I’ve Been Bitten!

Monday, May 12, 2008, by Leigh Anne

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“The take care of yourself stuff”

The nice weather is on it’s way to the Northwest - finally! In fact, I think we are going to bypass Spring all together and go directly into Summer with temperatures of 85-90 in the forecast for later this week. There is nothing like a sunny day and soaking in a little Vitamin D to help you feel renewed and alive again after a long, cold and wet winter!

The gardening bug has finally bit - much later than usual this year. The fact that my garden has been under water most of the winter may be part of the reason. I usually have my containers planted by Mother’s Day and dozens of plants lining the patio waiting to be planted, but it didn’t happen this year - maybe by next weekend but I did get my small herb garden in this weekend.

If gardening isn’t your thing or you don’t have much space to garden you might want to give an herb garden a try. You only need a small piece of dirt or even a large container will work! Herbs like 5-6 hours of sunshine a day and a dryer environment (which makes containers a great place to grow herbs).

Some people grow herbs for medicinal purposes, ointments or potpourri. I grow them for cooking. I love having fresh herbs just outside my back door so I can add them to things such as roasted potatoes or vegetables, herbed butters for corn on the cob, salad dressings and marinades for meat.

My favorite herbs to grow are rosemary (this will winter over year to year), chives, marjoram, thyme, oregano, parsley, flat leaf Italian parsley, cilantro and lots of basil. In the Northwest the slugs love basil so you need to keep slug bait nearby.

So if you are new to gardening or don’t have much of a green thumb give an herb garden a try - just get a container, some potting soil and a few herbs starts from your local nursery (even Fred Meyer has them), find a sunny location and you are ready to go. Next time you are cooking something that calls for rosemary, oregano or thyme just grab your scissors and clip some fresh herbs from your own garden!