Herrrr-bie!

The title reference is two-fold. One, Jo's grandmother would call Jo's grandfather in from the pasture for meals. His name is Herb. This call is fondly known throughout Jo's family. Two, we are talking about herbs.

This is our own version of Scarborough Fair. It causes Lou to harken back to vacations in the car where the only music her family could agree on was that of Simon and Garfunkel. So, we planted parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme...and garlic chives...and apple mint...and spearmint...and a whopping load of basil.

Uncle He-Man's mother, Bev, is an avid gardener and blogger on the side. She is modest and will probably try to tell you she is not avid, but she really is. Her thumbs are quite green.

See what we mean?

One Wednesday evening, not so long ago, she showed Lou how to plant an herb garden so we would have ingredients on hand for special recipes. We've made enough Perfect Pot Roasts to know that store-bought rosemary and thyme are not cheap. We wanted some of our own fresh herbs.

Herb-garden planting starts with the proper tools. See how clean they are?

Bev had two long troughs that she let us use. We decided to put perennials in one trough, with annuals in the second. Brief clarification: perennial plants return each year, while annuals require re-planting each year. Now we're clear. Thank you. To these we added rich, potting soil.

Most of the plants we used were transplants from Bev's garden, minus the thyme Lou bought.

We began by digging up garlic chives...

...apple mint...

...and sage.

We also dug up oregano, spearmint and basil to transplant. Bev had a small rosemary plant ready to go, as well as a baby patch of parsley. We were careful to make sure the roots were covered with potting soil, and the plants were very well watered as we went through the process. We did this to prevent the plants going through possible shock due to being transplanted.

Into the perennial planter (pictured in the back) went garlic chives, sage, apple mint, spearmint, oregano and thyme. Into the annual planter (pictured in the front) went basil, rosemary and parsley.

Bev pointed out that bringing in the annual planter during the winter would help prolong the life of the plants. Besides being a wonderful gardener, she is also a great cook. She advised us to add our fresh herbs to our recipes near the end of the cooking process, so as not to cook out the fresh flavor. She puts fresh basil in lasagna; garlic chives in garden salad; apple mint or spearmint sprigs in her pitcher of water and rosemary on new potatoes. Is anybody's stomach growling yet?

We have many dreams for these little herbs. We will keep you posted on their use. Please pray that Little Rosemary survives. She's having a tough time in this heat-streak we've having. Big Brother Basil is doing just fine, though. We're thinking pesto.

Herb garden planting ends with the proper tools. See how dirty they are?

Thanks, Bev!

Happily full,