Category: Herbs

I’ve had 2 previous attempts at growing mint.

My first attempt (which I mention in “Mint – the weed that just keeps going“, I planted it in my herb garden, and very soon discovered that it was a VERY bad idea. So I had to rip it up.

For my second attempt, I planted it in small pots, which you can see here: Planting Mint where you want it.

Planting the mint in pots was definitely a better idea, but the pots were a bit too small. A visitor (June Tate) left this comment:

I’ve tried planting mint in pots, and it gets horribly rootbound–all roots, no dirt. The mint was a gift from a friend, and I’ve passed it on to many people. Maybe I just need a BIG pot to plant it in?

So, I’ve decided to try out the “planting mint in a BIG pot” method.

Continue reading “New Attempt at Growing and Containing Mint”

Having had my herb garden for over a year now, I can really say it’s something that EVERYBODY should have in their garden. It’s a great looking feature, and their are so many added benefits, like actually having certain herbs readily available for cooking, and having a feature that can get guests at your parties talking about (you’ll see what I mean below).

So, if you’re thinking of creating a herb garden, think about reading my series of articles on the topic, starting off with this one: “Herb Garden in 24 hours”

So, what are my favourite herbs in my garden?
Continue reading “Top 5 Herbs in my Herb Garden”

The Story

I recently planted Sage in my Herb Garden. Sage is definitely a must-have for everybody who cooks, as it is a great addition to many meals. ESPECIALLY if you enjoy Jamie Oliver’s cooking.

Anyway, after planting any plant, it is key to ensure that the roots get sufficient water to prevent them going into shock. At least, that’s how I see it. So I watered the Sage thoroughly. And I watered it again the next day, and the next. I didn’t DROWN the plant, but I made sure that it had water.

BUT, the Sage started drooping. Admittedly, it was in the middle of a hot spell here in South Africa, so I thought that once the temperature cooled down, things would start to perk up a bit.
Continue reading “Planting Sage”

In my previous post, I mentioned how mint was a weed in my opinion. You can read it here:

“In my previous post, I mentioned how mint was a weed in my opinion. You can read it here:

“Mint – the weed that just keeps going”

Anyway, even though it is a weed, it still looks good and smells GREAT! So, almost everyone wants to grow it, including me. But I wasn’t about to let it loose in my herb garden again. 😉
Continue reading “Planting Mint where you want it”

A really good “herb” to have in your garden is mint. The only problem is that mint is a weed!

My definition of “weed” is something that grows where you don’t want it, and is really hard (nearly impossible) to get rid of. If you have any weeds in your garden, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
Continue reading “Mint – the weed that just keeps going”

In the post “Herb Garden – Before and After“, the herb/bush on the very right hand-side of the herb garden (excluding the lavender bush next to the wall) is my Basil tree. It is one of the best growing herbs I have in my herb garden, so I thought I would share something with you that I recently learned.
Continue reading “A tip for looking after your Basil Bush”

Ok, if you think creating, designing, planting and caring for a herb garden is hard, PLEASE take a look at the photos below. Assuming you have herbs that are suitable to your environment, you should be fine. Now, by “suitable” I mean, there’s probably a slim chance that you’ll get some Basil herbs growing in Antarctica. 😉

Here is what the herb garden looked like JUST before completion:

Here is what the herb garden looks like after 6 months of growth:

If you’re thinking of creating a herb garden like this, it’s REALLY easy, and you can check out the process I followed here:
Step 1 – Mark out your area
Step 2 – Remove the grass
Step 3 – Laying the stepping stones
Step 4 – Plant the herbs
Step 5 – Look after it

Even though adding the Milk Thistle (similar in appearance to this photo) to your herb garden will add some color, it’s not this plant or herb (or possibly even weed) that will improve your gall bladder‘s health. It’s the extract from this plant (mostly liquid) that helps protect and detoxify your liver and your gall bladder. A lot of herbalists recommend using this extract to help fight fatty liver which is associated with heavy drinking.

Your gall bladder plays an important role in the breaking down of fats in the food you ingest due to the bile that the gall bladder stores. But, reading up on herbs, I noticed that a lot of people are selling Milk Thistle extracts which have been shown to help improve the functioning of your gall bladder.

I just thought I would share this piece of info with you, even if the only thing it does is let you know about it… And, to show you another hardy and possibly pretty plant that you could have in your garden… Of course, I’m hoping to at least get some more info on herbs that you can actually use from your herb garden.

Well, I finished the herb garden, and it’s been growing for a while. Here are photos that I thought would show you what the herb garden looks like.

There are a couple of things to note regarding the herb garden:

• It needs some water at least a couple of times a week in Summer, but it’s winter here, and it seems to survive on water once a week
• You have to remove the weeds and other unwanted growth – this includes removing the grass that you’ll find growing in the actual herb garden
• Be careful with what herbs you use – My mint is growing like CRAZY!!! Luckily still in it’s own section

If you have a herb garden and you’d like to share your advice, please do so in the comments section. I could use all the advice I can get…