Gardens

This is one view of my basil plants. They make a privacy screen of sorts between my front gate and my front door.

The marjoram has grown to be quite a pretty plant.

I am already dreaming of what will come next. Fall and winter vegetables would be good. I dream of kale and chard and onions and even more herbs. For next spring and summer flax and wheat and amaranth and teff--just enough of these major grain plants to have a demonstration garden that I can photograph for my writing and designs. I also want to put in a cover crop in the front yard, but finding helpers to do that may be too difficult. The front yard looks abandoned and it needs to be double-dug, not an easy task in hard, baked-clay soil.

It is amazing what sun, water, a good pot full of good soil and some tending will do for a plant. This marjoram was one of seven baby herbs given to me by a friend in a wonderful long planter that I still hope to use to grow scallions, radishes and carrots nearby where I can tend to them.

I think that the heat did in the beans. They were beautiful and delicious while they lasted. I hope for more next year.

I am setting up a Squidoo lens on Healing and Herbs and another on the mMeaning of Herbs. For like flowers, herbs also carry meanings that are symbolic--give your love basil along with the roses and the flowers can go in a jar while the basil goes into the blender to be made into dinner. Both signify love.

I am grateful to be recovering the garden and the lore that I spent time learning in the 1980's--two decades ago. It seems longer, but time is becoming compressed now--a sign that it will be time for me to go.