I REALLY want an herb garden!

I fell in love with herb (plants) early in life. I remember, still this wonderful book from Sunset which featured the Sandy Mush Herb Nursery, which inspired me into the world of herbs. It was the biggest marketing of herb plants I have ever seen. I remember the owner saying that they had horrible, rocky, sandy soil, but herb plants, once established, do very well in poor soil.

Hmmm, well, then certainly they should do well in Florida. (insert bewildered expression here). I haven’t had a lot of success with herb plants. I seem to over water them, under water them, ignore them too much, or mother them too much.
But I am determined to try again.

To be perfectly honest, what I want is Ina Garten’s herb, vegetable and flower garden. Ok, she has a gardener (probably two or three). Being a fan of her show, Barefoot Countessa, I’ve often seen her, in the midst of a dish; stroll out to the garden and clipping fists-full of fresh parsley, thyme, rosemary and basil.
While watching this, I find myself thinking “This is NOT fair. She lives in Connecticut for gosh-sakes!” Certainly, down here where we have two or three nights of frost and its warm most of the time, I should have lush jardinières of rosemary and entire hedges of basil plants at my beckon call.

When I think of herbs, I think of that woodsy fragrance and their mystical overtones. Both make me think I “should be more success with the herb plants than I have been”. Being with Tammy (my new-old friend) has reminded me of a project that we created for a mutual friend, several years ago.
I decided to host a Christmas party for three lady friends of mine. One of the Lady-friends was pagan/wiccan and wanted an herb garden. So, for Christmas, we (the other two friends) gave her one.
We bought herb plants from various nurseries from Rockledge to Sebastian. We bought an old-ish red flyer wagon (which my husband painted purple). I made a magnetic sign with my favorite Cannon printer which said her name—Herb Garden. As an appetizer, we gave her a used herb encyclopedia we found at a used bookstore, which she was happily engaged in, when we pulled her garden in by the handle, in the wagon. She was speechless. I was high from the fragrance of the herbs and envious beyond measure.
Later reports said that she did plant some and “some of them established and some died”. Well at least I didn’t feel alone in my herbal efforts any more.

About 4 years ago, we purchased an Aero Garden. You know the indoor, aero-ponic garden that advertises that you can grow your own strawberries? For the uninitiated, four years later, they still don’t have a strawberry kit for the Aero Garden. They do have a cherry tomato kit (we never got tomatoes from that kit). Salad greens (that was fabulous, fresh baby greens that just kept producing and producing). A “master gardener kit “where you, allegedly can grow your own seeds (we have this but haven’t tried it yet). We also have tried a few of their catalogue of herb kits. Some do well, some sort of peter out. (shrugs)
So, this year, I am determined to work on my errors in growing herbs and having a successfully lavish herb garden.

Until next time
Eat something wonderful
And life a life worth loving.
-Kim