What is Happening in the Herb Garden and Kitchens This Week?

By Barbara F. Smith

Beautiful sunny weather greeted the BBG Herb Associates volunteers this week – what a relief from the previous colder, rainy days that seemed to stretch on forever. 

News from the Kitchen:

The Herb Associates Kitchen Crew made a variety of products, including Spearmint Jelly and Lemon Balm Jelly, Spicy Herb Dressing with pungent chives, and “Shrub-a-Dub-Dub” — a sparkling fruit shrub flavored with strawberries and lemon balm. Also, a batch of Salt-Free Herb Seasoning was assembled, containing dried lovage harvested a few weeks ago, that would brighten your scrambled eggs or enhance your favorite stew or braising recipe. As you might imagine, the combination of fragrances from the freshly chopped herbs was outstanding. Several visitors to the Leonhardt Gallery on the other side of the Center House dropped by the Kitchen to learn what smelled so good! Our supply of the ever-popular catnip mice was replenished at the Visitor Center’s Gift Shop.

In the Herb Gardens:

Herb Associates in the Production Garden (behind the Center House) continue to weed and plant the beds where many herbs used in the kitchen are growing. This week, a grouping of Lavender angustifolia plants was added to the current lavender to fill out the design created by Dorte Hviid, former BBG Director of Horticulture.

Our two herbs of particular interest in the Herb Display Garden this week are Bay (Laurus nobilis), also known as sweet bay or true laurel, and Woad (Isatis tinctoria).

The Herb Associates tending the Display Herb Garden accomplished the re-planting of two majestic bay shrubs that had overwintered in the BBG’s passive solar greenhouse. (These Mediterranean natives are unable to withstand our Zone 5b temperatures.) The solar greenhouse is built into a hillside and thereby insulated from winter winds. In the solar greenhouse, water in black plastic barrels is heated by the sun during the day, and heat is slowly released at night, keeping the greenhouse warm enough to overwinter plants hardy to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. No other heat source is needed. 

Bay makes a good container plant, which can be brought inside at the end of the summer and returned outside once the temperatures improve. “If you’ve only known bay leaf as the pale dried leaves in a spice shelf jar, then, do yourself a favor a buy a small potted bay plant. . . a single leaf is all that’s required to improve a dish with its fresh green aroma.” (The New American Herbal, by Stephen Orr)

Although bay, or bay leaves, may be used in fragrance and for medicinal and ornamental purposes, the most familiar use is for cooking.  The complex aroma and flavor of this tender evergreen perennial combines hints of honey, balsam, nutmeg, and clove, followed by floral notes of vanilla and rose. 

Home gardeners wishing to harvest some bay leaves may do so throughout the year. If you choose to dry the leaves, place a board or other weight on top of them to avoid curling, then store the dried leaves in a tightly sealed jar. An alternative suggestion for those wishing for a fresher end product is to place freshly harvested leaves in a plastic bag, folded over rather than sealed shut, and placed in the refrigerator, where they will stay ‘fresh’ and green for about three months.

Bay leaves are used in many soup, sauce, and stew recipes, and also in custards, puddings, and cordials. They are a component in the traditional French “bouquet garni”- tied bunches of herbs – along with parsley and thyme, used in many recipes. Cooks are cautioned to remove the bay leaf from the final dish before serving, to avoid choking or potential injury occurring from the leaf’s sharp edges. 

Historically, according to Greek mythology, Apollo (the Greek god of the sun, music and art) loved the nymph Daphne, who rebuffed him. As the story goes, to help her escape from Apollo’s advances, Daphne’s father turned her into a laurel tree, before which Apollo fell to his knees and declared it sacred. From then on, Apollo wore a wreath of laurel leaves in remembrance of his beloved. The tree became a sign of glory, honor and greatness. At the first Olympics in 776 BCE, laurel garlands were presented to the winners. In Roman civilization, leaders wore laurel wreaths as symbols of victory and status.

British herbalist Nicholas Culpeper (author of The Complete Herbal), writing in the 1600s, recommended the use of bay for colds, rheumatism, urinary problems, and other ailments. To this day, bay is reputed to soothe stomach ailments, and it is known to have astringent, antibacterial and antifungal properties.

The second herb of interest is Woad (Isatis tinctoria), found blooming in the Herb Display Garden’s “dyers” herb bed, five feet of delicate yellow flowers looking for attention.

Woad has a long and well-documented history as a medicinal plant in both eastern and western cultures, known for its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, analgesic, and antioxidant properties. It was used in treating wounds, snake bites and other inflammatory ailments. It is also used as a cosmetic ingredient. Woad has been cultivated as an agricultural crop at least since Roman times, used to feed animals.

For centuries, woad was most famously known as the source of a deep blue coloring for fabrics – until the import of indigo to England in the late 17th century lessened woad’s use. More recently, with the increasing use of natural dyes in fashion, many commonly used dye plants, such as woad, are grown by craftspeople. If you’re interested, you may learn more from “Harvesting Color: How to Find Plants and Make Natural Dyes” by Rebecca Burgess (Artisan, 2011) or “Wild Color: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes” by Jenny Dean and Karen Diadick Casselman (Potter Craft, 2010).

Herbs in the News:  

The Summer/Fall Issue of “Cuttings” features an interview/article with Kevin West, a local BBG member with a new cookbook, “The Cook’s Garden,” to be published in August. Kevin will lead a class and be a speaker at the “Rooted in Place” symposium in November.  The following interplay is an excerpt taken from that article (p. 13):

“If vegetables had personalities, which one in your garden would be the life of the party?"

“Herbs! Each of them, all of them, singly and in masses.  Man cannot live by herbs alone, it’s true, but they improve everything they touch.  The 'Scarborough Fair' bouquet – parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme – is a good place to start . . .  I used to sprinkle pinches of herbs over my cooking.  Now I use handfuls.  An herb garden makes one lavish.”

May we all be lavish in our use and enjoyment of herbs.  'Til next time — happy herb gardening!

Particular reference resources this week:

The New American Herbal, by Stephen Orr (Clarkson Potter, 2014)

A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-Lore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs & Trees with Their Modern Scientific Uses, by Mrs. M. Grieve (Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1931)