Country Herb Garden

Last year I had a lone rosemary bush, one curly leaf parsley plant and a basil plant in my little raised bed where I also grew a few tomatoes and bell pepper plants. I really grew it because I love the smell of rosemary simmering with lemon and vanilla on the stove, it truly makes the entire house smell divine. This year I also planted variegated basil, spearmint, peppermint and a lavender plant in addition to a new parsley and basil plant. The rosemary survived the winter, Dave moved it in the bed and its taken a while for it to get re-established but its doing pretty good.

The basil plant is about two feet high and I’ve been pruning flowers off of it for a few days now to keep it from getting bitter. And I have already chopped quite a bit of parsley, putting some into my smothered squash and zucchini dishes. I’ve also put a bit of it into the freezer for later use. I’m not sure what I’ll do with all the spearmint and peppermint since I’m not a big tea drinker and am not a fan of Mojitos. I’m going to have to do a bit of research on that one!

My basil was sweet and delicious tonight in the Portobello mushroom pizzas I made for Dave, Erica and myself. Simply delicious and I know we’ll enjoy it in lots of summer dishes.

Both my spearmint and peppermint are thriving with the last few days of rain. They smell divine and are so vibrant and healthy!

This curly leaf parsley plant will supply all the parsley I need this summer. I can’t imagine running out, I’ve cut this plant back three times already!

The variegated basil is growing nicely, not as big as the other basil plant but the leaves are tender and a little bit more peppery. I love the mix of green and white on this plant.

This sweet little rosemary bush is the one Dave transplanted, its coming back nicely and I hope that it flourishes and grows into a nice large plant. I use it exclusively for the beautiful aroma as it wafts through the house as I simmer it.

And lastly but certainly not least, the sweet little lavender plant. There are a few new flowers just beginning to bud and I love rubbing my hands through the plant making them smell amazing. I’m going to read up on drying it and using it to scent drawers and discover other ways I can use it to scent our home.

If any of you have ideas on ways to use lavender, please let me know! I’d really appreciate it! Happy Sunday tomorrow everyone!