Rosemary and Thyme

Among the pots and pots of plants I brought with me when we moved to Fair Play were many herbs, including feverfew and yarrow.  I went through a phase in the valley and had become very interested in medicinal herbs, as well as the cooking herbs.  Little did I know that both of the foregoing grow wild everywhere up here and I needn't have hauled them up the hill.  Both are in bloom right now; large heads of yellow yarrow and the tiny daisy-like flowers of the feverfew.  Over time, the rosemary has grown to a huge bush, and the three or four varieties of thyme have taken over most of the front-of-house garden.  Tansy is an old strewing herb, said to retard insects; it comes back full force every year.  I also grow motherwort, as well as a smaller southernwood.  Chives, regular and garlic, have such a pretty flower and seed head.  The seeds end up everywhere, in almost every flower pot on the deck, so I have an endless supply for cooking.  Lovage was too tender to survive the heat and cold, and bergamot didn't do well, either.  Epizote keeps cropping up.  One of my favorites is pennyroyal.  It's a lovely plant, with blue-purple flower clusters on a tall stem and the leaves vine over the sides of the pots.  If flies get pesky while I'm watering, I rub a handful of the leaves on my arms and the flies stay away.  The crushed leaves have a wonderful mint scent.  It's also good to put in the dog's bed to repel fleas.  Lemon and licorice mint are everywhere now, but the peppermint needed more water.  I grow comfrey; it's said the dried leaves will settle a goat's upset stomach.  The huge sage plant down below the deck provides seasoning, as well as beautiful purple flowers.  Lavender is so drought resistant, I can put it just about anywhere.  Betony comes back year after year.  There is still camomile out in the neglected vegetable garden.  The scented geraniums I brought with me didn't survive the first winter, but I keep trying.  Oregano is another hardy herb  in the front garden.  Grey and green santolinas flower in both the front and back yards.  Amaranthus (Love lies bleeding) isn't technically an herb, but it's such a useful plant.  I've only been able to grow it once or twice here.  A tall plant, over six feet, it has such unusual red, drooping, thick clusters of flowers.  The seeds can be used as a grain in cooking or baking, and the flowers are used to make dye for wool.  In the summertime, watering is a daily chore, and I've got to get outside now before it gets too hot.