I’m writing this November first — Halloween was last night. We have few if any trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood. I’ve made up my mind that next year, instead of store-bought treats, I will be giving out bats, toads, and caterpillars! Bats eat night-flying mosquitos; toads eat mosquitos on the ground and their larva in the water; and caterpillars turn into butterflies! We all need more of these three important creatures.
The weather has been so gorgeous for the past few weeks! And what a great time to enjoy our beaches! The “fall colors” of October — daisy, woody goldenrod, mist flower, red basil are some of many in full bloom. The yellows are lighting up the roadsides (and my front yard) as the migrating birds and the last of the summer pollinating insects store food for winter. This month, one of the prolific native wildflowers is in full flower. Blue curls (Trichostema dichotomum) are found at woods edge but tolerate sun or shade. Although blue curls are an annual or tender perennial and may die in winter, they are very good re-seeders, so will persist and expand in our landscapes.
The small blue orchid-like flowers only last a day, but new ones emerge the next day. The seeds are held in a cup-shaped sepal, like a basket holding small black eggs. These seeds will insure that the blue curls come back next year.
Most of the herbs that we use for culinary purposes are native to the Mediterranean lands, where the air is dry and the soils are well-drained. These Mediterranean herbs may thrive in our quick draining soils and tolerate our heat, but don’t always tolerate our summer humidity. (Basil is an exception —basil loves our heat and doesn’t mind our humidity, but usually dies in temperatures under forty degrees.)
Herbs can be grown in containers, in formal gardens, or planted throughout the landscape. I like all three methods! I use both upright rosemary and trailing rosemary as evergreen shrubs in my yard. They love our sandy soils, and need little or no care after they are established. Although rosemary likes to be watered regularly, over-watering can kill a rosemary quickly. This is sometimes a danger when grown in a container.
Rosemary is known as the herb of remembrance, and is always an appropriate gift to honor someone’s passing, or any important past event. And there is a tradition that a woman with rosemary planted by the front door is head of the household. I’m not taking any chances — I have rosemary planted by my front and back doors!
Other herbs that are planted in my landscape, rather than a specific garden, are lemon grass, oregano, and marjoram. I use oregano and marjoram as low-growing evergreen ground covers. They are very tough, but easy to control.
Lemon grass is an outstanding landscape feature that can easily get to 6’ H x 4’ W. The long, light green leaves not only provide texture, but movement as they sway in a breeze. The lemon scent can be used to flavor food or as a repellant for pests. Lemon grass often dies back to the ground in a hard freeze but returns in the spring, bigger and better.
Some of you may remember the bay laurel tree in front at The Garden Gate. It was at least as tall as the building. When we closed the shop, it was cut back drastically and transplanted into a pot. I planted it at my house several years later when I moved to Pensacola. It is now about 12’ tall. Bay leaves grow on bay laurel trees (Laurus nobilis) and were used in ancient Rome to make the wreaths that crowned the victorious generals. (Or, if you want to “rest on your laurels”, this is the tree for you!)
I love to give dried herbs for holiday gifts. Bay leaves are one of the easiest and most appreciated. Several times a year, I harvest some stems to dry for soups, stews and gumbos and to give as gifts. I usually remove the leaves from the stems, but the whole stem can be dried to use in wreaths and decorations.
Click here or the image below for directions for drying bay leaves and other herbs.
Some annual herbs that thrive in cool-weather are cilantro and dill. In cool weather they grow and produce the leaves that flavor our food. But as soon as it warms up, they produce flowers. Pollination occurs soon after, and the annual plant has completed its life cycle. It will die soon after. Growing these herbs in the winter gives us a longer time to harvest. Alternating cilantro and dill with warm weather growers like basil, we can harvest all year.
Thyme species are good examples of herbs that suffer in humidity, but grow well in cooler weather. English thyme and lemon thyme seem to tolerate humidity best in my garden. One of my favorite cool weather herbs is borage. The large, freeze-hardy, blueish-green leaves have a cucumber taste. Borage has been used medicinally, but I grow it to attract the early pollinators. The star-shaped blue flowers are beloved by bees.
An older book that we rely on for information about growing herbs is called “Southern Herb Growing” by Madalene Hill and Gwen Barclay. This book has information about herb gardens, recipes using herbs, and information about growing and using each plant. One of the most interesting sections of the book is “The Selection Guide”. This guide will give you information about which herbs will fill your purpose: Attracting pollinators, essential culinary herbs, or medicinal herbs, even which herbs to use to create a Biblical garden or a Shakespearian garden.
A container of mixed herb plants is also a great gift, and can generally be useful for years. Other winter edible plants are also great in containers as gifts: red and green lettuces, or red-veined sorrel are perfect gifts, as is a pot of Swiss chard. Other types of plants also work in containers for gifting. Succulents are so easy and so varied, there is no limit to the combinations you can create. Start your gift containers now so that they have time to root in before given.
Some more herbs…
Next question — where are herbs available for sale? At the old Garden Gate, our major supplier for herbs was Slay’s Nursery in Elberta, AL. At that time, Slay’s was a wholesale nursery only. But they are now open at certain times for retail customers. They also specialize in hanging baskets, and blooming plants, and they have added a great succulent selection. Their plants are beautifully grown, reliable, and healthy. Several Pensacola nurseries sell Slay’s plants — Bailey’s and Pensacola Seed and Garden, to name two.
Other nurseries and big box stores will have herbs and veggies, but research the plant before you buy. Many national chains and growers sell plants that might be suitable for the “South” (meaning Birmingham and/or Atlanta??) but that aren’t suitable for Northwest Fla. We have our own unique set of growing conditions, from roughly the Alabama line to Panama City, including soils, temperatures, water and drainage, etc. Much of our “weather” and our growing conditions are defined by our proximity to The Gulf and our bay systems. These large bodies of water hold and release enough heat in ways that affect our air and rainfall. If you have the opportunity to watch the summer thunderstorms from the bay front, many times the storms will get right to the bay shore, and begin to move around the edge — as if the air rising from the warm water is preventing the storm from crossing the water. Humidity may be one of the most important growing conditions to consider for us. When there is a lot of humidity, it is more difficult for some plants to release water circulating from the roots back into the air. This plays a role in fungus diseases, giving fungus spores a place to happily thrive. Good air circulation is helpful in preventing fungus diseases, allowing the air to circulate more freely, releasing the excess water.
November is the time to begin to harvest citrus. My satsumas are producing a large and very sweet crop this year.
This citrus is one of the most cold-hardy and reliable for our area. Satsumas are great as snacks, added to salads, or used in recipes. Fresh cranberries and satsumas chopped fine make an excellent condiment for a holiday dinner.
Lemon and limes are also beginning to ripen, as are calamondins (small sour oranges). I love to make a citrus curd from any and all of these — another much appreciated gift from the garden. (Click here or the picture above for two citrus recipes!) Citrus also adds color to holiday decorations, but it doesn’t hold well outside with our warm temperatures.
Announcement:
We will have a hands-on class called “Holiday Decorations with Natural Materials” at Wild Birds Unlimited next month. (Please check our website or theirs for complete information soon.) This was the first class that we ever offered at The Garden Gate in December of 2000. It was so much fun that we repeated this class every year. We will demonstrate how to make wreaths and arrangements with natural materials, including pine and cedar, magnolia and holly, plus berries, cones, nuts & fruit. Participants will take home a wreath or arrangement made in the class. Come and let your creativity make a unique decoration. If you don’t think you are creative, just come and play! Cost to be determined and space is limited.
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