herbs

Tub Tea Time!

January 25, 2013 by Stephanie 6 Comments

Brrrr. It’s still winter and in many cases still c-c-cold out there. Even if you live in a warmer climate, there is nothing like a warm bath to soothe away all that ails you. I love to add a little Lavender Bath Salt or a Fizzy Bath Bomb into the mix, to soften skin and ease muscle pain, but I don’t always love the clean up that comes after. Herbs are wonderful in the bath but they can leave bits and bobs to chase after the water has drained.

The solution? Tub tea! Pack herbs, salts, and other bath time joys into a fillable tea bag and you’ve got yourself a mess-free bath.

Here is a list of some of the possible options to fill your tea bags with: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Crafts, Projects Tagged With: handmade holiday gifts, herbs, Natural Skincare Series, Valentine's Day, weekend project

Herb Infused Vinegars

November 26, 2012 by Stephanie 1 Comment

It’s around this time of year, when I the vegetable garden is gone to sleep for the year, that I depend on herbs for fresh favours. I grow such abundance that no matter how much I freeze and dry, I am always left with a whole bunch to give away. This year I thought of sharing herbs in a new way: flavored vinegars. Now my friends and family will have a bottle of my homegrown herbs to last them until next year, when the garden becomes lush and fruitful again.

Parsley Rosemary and Sage Infused Vinegar [Read more...]

Filed Under: Canning, Crafts, Recipes Tagged With: herbs, labels, recipe, vinegar

Grow Your Own Perennial Herb Container Garden

July 13, 2012 by Stephanie 8 Comments

For years now I have been growing my garden herbs in containers just down the deck stairs from the kitchen. While a few changes are made each year, the foundation of this garden is perennial herbs. The garden will continue to produce for much of the year allowing me winter harvests of sage, marjoram, rosemary, oregano, and sometimes arugula. Other herbs will pop up in their due time from chives in early spring to saffron crocuses in the fall.

How to grow herbs in containers

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Filed Under: Growing Food, Harvest, Projects Tagged With: containers, herbs, weekend project

Growing Basil from Cuttings

June 28, 2012 by Stephanie 12 Comments

It’s a great day when you get to work with people you like and admire and today is one of those days! Steve Asbell from The Rainforest Garden is an amazingly talented illustrator so when he asked if I’d be interested in collaborating on an DIY post I jumped at the chance. To see more of Steve’s work check out his illustrations board on Pinterest.

how to grow basil from cuttings

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Filed Under: Growing Food, Projects Tagged With: basil, herbs, propagation

Quinoa Tabbouleh: a Beautiful Fresh Herb Salad

May 28, 2012 by Stephanie 10 Comments

Fresh herbs are the star in this fresh and tasty take on Tabbouleh made with quinoa and a splash of lime.

Quinoa Tabbouleh Recipe

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Filed Under: Harvest, Recipes Tagged With: herbs, Recipes, salad

Drying Lavender = Garden Decor

August 7, 2011 by Stephanie 6 Comments

I bought a Kew Red lavender plant at the farmer’s market this past spring at which time I met a Lavender Guru. He told me the secret to beautiful lavender on the West Coast is to harvest the flowers and cut back the shrub by half all before August 15th.

I have eight different lavender plants scattered around the garden, all in bloom now and covered in bees. It’s hard to harvest these gorgeous plants and take the blooms way from the bees, but my plants are leggy, patchy and woody the rest of the year so I’m committed to cutting them back for the greater good.

I started with one plant today, and stumbled upon a problem, what to do with all that lavender? First I will have to dry it, and that leads me to a space issue, which I’m proud to have resolved by decorating the Virginia Creeper that trails along my side fence.

Next up? I’ll harvest the rest and use it to make a dried lavender wreath for the house. Stay tuned for that project.

Filed Under: Flowers, Gardening, Growing Food, Harvest, Projects Tagged With: harvest, herbs, lavender

Bring on the Herbs

March 28, 2011 by Stephanie 18 Comments

The current state of my herb garden is sad.

A collection of pots in which I have overgrown, root-bound sage, oregano, nodding onion, anise, mint, rosemary, and wild arugula. I usually tuck in some green onions, parsley, lettuces, and basil or cilantro (although the latter two don’t really tolerate the limited sun).

This year I plan to dig up the whole thing, give it some yummy compost and start some new seeds. My thoughts are to plant the usual suspects:

sage
nodding onion
hot n’ spicy oregano
anise
mojito mint
wild arugula
rosemary

and a few new ones:

tarragon
clary sage
…?

So what do YOU think…are there any more herbs that I should be growing? Herbs that do well in containers and part sun are best and I’d love anything that inspires new recipes. Feedback from those amazing minds out there will only serve to make this years herb garden more luscious than last year.