Thursday, July 26, 2007

herbs, herbs and more herbs


Well just like my sewing urges, I get the gardening urges every once in a while too...but for some reason (either not fertilizing or maybe just not watering it enough) plants die when I try to grow them. I am determined this time to have an herb garden so that I will be able to use these in some of the dishes that I make. I love the flavor of fresh herbs in some of the 'favorites' that I cook, so hopefully I will keep up with my little garden. The great thing about Hawaii is the perfect growing temperature year round makes for beautiful gardens year round...if you don't kill them first.


My favorite herb is basil (a friend of mine made some really yummy pesto with her fresh basil so it has inspired me), my second is cilantro (you can't make fresh salsa without it) which I am still looking for and my third is mint (my neighbor had a plant from the grocery store...we'll see if it makes it...but Mojitos can only be made with the fresh stuff). I planted these in the shade and thought later that wasn't such a good idea (since the instructions say full sun) but full sun in Hawaii is way different (a lot more intense) than other places and so far they seem to like the shade.



Below is lavender...and the first time I am trying to grow it. I never realized what a sweet, lemony smell lavender has...I've only smelled imitations of it in lotions, soaps, etc. But I read somewhere that cats don't like lavender so our downstairs neighbor and I decided that we would plant some in a flower pot to keep the cats off of our outdoor furniture on the lanai we share...plus it looks pretty.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi! I really like herbs, too! The lavender is pretty and it matches the chair that it's next to. I love your blog!

Anonymous said...

My mom has lots of herbs in pots around her backyard. Do you need Cilatro seeds? Have you tried looking online?

Joc said...

You can try planting some coriander seeds (from the grocery store) if you can't find a cilantro plant or seeds...cilantro plants don't transplant very easily anyway- I think it's best to grow them from seed. And don't be discouraged if your basil doesn't thrive. For some reason our basil didn't do all that well last year, but this year it's out of control! I've already frozen a bunch of pesto and I can probably make a lot more...so all that to say...just keep trying these garden things. So this is a VERY long comment. Sorry. Perhaps I should have sent you an e-mail! :)

Momathon said...

Your herbs look lovely. I'd like to give you gardening advice, but I seem to kill just about everything. Ben Cable is an incredible gardener, though. I keep thinking I will hit him up for a lesson...

Clay said...

Hey there-- your herbs look great! I am currently on an herb kick too! That's why we are a good pair, I guess...we get urges to be domestic.
Just a note...in Hawaii...cilantro is often called Chinese Parsley. It had me stumped for awhile...but Clif loves the stuff so I had to find it!
Miss you too. The boys are getting old. And yes...come and visit...with or without all of your boys! -Kat