Lady's Mantle is one of the most popular ornamental plants grown by herb gardeners. Their small, fuzzy heads of star-shaped, yellow-green flowers and graceful pleated leaves make them appealing backdrops for arrangements and displays. At 12 inches tall, they are a perfect height for borders or edgings.
Hops have stout roots and tough, fibrous vines covered with dark green, heart-shaped lobed leaves. The female plants produce the compact, cone-like catkins called strobiles, which are harvested for beer making.
Horseradishes are perennial herbs with large, fleshy roots and course, rough-textured leaves. They are cultivated for their pungent, aromatic roots, which are used primarily as a food condiment.
Hawthorns are trees native to Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean and Western Asia. They now grow widely in parts of the United States as well. The tree has long been considered sacred in parts of the Middle East, probably from a tradition that suggests it furnished the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus during the Crucifixion.
Hyssop is a low-growing, evergreen shrub that has foliage and flowers similar to lavender in appearance. Hyssop grows to a height of about 24 inches, and its green leaves, spiked upright stems and delicate whorls of flowers (white, pink or lavender in color) give off a strong, slightly musky scent. Native to southern Europe, it makes an attractive dwarf-size hedge border.
In appearance, Chervil closely resembles Italian parsley. Plants have light green, fernlike leaves, grow to about 24 inches in height, and unlike Italian parsley, it tastes slightly like licorice. Chervil is one of the ingredients of fines herbes, an herbal blend of fresh parsley, chervil, tarragon, chives and coriander used widely in French cooking.
The Common Chive makes an attractive edging for a flower garden or border, as well as a versatile herb to have on hand in the kitchen. Its green, grass-like leaves grow 12 inches tall and end in a single pink or purple pom-pom like flower.
Chamomile has dainty, daisy-like white flowers with yellow centers set on top of thin stems of feathery green leaves. It comes in creeping or trailing varieties, and seldom grows to more than 12 inches high. Flowers of the creeping varieties contain properties sought after in the herb garden and give off a lovely, apple-like scent.
Cayenne is a shrubby plant about 2 to 4 feet tall that is native to South and Central America. It is grown worldwide for it's culinary and medicinal properties. The plants have smooth, somewhat shiny, green leaves, and flowers that produce elongated oval-shaped pods (peppers) that contain dozens of tiny, pungent tasting seeds.
This is the type of catnip that is most often used to fill those aromatic toys that cats go crazy for. It has soft, gray-green leaves that release a mint aroma when crushed, and mauve or white flowers on shoots 24 to 36 inches in height.
Borage is loved by bees and gardeners alike for its bright blue, star-like flowers with prominent black anthers and light-catching, silvery-haired foliage. Plants may have white or pink flowers on occasion.
Sweet Bay is a popular choice for herb gardens not only for it's culinary, medicinal and craft uses, but because its aromatic woody branches and dark green, glossy leaves can be trimmed and trained in order to make whimsical designs, stylish patio plants or formal topiaries. Sweet Bay is also a versatile shrub in that it can be allowed to grow very large, or kept to a height of 6 feet with regular trimming and pruning.
Bergamot is grown for its decorative flowers and aromatic foliage. The plants consist of tubular, crown-like flowers on top of 3 to 4 foot stems with dark green aromatic leaves. Usually bright scarlet in color, the flowers bloom in mid to late summer and also come in salmon, pink, mauve, purple or white, which, along with most gardeners, bees and hummingbirds also find attractive.
Garlic is a bulb from the Allium family known for its strong, pungent odor and flavor. The bulb is made up of sections of cloves and is commonly used for culinary purposes or its medicinal properties. Garlic is related to, and closely resembles the onion.
Like its name suggests, Lemon Balm has a strong and invigorating lemon scent. Its decorative appearance includes clusters of tiny white flowers, and vein-filled, oval-shaped leaves that contain lemon-scented oils. Lemon Balm grows to a height of 3 feet and gives the best show when planted along borders or in front of shrubs.
Watering is unnecessary with well-established plants-except during extreme drought conditions-lavender does not like wet feet, so well-drained soil is a must. Trim plants lightly each year after flowering or cut them back more severely every few years to keep them bushy. Once established, plants dislike being disturbed so don't divide them...
Basil is one of the most widely grown herbs in the world. Originally from India, it is grown for its clove-like smelling, soft green or purple foliage and is often associated with its culinary use in Italian dishes.
Modest and almost weed-like in appearance, Agrimony is an aromatic plant with one or more stems supporting tall, slender spikes of flowers and a few weak branches.
Prefers moist, fertile, slightly acidic soil. Transplant seedlings when they have 4 to 6 leaves. Angelica prefers cool areas of the garden. It blooms in midsummer of the second year, then dies, and needs large amounts of space.
A beautiful addition to any perennial herb garden, fennel has thick, 5 to 6 foot tall stems, feathery green or bronze foliage and impressive rays of tiny, umbel-shaped yellow flowers.
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