MY WESTERN HERBS

Oregano, also know as wild marjoram. These I grew from cuttings. In fact, I have found this herb the easiest to handle so far, and they are very healthy. Don't know how to use it culinarily though.

French tarragon is the latest addition to my herb garden. I bought these and after a few weeks of transplanting the plants, although healthy, they still don't seem to stand up as straight as other tarragon I have seen. The larger leaves at the bottom left corner of the picture are rocket.

These rosemary I buy, have not yet managed to propagate them. A few times they wilted due to aphids but this batch has managed to overcome the aphids and had a surge of growth so I think they will prevail and hopefully we will get to see them eventually flower. Rosemary and chives are the herbs that my hubby uses most - lamb dishes.

This is a new plant so it still looks nice and fresh. I bought it at the supermarket and just transplanted 2 days before this pic. Usually for sweet basil, we get about 6 months use out of it although after a while it gets woody and does not look so nice. When its time to change the plant, the old woody ones go to the herb hospital outside my room patio. We use this a lot chopped up with garlic and butter for garlic bread. Also for mixed herb pasta (with lemon zest).

Thyme. I bought this too although I have successfully rooted a few roots from cuttings from the supermarket. That takes so long and there is a high casualty rate though. These were grown in Seremban for export, I wonder to where? Last week we deep fried some thyme and basil leaves to put atop burgers.

This English parsley I bought although have managed to propagate some from seeds before. The seeds are readily available here. One thing I have learnt about herbs, it takes a very long time to sprout them, unlike veges. My English parsley tends to get a little yellow here and there and I have not yet managed to figure out why.

Dill seed is also available readily here. They get too tall though. This one has just been earthed up a little. Since taking this pic, we have staked this plant to give it more support. We don't get much use out of dill much (don't think we ever cooked anything with it) but only for garnishing 'cause it looks nice and lacy.

This plant I bought. My hubby chops this up, mixes it with mayonaise and wasabi as a dip for fried tempura prawns. I have tried sprouting from seed, no luck. Also I have never seen the beautiful pink fluffy ball flowers form on the chives even if I leave it untouched for months.

Basil minette. This one I seeded myself. My Mum got me the seeds. It takes a very long time to get to even an 8 inch plant but it lasts a long time. My sis-in-law took some to put in Chinese soup noodles though I have not tried it that way myself.

I've tried seeding this, no success yet. After transplanting it seemed weak but seems to be strengthening up now.

This Italian parsley I bought. It lasts about 5 to 6 months and is very useful especially fresh as a garnish with Chinese dishes. It tastes a bit like Chinese coriander so its nice on the side with meat dishes or even atop creamy pastas. I have managed to seed some of my own but the plants are not yet ready for transplanting.

This sage I got from cuttings. It is right next to the wall so it gets the least hot sun. The cuttings need to be shaded for about 2 weeks to stabilize and I find the cuttings planted on the inner side of the plot survive best and cuttings just a foot away with a little more sun die off. When the plant grows however, it is okay in the sun. We used this last week for English onion soup.

Mint is easy to grow. I just got a bunch of mint from the market, put in in water for about 7 to 10 days to root and then plant out. Mint is invasive so now I've got it in a pot not in my herb plots. This one I just transplanted again last week as it was getting old. This pot is now in my herb hospital recuperating.

Rocket, the only non-herb in my herb plots. My sister in Holland got me the seeds. This plant I have left in the ground for more than 5 months but it still has not gone to seed. I am trying to see if I can get my own seed. Because the plant is old, the leaves are super super bitter. On occasion I will pull a leaf off and munch. Just one leaf is enough to freshen me up! Rocket is a cut-and-come-again plant, which means you can cut some and it will re-grow.

Lemon Thyme; very pretty.

My Mum got me lavendar seeds in Melbourne (came with the purple pot too). This is my second attempt to sprout lavendar. I know there are some being grown in Seremban also for export and a few plants will be available for sale here in a few months so I hope my personal banker is not reading this stuff . . . The seeds my Mum bought are English dwarf lavendar which has purple flowers but the ones that will be on sale will apparently have silverish flowers. The saga continues . . .

My herb hospital.