Herb Garden sprouting

I just realized that I could get herbs from my garden shortly. I have been so distracted writing this blog and solving other puzzlements that I completely ignored the fact that the emergence of spring means it is time to clean up the gardens!

chives in their beautiful fresh re-emerged state

Tarragon beginning to rise from its sleep

 The foundation renovations pulverized many of my herb plants because they were planted in a dooryard garden. The dig out to create the foundation, the carrying of blocks over the plantings and the trampling feet of the builders has effectively wiped out most of my herbs. It is a loss. They were very established, a strong great size, and quite reliable for stocking my cooking needs. In short I miss them! Yesterday I made a delightful discovery. My chive plant has survived the pummeling. It has risen about three inches above ground level and is quite green and healthy. No signs of my oregano, parsley and basil, though I didn't really expect to see any basil seedlings. Further investigation did disclose more emergers! The tarragon is just waking up from its sleep and has the slightest signs of life as seen in this photo above. My third photo here on the right is some scraggly thyme, with tiny little leaves holding on for dear life in the cool northern winds. I didn't photograph the sage and the lavender, neither of them were very disturbed by the presence of winter. They carry on as if the season had not changed.  Another day I will write on my Rosemary experiences. It is one of my favorite plants and is thriving here.

 I did not go crazy planting in this garden, knowing that the foundation work was on the horizon, I toned down my usual too big plans. Now that the work is complete, I will go whole hog in planning the space. There is more space for this garden than there was before construction so that provides me the pleasant challenge of redeveloping the planting plan.

My planting plan will be quite different this time. This winter I consciously studied the mini-climate in this area. I use the term mini-climate because it has a southern and eastern exposure, and is protected from the north cold and wind by the house. The house also blocks almost all of the western light. Normally this would be a detriment to growing, but in this case it has proven to be working in favor of the garden because it is mostly greens that need some shade to stay crisp and moist. They are happy with just enough sun and warmth, not too much.

One edge of this herb garden is very vulnerable to north wind. It whips around the house on the eastern side and can do some extensive damage to the plants if the overabundance of wind is not provided for in the layout. By accident I discovered that lavender is extremely resistant to the wind. Before I could plant the herbs in their current location I had them planted in planters in open space on the west side of the house. The wind ripped through there almost constantly. It reeked havoc on the rosemary which went from thriving to wimpy , but the lavender was healthier and happier than when I planted it fresh from the nursery. I learned from that that the lavender welcomed the wind, as opposed to shrinking from it. Another day, another lesson, such is gardening! I'll have to take some shots of my lavender and rosemary plants and do a posting just on them. They justify the time, space and effort, so they deserve a posting of their own...till then!