Herbs

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Comment by Yvonne Symons on November 30, 2009 at 5:37pm

A silly question but is Lemon verbena and lemon balm one in the same?

Comment by Lynn on November 30, 2009 at 5:32pm

Hi Megan...I LOVE Lemon verbena and it was at my last place, but I couldn't bring the tree with me. It's one I still have to replace...and one that I definitely will...can't be without it for too long.

Comment by Megan on November 30, 2009 at 5:27pm

hello Lynn, what a fabulous collection of herbs. One omission would be lemon verbena, the shrub which is delightful as a tea and great for pot pourri. It's difficult but not impossible to grow from cuttings and should do well in Napier. Down here, it's far too tender to be left outdoors over winter unless it's in a sheltered frost free site.

Comment by Yvonne Symons on November 30, 2009 at 3:52pm

yum thank you Lynn for your receipe, I also have Lemon Balm and was wondering what to do with it, now I know. Hmmm need to find some more lemons too.

Comment by Lynn on November 30, 2009 at 3:41pm

I have just made Lemon Balm Lemonade today, and it's delicious! I had an abundance of Lemon Balm and needed something to use it on...ideal! Trouble is, it's SO delicious, I will run out of Lemon Balm really fast, making this regularly! lol

Old-Fashioned Lemon Balm Lemonade

• 4 lemons
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon balm leaves
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup boiling water
• 2 1/2 cups water
• ice (optional)
• 2-3 fresh sprigs lemon balm, to decorate
•
Scrub the lemons well. Peel the rind thinly, avoiding the white pithe, and set aside the lemons.

Place the lemon rind, lemon balm leaves, and the sugar into a small heat-proof pitcher. Pour the boiling water into the pitcher and stir well, crushing the lemon balm leaves to release their flavor. Leave mixture to infuse for about 15 minutes.

Now, cut the lemons in half and squeeze out the juice. Strain juice into a large glass pitcher, add a few fresh sprigs of lemon balm, and add the cooled, strained syrup. Top up with water or half-water half-ice, and chill until needed.

Comment by Lynn on November 29, 2009 at 4:12pm

Just found this group! YAY! I grow heaps of herbs and just love using them...for culinary, medicinal AND aromatic purposes. I have just read all the previous posts in this group and enjoyed them...thanks guys. James Wong...his book "Grow Your Own Drugs" is excellent and well worth the investment to purchase (Fishpond, or there is someone selling them new on Trademe). I have made several of the recipes from his book and they are easy...very easy. Most ingredients are easily accessible...most of which I already had. I highly recommend the acne gel, especially for teens! I have done a course in herbs and studied over 140 of them...and it's an ongoing learning experience...I just love them! I've always had a passion for herbs, and natural healing and it's just common sense to me to combine the two. I have thyme x 3 types, catmint, sage (common and white/incense), chamomile (German and Roman), Comfrey, borage, helichrysum (curry plant), lemon balm (common and variegated), feverfew, oreganum, yarrow, rose geranium, lemon geranium, rosemary x 2 types, basil (heaps!), St Johns Wort, rue, mints (basil, peppermint, spearmint, winter, summer, apple, chocolate peppermint), dill, echinacea, hyssop, anise hyssop, sorrels (broad green and red vein), mugwort, figwort, fennels (green and bronze), bay, valerian, aloe vera, wormwood, evening primrose, pineapple sage, chives, parsley, nasturtium, calendula. I had many more, but sadly didn't bring them with me from my previous place. So now I am trying to source many of the scented geraniums, alpine strawberries (white), sweet woodruff, Russian tarragon, selfheal and woundwort, to name a few. I grab new plants/species whenever I see them, but I have pretty much exhausted the 'regular' herbs. If anyone can help me with the more unusual ones, I'd appreciate it.

Comment by cushie on November 28, 2009 at 8:31pm

Hi Im having roaring success growing Basil "lettuce leaf" from King Seeds huge healthy plants makes damn good Pesto and chopped leaves added to a green salad.... tastes like summer : )

Comment by Kali on November 17, 2009 at 10:23am

Hi marcia I have a lovely member of the borage family called alkanet in my garden, the bees flock to it from very early in the spring, I always let some mizuna and kale flower in my garden too for them

Comment by Marcia Ann Meehan on November 17, 2009 at 9:30am

I plant many different herbs, as apart from smell and taste, they make excellent bee food ! I find borage and hyssop in particular over the summer are definate favourites of the bees with solidago (golden rod) in the autumn being a great source of pollen when there is not alot else around.

Comment by Fionna Hill on November 14, 2009 at 2:09am

Sorrel. I put it in salads with mixed greens. I throw a few leaves in with chard leaves in lasagne, baked dishes or stir fries - dont be alarmed - it goes a khaki colour! Add masses of it to chicken soup and you have a lovely sweet/sour combination. Or sorrel soup - delicious. And it grows like topsy!

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