kitchenMage's Herb Garden

But I thought she said "Golden Gardens Shower party!"

Swamped. Busy writing. Company's coming.

Then there's my miserably small gardening space - which has gotten better (there will be photos soon, I promise).

Yes, I have excuses for not posting here. Lots of excuses.

What I truly seem to be missing is that critical mix of time and motivation and it leaves me with dozens of half-written posts and a feeling that nothing is momentous to be the first post after all this time. So I have been reading other people's blogs and looking for inspiration.

*this* is my herb garden?

Moves are always traumatic. You discover that you are missing all sorts of stuff at the new house and spend a chunk of time chasing down all those things you need: decent grocery stores, farmer's markets, fishmongers, and, in my case at least, fresh herbs.

Seriously, that tiny little bed up there is my new herb garden. (pause for a moment of silent mourning)

A couple of rosemary, a small creeping thyme, a munchkin-sized fistful of oregano (at least it's the good kind), and a sage that is, truth be told, more ornamental than culinary.

No wait! I lied. (hangs head in shame) There's more to it than that.

whb: one last flower before fall

Weekend Herb Blogging
What started as a whimsical answer to weekend cat blogging is now a weekly excuse to play in the herb garden. Oh gee, how awful - not the herb garden! Kalyn has nurtured little whb, and now it's all grown up, with its very own set of rules, and Kalyn lets it escape the confines of her kitchen every other week to be guest hosted somewhere on the tubes of the 'net.
Weekend herb blogging is hosted by Ulrike of Kuchenlatein this week, so get yourself over there to check out the roundup.

Some days you think you have it all together and know exactly what to expect from life, and your herb garden.

Then you turn around and those boxes the cat is sleeping on take on a new meaning...and the sage plant defies the fall chill to give me one last benedictory flower.

I am taking this as a good sign, which I could use right about now.  ...and yes this is cryptic, more soon. 

whb: two years in the life of the sage bed

Today I offer a retrospective of sorts: Two years of progress in the sage bed, which was once a big green blob, then a rather sparse little spot, as shown above.

Well, that was then and this is now...

whb: harvesting marjoram, a study in pictures

 

I see in the gloaming that dusk is once again summoning the fog. This is my cue to get out in the garden with my pruners and get to cutting. The herbs are all huge with summer growth and ready to be harvested and dried for winter use. Weekend Herb Blogging
What started as a whimsical answer to weekend cat blogging is now a weekly excuse to play in the herb garden. Oh gee, how awful - not the herb garden! Kalyn has nurtured little whb, and now it's all grown up, with its very own set of rules, and Kalyn lets it escape the confines of her kitchen every other week to be guest hosted somewhere on the tubes of the 'net.
Weekend herb blogging is at Daily unadventures in Cooking this week so get yourself over there to check out the roundup. By harvesting now, while I still have at least six weeks before we can expect any sort of freeze, I am giving plants a chance to recover a bit before the harsh weather sets in and freezes the new growth.

Moving here three years ago, I brought one tiny handful of a lovely variegated marjoram with us. I knew from experience that it would happily colonize any area I let it loose in and it proved me right. In fact, this marjoram had been one of the more prolific plants this year as it has crept beyond the edges of the bed onto the sidewalk where it forms a thick mat with runners forever seeking ground in which to take root. Now marjoram stalks, heavy with flowers and eager bees, tumble across the walkway and present a serious obstacle to a barefooted mage.

just buzzin' around a technical problem

Hey! Are you looking at that bee's butt? Is that polite? Yeah, I know I put it out there, well, actually the bee did, butt still.

I'm having publishing issues this week and this is really a test.

But it's a cute little bee behind, isn't it?

I promise you an herb garden

 

Once upon a time, the kitchenMage had the herb garden of her dreams. Wisteria draped the entrance arbor, opening onto a herringbone path interplanted with thyme and moss and edged with lavender and a plethora of mints. Herbs, both common and rare, filled this garden and new finds were constantly finding their way there. Rare thymes and more mints than she could name filled the beds, and the air, with intoxicating scents. A few choice trees also lived there: the prized sweet bay, a pink dogwood bent near horizontal from its attempts to survive its old home, and the maples (no two the same) that defined the border.

Oh, I'm sorry! I was daydreaming there for a minute.

While I would love to have that herb garden again (and it is worth a look, although I apologize for the old, not so great photos) the sad fact is that I don't. Worse, I won't have anything like it for a few more years to come. A few summers from now, I expect to once again walk through a garden like that, although not too much like that.