The Health Benefits of Oregano - Is Oregano a Health Food?

So, you look forward to that oregano tang in your pizza sauce, and its little leaves make a nice addition to the herb patch. It gives an immediate kick to spaghetti, and it isn't a demanding resident in the garden, coming back year after year with just a little mulching and pruning. Is there more to oregano that might make it a super herb, the go-to herb for your health as well as your culinary

READ MORE - The Health Benefits of Oregano - Is Oregano a Health Food?

Growing Rosemary in Cold Climates

Rosemary is a big favorite at my house. From keeping a dwarf rosemary Christmas tree to having creeping rosemary as a companion in my flowerbeds, this old gal is a friend who defines the herb keeping hobby for me. I made my first herb wreath using rosemary as a base.I got my stock from a local strip mall where the cobbler in residence in one of the storefronts had a big rosemary bush just

READ MORE - Growing Rosemary in Cold Climates

Cilantro Salsa Recipe

Pico de Gallo is the queen of fresh salsa, but this easy recipe runs a close second. Some cooks will tell you that the lime juice is optional, but I think it works perfectly with the cilantro to create a unique flavor combo. Cilantro Salsa Recipe5 *Roma (plum) tomatoes, peeled and seeded,3 Tbsp. Cilantro4 Tbsp. Scallions2 Garlic cloves2 Jalapeno peppers, chopped½ Tbsp. Lemon juice1 Tbsp. Lime

READ MORE - Cilantro Salsa Recipe

Herb Mayonnaise Recipes

This is a basic do-it-yourself mayonnaise recipe, and the results are better than anything you can get in the store. It's delicious. Really. Spice it up with the herb additions that follow the recipe.

Basic Mayonnaise Recipe

1 1/2 Cups Canola or olive oil (You can blend the two together)
2 Pasteurized Egg yolks
1/8 tsp. Powdered mustard
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Lemon juice

Blend eggs, salt and

READ MORE - Herb Mayonnaise Recipes

Easy Cilantro Soup Recipe

Make a wholesome cilantro soup with you first herb patch harvest. This creamy soup is great with a classic BLT.After you start the roux (flour and butter mixture), stir constantly until all the liquid has been added to the pan. Add the broth slowly to avoid lumps.Fresh Cilantro Soup Recipe1 1/2 C Fresh cilantro3 12-oz. Cans beef broth2 Tbsp. Flour2 Tbsp. Butter2 Minced garlic cloves2 Tbsp.

READ MORE - Easy Cilantro Soup Recipe

Growing Cilantro In Containers

I've written an article about basic cilantro/coriander growing techniques, but didn't specifically address the option of growing cilantro in a pot. Cilantro has a taproot, which means that it roots deeply. This makes it a poor candidate for transplanting, and pretty much also means that it needs a very deep pot, 12 inches or more. The other option is to grow it in a soilless medium, like a

READ MORE - Growing Cilantro In Containers

Herbal Treatment for a Bee Sting

So, you've planted all those herbs designed to attract butterflies and provide you with spicy food and wonderful fragrances all summer. Suddenly, you discover a small problem. The plants you're worrying over and nurturing - literally on bended knee, are also attracting bees and all manner of stinging pests.If you rile up a bee, wasp, or yellow jacket . . . sometimes they can be pretty

READ MORE - Herbal Treatment for a Bee Sting

Roses in Literature

The next time you think your roses may not be worth the effort you expend on them, read some of these inspiring lines about the queen of flowers:"Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers, our desires, our food, are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its smell and its

READ MORE - Roses in Literature

Herbs in Literature

Depending on what you enjoy reading, that book on your nightstand may include some interesting herb references. Many herbs have been the stuff of poetry and prose, to say nothing of those very entertaining old herbals. I've tried to collect a few references to herbs in literature for you to enjoy after you come in from the garden. Check out the following pages for some old and new favorites:

READ MORE - Herbs in Literature

Rue Quotes From Literature

Cozy up with these quotes about rue. I was going to restrict myself to quotes about the plant itself, but rue, as in regret, has some cunning literary references I had to include:There’s rosemary and rue. These keepSeeming and savor all the winter long.Grace and remembrance be to you.-William Shakespeare (Winter’s Tale, Act 4, Scene 4)There's fennel for you, and columbines:there's rue for you;

READ MORE - Rue Quotes From Literature

Rue Quotes From Literature

Cozy up with these quotes about rue. I was going to restrict myself to quotes about the plant itself, but rue, as in regret, has some cunning literary references I had to include:There’s rosemary and rue. These keepSeeming and savor all the winter long.Grace and remembrance be to you.- William Shakespeare (Winter’s Tale, Act 4, Scene 4)There's fennel for you, and columbines:there's rue for you;

READ MORE - Rue Quotes From Literature

Rosemary Quotes From Literature

Enjoy some literary references to rosemary while you garden this weekend:Of Rosemarie.Tragus writeth, that Rosemarie is spice in the Germane Kitchins, and other cold countries... The floures made vp into plates with sugar after the manner of Sugar Roset and eaten, comfort the heart, and make it merry, quicken the spirits, and make them more liuely."Herball or General Historie of Plantes

READ MORE - Rosemary Quotes From Literature

Natural Bed Bug Control

These herbal treatments for bed bugs can help you control your pest problem. I have a healthy respect for insects and all manner of creepy crawlies, but I have to draw the line at any bug that considers me a walking banquet. This includes mosquitoes, fleas, and bed bugs. Bed bugs are creating problems across the U.S these days. Areas where there are large numbers of sleeping people, like hotels,

READ MORE - Natural Bed Bug Control

Unusual Herb Garden Design

If you've had daydreams of creating your own decorative herb garden design layout but don't have the space or inclination for a decorative wheel or other more complex pattern, there may be an easy way to create a startling effect with less space and work.Making a permaculture herb spiral will make great use of those bricks you have lying around, and the effects can be attractive, eye catching,

READ MORE - Unusual Herb Garden Design

Sweet Woodruff in the Garden

Since this is the time to start preparing for bugs in the garden, I'll give you one of my favorite tips for keeping bugs away from my plants . . . sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum). This little perennial has a short habit, growing only to about six inches, and makes a great ground cover. It grows in whorls around a very slender central stem and produces tiny white flowers. I keep it around my

READ MORE - Sweet Woodruff in the Garden