Victoria Day weekend: back to the garden

Posted on May 22nd, 2011 by Sacha Chua

Back home and back to the garden! The plants had been very busy growing while I was away. The oregano at the back has doubled in size. The peas are climbing up the twine. The blueberry bushes are flowering. The dill’s starting to sprout. Some of my spring onions have even made it, although a few had been dug up by squirrels who disagree with my landscaping.

The Victoria Day long weekend practically marks the start of the main gardening season. The garden centres are open during the holiday, and the herb and vegetable starters have joined the annuals. People are out planting.

W- and I walked around the neighborhood looking at people’s gardens. Down the street, Awesome Garden Lady’s plants are lightyears ahead of ours, and she’s already started harvesting herbs. We looked at the flowers in other people’s gardens, the way the perennials and annuals were arranged, the color combinations that caught our eyes. We identified fruits, herbs, and vegetables tucked into unusual places: mint slowly spreading across a front yard, alliums (onions, probably) with delicate bulb-like flowers, strawberries peeking out between hostas.

I think we’ll plant the front yard for herbal teas and other edibles. =) That will be fun and useful! Here’s what I’d like to plant:


Common name	Height
Sage	2-3′
Bergamot	2′
Anise hyssop	2-4′
Lemon verbena (potted/annual?)	4′, can be more compact
Catnip (potted)	3-4′
Stevia (not hardy)	2-3′
Peppermint (potted)	2′
Variegated common thyme	6-10″
Sweet woodruff	6-12″
German chamomile	12-24″
Lemon balm (potted)	12-24″
Curly spearmint (potted)	12-24″
Pot marigold (annual)	18″
Purple basil (annual)	18-24″
Lavender	12-24″
Golden lemon thyme	6-8″
Marjoram	12″
Cilantro (annual)	18-24″

This is roughly based on http://www.countryliving.com/outdoor/garden-plans-finder/herbal-tea-garden-plan-2, with possible substitutions for things that are not hardy in Zone 5. I’ll probably arrange it in some kind of a circle, with the taller plants in the middle.

The library has a couple of books on herbal tea gardens. Exciting!

2011-05-22 Sun 19:13

More posts about: gardening // 2 Comments »

Short URL: http://sachachua.com/blog/p/22247

mireille massue

Hi Sacha

planting a herbal tea garden is such a wonderful idea. I have decided to take a page from your idea. I have just requested a couple of books at the library and I’m going to take a look at chapters to see if they anything for further ideas.

I hope some pictures of your wonderful garden will be be forthcoming
- http://sachachua.com Sacha Chua
  
  Oooh, do share sketches or pictures of your garden when you’ve planted it. =) Next year, I’d be happy to split some seeds with you.
  
  The plants are growing in mine, mostly happily except for the curry plant (not real curry, just tastes like it). We’ll see how things go!

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