Why do you grow herbs?

Podster, you're right - ornamental oregano is lovely! I have a 'Kent Beauty' in a container with my Cuban oregano, but it's looking a little scraggly at the moment. Even though I don't cook with it, somebody or something likes its flavor!

I tried Kent Beauty here in New Mexico because I saw masses of it at the Denver Botanic Garden. Unfortunately in rarely overwinters here. But now High Country Gardens has some very nice ornamental oreganos which I plan to try. They are supposed to be hardier, Origanum 'Amethyst Falls', riganum 'Rotkugel', and Origanum libanoticum. Unfortunately, the catalog says they don't like fall planting, so I will have to wait until Spring to try them

The ornamental oregano is beautiful. It would probably do very well here in Oregon.
The benefits of cooking with fresh herbs cannot be exaggerated - even if you dry your own. The ones on the store shelf have been processed ever so long ago.....and can be pretty expensive. Another benefit is knowing that the herbs you grow are not full of chemicals.
Posyblossom what do you do with all your mint? Mine grows so fast that I can't use all of it!
Has anyone tried crisping fresh sage with a little olive oil in a hot pan and serving it as a garnish for meat? It is so good.

I started growing herbs to use in cooking but always forget they are there. Now I grow them more as butterfly host plants, nector plants, and for the nice aroma in the garden.

I chose other because I apparently am growing them so that the neighbourhood squirrels and wild rabbits can munch on them.

You can put blue borage blossoms in ice cubes for punch. I have done that. I understand the Italians dip borrage flowers in a light batter and deep fry them as veggies -- kind of like the japanese do with watercress and parsley.

I haven't done this yet, but my husband loves mint jelly on his toast in the morning. I have tons of mint spreading all over my vacant lot so I am thinking of making some mint jelly. I also have a salad that uses chopped mint as a green. When chopped with tomatoes, onions and cucumber it makes a fine salad.

ceedub - we each contribute in our own unique way...

LOL ceedub. The joys of planting bunny food. When I was planting this spring my DH kept chanting "Feed the bunny...Feed the bunny". I know the feeling.

Say Hey ☺Portland!When that Mint starts going totally bonkers, I cut it,I bunch it and hang it everywhere. That is the best part,free Aroma therapy. I also have it growing through out the grass lawn. When I mow,the fragrance is sublime. Even walking in the grass sends out minty smells. Folks that visit here look around and say,"I smell Mint",so fun☺

Fresh mint = mojitos!

Which herbs are the bunnies eating? I planted my mints because that's one of the few things they don't eat here.

Here is our answer on the question of voting buttons for 'all of the above' or ' more that one choice'. Makes perfect sense in perspective and I do luv the poll chat. Cool to see how the polls were born too. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=5568182

Thanks, Dahlianut, for posting this link in explanation of the voting buttons. I get it now! We're SUPPOSED to explain why there aren't enough buttons!!

Exactamondo CCG ^_^ I think its a great opportunity to meet and chat with many members who participate in different forums than you do.

I was thinking the same thing--I get the opportunity to hear lots of wonderful advice, and to get to know many members who don't post in the same forums as I do, and I enjoy that!

The squirrels and/or bunnies are eating chives - they are actually keeping it munched down to about 1-1/2 inches, never gets any higher ...

Believe me, my husband and I have made mojitos with our mint. Yum!

I bet the bunnies don't eat oregano and rosemary. Chives are rather mild. I think they object to strong flavored plants. My bunnies don't bother my onions but my gophers sure do! I guess they are just that much sweeter than chives -- the gophers go down the row pulling onion after onion down their holes. Grr. They like shallots, too.

Mint jelly I have not tried but made lemon verbena jelly this summer and it was wonderful! Will have to try mint next. Thanks...

And I will have to try Lemon Verbena jelly.

Posyblossom I am in the process of renovating an old 1905 house and the entire inside was stripped and painted and all that - and the fumes were overpowering. I hung sprigs of mint in all the rooms and the paint smell is gone! Amazing plant!

i am an avid cook and grow culinary herbs. now i'm learning that herbs have other benefits in the garden.

Me too, moonglow. It is wonderful to have fresh herbs when cooking. And it is even better when you learn they have so many uses, not just for flavoring.

I found it impossible to vote because herbs are so much a part of my garden and I put them there for pretty well all the reasons on the list. Lemon thyme is my favourite for cooking, but I also use plenty of marjoram, sage, rosemary, chives, parsley, fennel, basil etc etc. The swallowtail caterpillars love the fennel, so I am encouraging it to seed around. I have creeping forms of thyme, mint and marjoram in my paving and next to the pond, so that you are surrounded by the scent when you walk on them. Lots of different lavenders for the insects and the pleasure of the scent as you brush past them. This year I have learnt to make lavender wands according to a tradition from Provence in SE France, which encases the flowers in the stalks so that you can hang them in your wardrobe or pop them in drawers - or just have them out for decoration.

Lovely to read how much you all love herbs and the different uses you put them to :)

I love those lavender wands.

I love the lavender wands. How is it done? I'll bet the folks on the Crafts and Decorating forum would enjoy learning about it too.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/hahome/all/

Critter wrote a great article on how to make lavender wands http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1407/

Cool. Thanks for the link!

The lavender wands are so beautiful. I'm going to try that.

I grow some for cooking and to attract beneficial insects but I also grow them for butterfly host plants.

If Shelia_ftworth is still around. She'd be intrested in the Arp rosemary. It was developed by TX A&M in a town near Arp TX (East Texas)and for some reason was named Arp. Should do well in Fort Worth.
Have folks in Arp.
Vickie

Thanks for the link to Critter's article dahlianut :) Brilliant - I thought I was going to have to write one for a minute there, but it's already done - and better than I could......
Yes, experiment with different numbers. The fat ones in my photo were done using 49 stems.

Philomel what are you doing in France? I retired last year and thought I would live in France or Italy for a few years but now my parents are 92 and 86 and I don't want to be that far away.

I tried herbs once but we lived in an area highly infested with grasshoppers. One day our herbs were growing well, almost ready to use and *poof* the next morning the entire stock of them had been eaten by the hoppers. :( I've not tried since.

I think should we try again as we get further along in our gardening plans here I'll build a netted cover for those herbs.

I picked other because we use them for cooking, to attract bees and butterflies, for the scent, and some for medicinal uses as teas.

Thanks cando1, I will be on the lookout for that variety when I get up to East Tx. Or see if I can get my DG friends up there to get me one and bring to a swap.
I love the thick lavender wands, very unusual.

I chose 'other' because there wasn't a place to vote for almost all of the above.

I love herbs. to look at, to smell, to eat, to share with my neighbors, because I can =)

Hi Portland, it's quite a long story, but mainly comes down to supporting my daughter, SIL and 2 granddaughters in finding a new way of life so that they could be together more as a family. I brought my mother (now nearly 98) with us four and a half years ago. So there are 4 generations of us here :) But we only moved from the UK, so my son and his family are a day away by car or a few hours by plane.
I love living here, though of course nowhere is perfect. I love the slower pace and rural nature of the south west. Of course different parts of both Italy and France vary enormously in culture, so it does depend just where you settle. Here we are far from city life, so to live in Paris or Milan would be an entirely different experience.

I mainly use them for crafting. I make seasoning packets with herbs and spices for gifts, moth chaser sachets, potpourri, wreaths, and arrangements.