When I was a youngster I used to love reading books on herbs, herb gardens and uses for herbs. I had my own herb garden out the back at our house in Cleveland (Qld) and my mum is an avid gardener and we used to frequent plant nurseries and add to my herb collection. I used to make my own herbal hair rinses which would make your hair smell ... well ... herbaly. Where ever I have lived I have always grown a herb garden, whether it was in a pot on a balcony in Melbourne, in a pot on a patio in Canada or in our back yard in Sydney. Now I think of it growing up in Queensland is where my love of natural plant scents grew. You would often find me standing at my herb garden pinching off a leaf and scrunching to release the scent of each different plant. I use most of my herbs in cooking now. At the moment I am fantastic at growing oregano, or shall I say oregano grows fantastically in our back yard.
Basil doesn't do to badly either if it can survive the caterpillars. I just love being able to nip down to the back yard and snip what I need to make our dinner that extra bit special. But I just love the smells from them all. Rosemary for roast lamb, oregano for pizza's and my favourite chicken dish, basil for just about any pasta or pesto dish and chives and thyme for my damper. All of them are great to go in donald's burger mix too.
I have various scented geraniums in the garden and love to rub their leaves as I walk past them for a little lift in my day. Rose geranium...
...and lime and lemon geraniums just smell so uplifiting.
I just bought some pineapple sage for the garden as well. In our old house around the corner I had an enormous shrub of pineapple sage in my herb garden and whenever we went out the back door we'd brush past leaving a heavenly scent of sweet pineapple. I just have to find the right spot in the garden for it. I feel so uplifted having herbs and wonderful smells around me. Writing this post really brought back memories and the joy I receive in just a little patch of soil being able grow a simple herb or flower to provide such uplifting moments in my day. The beauty of the flowers and the wonderous smells and memories they give me. I feel so blessed.
2 comments:
I also had a youthful interest in herbs. Smells bring back the most wonderful memories don't they?
I can't BELIEVE you went and bought pineapple sage.. it's taking over my garden!.. Lucas brushes past it on the way up the tree so maybe he'll remember us living here in years to come when he smells it.
I still haven't found a use for the stuff though.. apart from freshly crushed in lemonade. Tell me if you discover something great.
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