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

By Barbara F. Smith 

By the time you read this article, the autumn equinox will have occurred — Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. On the equinox, the hours of daylight and darkness will be the same — a moment for cosmic balance and celebration. As you are likely a gardener, you may have marked the day by planting some new seeds, harvesting some produce and/or feasting on the work of your hands. With the golden weather we’ve been having, consider extending the celebration by planning an outdoor picnic or a walk in the woods to enjoy all the seasonal beauty. It’s never too late to connect with nature!

This week, we will discuss one very specific herb and then a few hundred of another type. To start, let’s discuss an old-fashioned charmer – Nigella damascena, also known as “Love in a Mist” or Nigella (see photo above). Other common names are Bird’s Nest and Ragged Lady, both somewhat descriptive of the blooms. This popular, cool-weather annual plant grows 1 to 2 feet tall, with unusual sky-blue flowers that are succeeded by highly ornamental seedpods. Other cultivars also provide white, pink, rose, or purple flowers. Native to northern Africa, its Latin name references the plant’s black seeds (hence, niger/nigella) and damascena references Damascus, Syria, its native origin area.

Nigella plants prefer full sun and consistent moisture. To ensure a longer blooming period, succession plantings are recommended. The flowers have been described as “appearing to sit in a bed of lacy (and misty) foliage, hence the common name.” The solitary, “charming but quirky” flowers do bloom on stems bearing fine threadlike leaves, similar to those of fennel. Their fragrance has been likened to nutmeg. The flowers are said to symbolize love and longing. If you deadhead the spent flowers, you’ll encourage more blooms, but then you will lose the post-bloom ornamental seed pods. 

Most commonly, Nigella are planted in mixed beds or cottage gardens, and they perform well in containers. Once they are established, they readily self-sow. Bees and other pollinators are attracted to the flowers. You might consider planting an “everlasting” portion of your garden, including nigella, straw flowers, bachelor buttons, globe amaranth, or other flowers and herbs that dry well.

Next, let’s take a look at scented geraniums – Pelargoniums – not to be confused with cranesbill, the hardy geranium species. Most of the 280 species in this genus are native to South Africa. As one writer put it, “name a delectable fragrance — rose, lemon, orange, lime, strawberry, peppermint, camphor, nutmeg, spice, apple, apricot, coconut, filbert, ginger — and there’s a scented geranium to match.” Scented geraniums have been popular garden plants for generations; they are practically carefree, never bothered by pests or deer. Perhaps your grandmother planted some in her garden?

The many species within the Pelargonium genus may be grouped by fragrance, leaf pattern, or growth habit. They can have various leaf forms, including laced, fan-shaped, oak leaf, ruffled, or grape leaf, to name a few. The leaves may be velvety or sticky. The plants give off a pleasing fragrance when brushed, which adds a delightful feature to pathways, hanging baskets, containers, or window boxes where the casual visitor or observer may enjoy the scent. The advantage of container plantings of scented geraniums is the ease of bringing them inside for the winter, which will be necessary in our climate. Bring them indoors to a sunny but cool window and reduce the watering schedule. 

As a group, scented geraniums had an explosion of popularity in the 1800s when French perfumers discovered that the fragrant oils distilled from pelargonium leaves could be substituted for the rare and costly attar of roses (essential oil distilled from rose petals) used for perfumes. 

Here’s where we narrow in on the rose-scented geraniums, of which there are about fifty, and of them, about a dozen may be available commercially. One is actually called “Attar of Roses,” and it is among the most treasured (Pelargonium capitatum).  

When you visit the BBG Herb Display Garden, be sure to see Pelargonium graveolens, the familiar, old-fashioned rose geranium, situated near a stone wall. This is a large geranium with deeply cut gray-green foliage, growing 3 to 4 feet tall (if not cut back) (see photo above). Pelargonium graveolens is the major source for commercial production of rose geranium oil, supplied to the U.S. mostly by  France and China. Its odor is described as “green, leafy-rosy with a sweet, rosy dryout.” The fragrances are used extensively in perfumery and aromatherapy.

 “Gray Lady Plymouth” is one of the best variegated rose geraniums.  Do stop by the Solar Greenhouse to see and smell several varieties of scented geraniums in pots. 

In addition to being a delight in the garden, the leaves of Pelargonium graveolens may be used in the kitchen to make lovely herbal tea or to combine a leaf or two with black tea. You may make an infusion to flavor jellies or baked goods. The flowers are beautiful and fragrant in a salad or steeped in vinegar. 

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE BBG HERB KITCHEN?

With only a few weeks until the Harvest Festival, the Herb Associates Kitchen Crew are busy creating more products to offer for sale. In the cool kitchen, a new batch of Apple Rosemary Cinnamon Shrub was created, along with more Herbed Raspberry Vinaigrette, a bright, fruity and herby salad dressing. The ever-popular Salt-Free Sandwich Sprinkle was prepared to perk up your lunch sandwich or even scrambled eggs. Joining our new line of flavored salts is Tuscan Herbed Sea Salt, featuring rosemary, sage, parsley, thyme, oregano, garlic, and pepper. Try it on roasts, vegetables, even a Bloody Mary! Cindy’s Tex-Mex Seasoning is yet another new product, blending chili powder, paprika, garlic, and more to make a warm, savory and rich harmony of elements. Lavender Sachets were tucked into voile pouches to add scent to your drawers or closets storing clothing or linens.

In the warm kitchen, the Crew prepared another batch of Harvest Marmalade, with yellow tomatoes, cinnamon and lemon flavor points.

Visit us at the Harvest Festival to check out our many handmade products. You can also find them at the Visitor’s Center Gift Shop. They are produced in limited quantities and feature only the freshest ingredients!

Particular Resources this week:  The New American Herbal, by Stephen Orr, Clarkson Potter Publishers (2014); The Encyclopedia of Herbs, by AO Tucker and T Debaggio, Timber Press (2009); Herb Gardening in Five Seasons, by Adelma Grenier Simmons, Penguin Group (1964); Missouri Botanica Garden Plant Finder (online), In Thrall of the Scented Geranium, by Margaret Roach, NYT Article (July 2025)

The Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Herb Associates began in 1957 and has been making and selling products for the benefit of BBG ever since. At BBG, the Herb Associates oversee a display garden and production garden, both located near the Center House. Members/volunteers meet every Tuesday morning during the late spring through mid-autumn each year, coinciding when the gardens themselves are open to the public. Members plant, weed and tend the gardens, as well as harvest and process the variety of herbs.