a small, steep incline on the south side of the kitchen, waiting to be restored.
It’s exciting to plant new seeds and to see people feeling the call of the soil as spring light gathers momentum. At the herb garden, walking onions, chives, chervil, salad burnet and thyme have made it through the winter and are returning with new growth.
David and Leah in the kitchen shared their favorites to pluck from the garden while cooking up delicious meals at OSM Eats. “Every herb garden should have at least one lavender,” Leah offered as her first choice. Fresh lavender lemonade, or lavender macadamia nut cookies sound like the thing for a late summer snack. Look for recipes as the time draws near.
“Henry, dressed in his oldest working clothes, would go out to sit beside the border staring down at it. At long intervals he might crumble a piece of earth between his fingers or pull up a weed. But mostly he was just staring and staring. When he came in, he would say, I’ve been working in the herb garden all morning.”
Tarragon, David’s preferred must-have, will be found in more than one spot, as I have learned from reliable sources that it should be planted throughout the vegetable garden to enhance the flavor of everything.
The vision for the herb garden is that it will have everything a cook might need. Uncommon herbs will also make an appearance. One less common herb is chervil. Used in French cooking, chervil is in the parsley family and has an anise flavor. Following guidance, I planted seeds in November in a shady spot between the rosemary and an old thyme plant on the lower slope of the herb garden where it will stay moist and out of the sun. The seedlings were an inch tall by Christmas and continue to grow.
Winter and summer savory are found in the herb garden this year in a sunny spot by the small steps. Summer savory is said to have a lavender-apple scent and can be added to salads and soups. Winter savory is known as a handsome shrub and, while it can be used like its summery companion, is not as tasty. Salad burnet has thrived over the winter with its handsome radial growth.
As I learn about the flavors, growth tendencies and usefulness of each herb over the months ahead, I invite visitors at the market to watch with me as things start to take form.
Part of the work of gardening is making observations, appreciating and being with the life growing there. Gardens and plants want to be seen; they thrive on our attentive care and encouragement.