What’s that plant pouring out of a container on your deck, attracting beneficial insects to its profusion of tiny blooms? It’s lemon balm, or if you’d like to sound fancy, Melissa officinalis. This fresh-tasting member of the mint family is easy to grow, and its delicious lemon-flavored leaves are perfect in teas or as […]
Cilantro: The Great Two-For-One Herb
Cilantro is like soccer: 30 years ago, it held almost no interest for Americans. However, as cuisines from Mexico and points south, as well as from Asia, became commonplace, cilantro found a place in American spice racks. Happily, it also found its place in our gardens, and it’s one of the easiest plants to grow! […]
Knife Skills: How To Chiffonade Basil
The delicate leaves of the basil plant are easily bruised when chopped for your recipes. One of the popular techniques for cutting basil without imposing as much injury to the leaves is the knife skills technique of chiffonade. The word “chiffonade” is French and means “made of rags.” The leaves are left in very long […]
Chocolate Mint Simple Syrup
This summer, I planted some chocolate mint in my garden. I love the smell of fresh mint, and chocolate mint is one of my favorite flavored mint varieties. If you’re not aware, mint grows quickly and loves to spread. I placed my mint in containers to help keep it from taking over my garden. Still, […]
12 Uses for Fresh Basil
Basil is a fragrant herb that is plentiful during the late summer. There are many things you can do with basil, and they are not limited to cooking! Here are 12 uses, including how to make basil oil and how to use it for a home remedy, plus how to grow it well and preserve […]
Refreshing and Healthy Summer Herb Teas From Your Garden
Herb teas and herbal infusions are healthy and refreshing drinks on hot summer days. Most herbal teas taste great cold; add a few ice cubes, a little honey or a few slices of lemon to ice cold herbal tea for a thirst quencher. If you grow a few common medicinal herbs in your herb garden, […]
Get Rid of Bugs on Basil Leaves
Basil leaves are fabulous in many different recipes. They can also be used to get rid of flies, but what happens when your basil is attacked? After doing a bit of research, I found that basil has its own set of enemies – enemies that like to feed on the basil leaves as much as we […]
Grow a Licorice Garden: Black Licorice Flavored Plants
Who loves licorice? I do! I do! Ever since I was a child, chewing on my parents’ fennel bushes, I’ve been enchanted by the sweet flavor of black licorice. It seems that this flavor is very much a matter of personal taste: some love it, others can’t stand it. I’m in the first club. Cilantro, […]
Dandelion Infused Lotion
Dandelions are not really weeds. They have so many uses and are so versatile! In salads, wine, and even lotion — yes, lotion! It makes a soothing after gardening salve for your hands. And, today I am going to show you how. First, pick the heads of the dandelions, and lay out to dry. […]
Medicinal Herb Garden Must Haves
Many medicinal herbs are easy to grow, and most of them can be used in both cooking and home remedies. Use herbs in teas and herbal infusions, in homemade herbal oils and salves, in herbal baths, and in home health&beauty treatments. Calendula Calendula (Calendula officinalis) is a traditional skin healing herb: it was already used […]
Mint: A Delicious, Refreshing Herb That’s Easy to Grow
You may know it as the toothpaste herb, but mint is a lot more than a flavor for your mouthwash, lozenge, or toothpaste. Its fresh smell and taste add a lovely flavor to salads, smoothies, meat, and tea. Mint is very easy to grow. In fact, it grows so well that you may soon […]
Successful Gardening with Herbs at The Untrained Housewife
Any way that you look at it, herbs are a win-win for the gardener. In the kitchen, they’re indispensable; in the garden they’re beautiful, textural, and attract beneficial insects. Plus, herbs are one of the easiest plant groups to grow. In fact, when a would-be-vegetable-gardener asks me what crop they should grow first, I […]
