The Joy of Herbs

Santolina in June, © Barbara Radisavljevic

I love growing herbs in my garden. They feed the bees in winter when almost nothing else is blooming. In spring and summer they add color to my flower beds. In fall their dry flower stems add interesting shapes and textures. Here are some of my favorites. I took these photos at different times of the year. The santolina above adds a lovely gold to my flower beds.

Sages

I grow these sages mostly for their interesting foliage, though the clary sage does bloom in the summer, producing large flower spikes. 

I took the photo above in mid-October. On the left, is tricolor sage. To its right, clary sage. Below is some clary sage in bloom in June. It's surrounded by fading irises and the chard is reaching behind it as its seeds ripen and prepare to disperse.

Clary Sage in Bloom in June, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Wild Watermelon sage adds a bit more color to the garden than some of the other sages.

Wild Watermelon Sage in April, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Garden View of Wild Watermelon Sage in April

The black sage below has finished blooming. It's dry flower spikes are still striking.

Dry Black Sage, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Oregano

By October, my favorite herb, oregano, is almost through blooming, but you can still see plenty of its white flowers. This is the herb I use the most. I dry some every year. For kitchen use I pick it before before the buds form. but I always leave some to bloom. 

Oregano in Bloom, October, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Hyssop

Below the hyssop has almost stopped blooming, but you can still see a few purple flowers. At this time of year, October, most of the interest comes from the dry flower spikes that hold the seeds. Most of the seeds have dispersed by now. 

Hyssop in October, © Barbara Radisavljevic

The photo below was taken in mid-August and gives you a better look at the blooms and how they contrast with the dry spikes. 

Hyssop in Mid-August, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Rosemary

Rosemary is another of my favorite plants. It provides fragrant branches for winter decorating, and it usually blooms in winter and helps the bees. It's also very easy to root a twig of it in water. I have four large rosemary plants and I rooted all of them from slips from a plant in the backyard. 

Rosemary in December, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Happy Bee Enjoying Rosemary in March, © Barbara Radisavljevic

See some of my other photos of herbs from my garden on these Zazzle products.

 Seven-Spotted Ladybug on Borage Note Card Friendship card: Puzzle: Bee on French Lavender Jigsaw Puzzle Blank Card: Lavender with Santolina Lavender Uses, Otherwise Blank card:

My Neglected Templeton Garden in June

June 19, 2017

What Happens When a Garden Takes Care of Itself

The Butterfly Bush

This is the same butterfly bush that fell in 2014. See this post for contrast photos.

Recovered Butterfly Bush Growing Upright Again, © B. Radisavljevic

Butterfly Bush in Context of Rest of Herb Garden,  © B. Radisavljevic

In the left background is an Italian CyrpeCypress tree. In the foreground is a combination of black sage and rosemary.  The orchard is in the background on the right. This is quite a contrast from my original herb garden when I planted it a couple of decades ago. This is what this section looked like in April, 2007.

Expanding Herb Garden in April, 2007, © B. Radisavljevic

Apples

I was happy to see our remaining apple tree is producing this year. 

Young Apples, June 19, 2017, © B. Radisavljevic

Walnuts on the Tree

Walnut Tree with Immature Nuts, © B. Radisavljevic

June 20, 2017

Papa Quail 

Papa Quail Watches Over Family, Which Is Hidden in Brush,  © B. Radisavljevic

Papa Quail in Context. Quail Family is Hidden in Brush, © B. Radisavljevic

It was too hot to stand still and wait for the quail family to come out of hiding so I could get a photo, but I often see the mother with her chicks running for cover in the brush as I go by. They live on the section of our land that is near the entrance. That's our oak tree in the background.

The Herbs on the Slope

I planted my first herbs in Templeton on the slope close to the front door. For years they've grown wild, and I discovered when I took these photos that a coyote brush plant had sneaked in under the  rosemary on the back edge and grown large enough to smoother whatever is under it. Probably my oregano and tricolor sage. Rosemary is still growing strong in back. But I'd like to concentrate on the flowers here. 

The lavender was among the first plants I placed on the slope. I got it from the now gone Sycamore Farms herb farm. The sage below was planted at the same time and came from the same place. The santolina (golden) was planted later. It probably also came from there. 

Bee Foraging on Lavender, © B. Radisavljevic

Santolina and Lavender Close Up, © B. Radisavljevic

Common Sage in Bloom, © B. Radisavljevic, 

Thyme on the Slope, © B. Radisavljevic 

This last photo shows an overview of the slope. The taller yellow flowers are volunteer dusty miller plants that reseeded from some older transplants. The santolina and lavender are on its left. You see mostly rosemary and sage on the right, with thyme in the foreground. All these plants originally came from four-inch pots around 2006, so you can see how much they have grown. For the last three years they have had little attention. 

Overview of West Side of Slope, © B. Radisavljevic

I hope you've enjoyed seeing what can happen to a neglected garden. It's amazing so much of it survived the drought with almost no irrigation.

Do you grow herbs? What are your most memorable experiences with them? Which are your favorites to grow?

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