Herbs Are My Passion

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

About 40 years ago I discovered herbs, and then, as now I learned that…

Herbs Are My Passion

I have always been fascinated by these wonderful plants every since that time 40 years ago when I first discovered them.  The romance and stories, their uses to treat mankind’s maladies throughout many, many centuries, how they were and are used in cooking, and the wonderful aromas and flowers of so many of these wonderful plants that are called “herbs.”

How I Got Started.

In January of 1973 my I found a book at the local library.  That day I was browsing in the library.  The book that caught my eye was titled Herbs Their Culture and Uses by Rosetta E. Clarkson.  The book was subtitled The Complete Guide to Planning, Growing, and Harvesting Your Herb Garden.

Now, before I continue, I must tell you about the author Rosetta E. Clarkson (1892-1950).  For many years she was an author about herbs and their uses as well as a great teacher about herbs. Indeed, she wrote and published a monthly booklet, The Herb Journal, which was mailed to thousands gardeners for free.  The articles in these monthly booklets became the foundation for her first book, Magic Gardens:  A Modern Chronicle of Herbs and Savory Seeds first published in 1939.  This delightful book is still available under a different title, Herbs and Savory Seeds:  Culinaries, Simples, Sachets, and Decoratives.

Through her writings Mrs. Clarkson inspired many people to discover the practical benefits of growing their own herbs.  She described her own herb growing experiences giving suggestions for what worked and what did not.  She had a flair for describing the history and romance of herb plants through her writings as well.  Her readers were enthralled by her tales about these plants that had served mankind for centuries as flavorings, medicines, and sources of perfumes and pleasure.

She encouraged and inspired many gardeners in her day to take up herb growing as a means of adding new flavors to cooking and bringing the herb garden’s delightful scents into their homes.  Indeed, I was inspired to start an herb garden forty ago as a result of reading her 1942 book, Herbs Their Culture and Uses.

So that spring, I started an herb garden in my backyard.  Most of the herb plants I started from seed.  A few I was able to find as plants that I transplanted.  I was overly ambitious and I started out with about thirty five herbs.  For example, I started common thyme, rosemary, lavender, parsley, sage, bene sesame, lovage, dill, basil, coriander, hyssop, lemon balm, peppermint, spearmint, marjoram, oregano, lovage, horehound, costmary, chervil, and chives.  Plus there were many more that I can’t remember.

My wife and I were excited about this new venture. Yes that when I realized that herbs are my passion.  We started learning ways of including them into our cooking, baking, and in the house.

My wife loved the smell of mint – both the peppermint and spearmint.  And we soon discovered that the two mints made wonderful teas by themselves.  In addition, the mints really added “zip” when we used them with regular tea as well.  Plus, whenever we picked them and brought them inside for use, the aroma that filled our home was wonderful!

Another herb that my wife and I dearly loved was basil.  We learned to use this herb generously whenever we were making spaghetti sauce.  We would pick some thyme, marjoram, oregano, and basil to use as flavorings in the spaghetti sauce.  The basil had a strong aroma, like the mints.  This wonderful aroma would soon fill our home with its delightful scent.

By the end of the growing season that year – 1973 – we had dried and stored many of the herbs we grew.  We used them throughout the winter and planned for the coming year.

That next year I discovered what has proved to be one of my favorite herbs, bergamot – also known as bee balm or Oswego tea.

That’s how I got started, and that’s why herbs are my passion.  Between 1973 and 2006 we moved many times, but I still have an herb garden (as shown in the pictures on this page.)

Herbs Are My Passion.

They are still my passion; I still grow and use them, and I am still learning about them.

Rosetta Clarkson in her first book, Magic Gardens, says that the herb garden is truly a magic garden.

“It satisfies the spirit, mind, and body of every type of person…”

Then she compares a flower garden to an herb garden, noting that flower gardens are short-lived while herb gardens continue to hold one’s interest throughout the growing season.

At this point, one might ask the question, “why?”  The answer to that question is multifaceted. Mrs. Clarkson quickly states that herbs do not depend on their flowers.  True there are some herbs that are renowned for their showy blooms, such as calendula, Oswego tea (bergamot), lavender, and garlic chives.

Yet, there are many other facets herb plants that hold our attention.  We see the different colors of the herb plants themselves from bright-yellow-green to dark-green to silvery-grey. We note the variety of herb leaf sizes, from narrow, pine-like to large, flat oval.  Also, we feel textures of their leaves, from fuzzy to smooth.  In addition, there are the many fragrant aromas arising from their essential oils – the clove-like basil, the piney rosemary, the refreshing spearmint, and the lemony lemon balm.

Also, Rosetta Clarkson tells us how herb gardens existed long before flower or vegetable gardens.  Indeed, vegetable gardens were born when man decided to separate certain herb plants such as beets and leeks into vegetable gardens, and later separated many flowers from herb gardens to create flower gardens as well.

Herbs can still be used in both vegetable and flower gardens.  For instance, thyme is lovely in flower rock gardens because it low-growing and has tiny, attractive flowers.  And nowadays, herbs, such as basil, bee balm and borage, are often used in vegetable gardens as companions to tomatoes.  (There are many herbs that can be used as companions to vegetables to deter insects from attacking vegetable plants.)

Mrs. Clarkson concludes her case for including herbs by noting there is a good chance if you have a garden that you have grown herbs.  For example, if you make jars of pickles, most likely you’ve grown dill.

She suggests that you begin your adventure into herb gardening by growing just a few herbs and using them.  For example, you could start with parsley, sage rosemary and thyme. When you do start an herb garden, Mrs. Clarkson says you’ll be so delighted, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without herbs.  For as long as I’ve been growing herbs, I’ve found this case, so eloquently stated by Rosetta E, Clarkson, to be true

If you want to see and learn more about herbs, visit the Plant Your Herbs website.

Yes, Herbs Are My Passion!

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