Herbs not only stimulate your taste buds when added to your cooking, they can also enhance your quality of life in many other ways!
In this, the final part of a three-part look at herbs in your landscape, I'll focus on the beneficial effects of herbs on our health and well being.
If you missed either of the first two parts, you can find them archived at my web site. Go to www.landsteward.org and click on "The Plant Man" in the menu, then scroll down and click on the column titles.
For my wife Cheryl and I, the life-enhancing benefits of herbs can be enjoyed without picking even a single sprig. One of my favorite times of day during the spring and summer is the early morning. I like to take my first cup of coffee outside when it's still pleasantly cool and there is often a misting of dew still clinging to the plants in our garden.
We have a park bench set in the landscaping a little way away from the house. I sit quietly on the bench and inhale the wonderful aromas from the variety of herbs growing in beds behind the bench. For me, this is true "aroma therapy" the way it's meant to enjoyed: outdoors in the fresh, clear air of a summer's morning!
You might recall from an earlier column that I don't believe it's necessary to create a special herb garden, and I gave you some ideas for using containers that you can "park" by the back door and move around as necessary. That's what we do with herbs that we want to keep only a few steps away from our kitchen.
For the fragrant herbs, we take a slightly different tack. We planted numerous herbs around and between the other plants and shrubs, including our boxwoods, in the area behind the park bench. For us, it's an excellent solution as the herbs grow happily in the company of most other plants and we don't need to devote a specific area solely to herbs.
Sometimes I'll reach back and tap some of the plants with my fingertips to release the subtle aroma. I get a cheap and healthy "high" and I feel refreshed, relaxed and ready to start my day's work.
If you'd like some personalized suggestions for herbs you can grow as part of your own landscape, send me an e-mail with a few brief details including your location, and I'll try to help.
Herbs have been used for medicinal purposes for almost as long as humans have been on earth, and it's a fascinating subject. I'm not suggesting that you try to cure all your ills with home-grown herbs, but there's no doubt that many herbs have beneficial medicinal properties.
Here are two excellent web sites you might care to visit: The American Botanical Association hosts a web site that they describe as an online resource for herbal news and information. You can find it at http://www.herbalgram.org/
The second site is put up by the Herb Research Foundation and you can find a lot of resources on every aspect of growing and using herbs. The URL is http://www.herbs.org/ There are hot links direct to both of those sites embedded in this column at my web site that will enable you to click on them directly.
Before I get off the subject of herbs, I have a confession to share with you! I have planted quite a lot of Thyme around the flat stones that form the walkway from our kitchen to the park bench area. The Thyme forms an attractive alternative to traditional groundcover in that location. Part of the pleasure of my quiet time in the morning is walking outside barefoot and feeling the soft Thyme leaves under my toes! But you must promise not to tell anyone that I told you!
The Plant Man is here to help. Send you questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, including archived Plant Man columns, visit www.landsteward.org where you can also subscribe to Steve's free e-mailed newsletter.
