The Herbal Garden

Getting Started

At Herbs and Natural Remedies we are committed to organic methods of gardening.  This is the healthful way to make your garden grow.  It's more simple than you might think.  Stick a seed in the dirt, let it have plenty of sun, give it water, compost and pull the weeds.  The seed will know what it's supposed to do!

Okay, so maybe it's not quite that easy.  But close!  Probably the most important thing to be concerned with is your soil.  That's the first thing to deal with.  Your soil needs to be nutrient rich, weed-free and able to drain well.  All of these can be achieved even if your soil is not that way right now.  Here's how:

• Pull or cut weeds.  Remove deep-rooted weeds with a knife or spade and be sure to get as much of the root as possible.
• If your soil drains poorly, dig out about 12 inches and fill in with 6" of sandy loam, then with organic topsoil.  On top of the beds, place about 4" of compost and top soil mix.  This may look to "tall" but remember that soil settles.
• If your soil is rich and drains well, you might consider using a bit of compost mixed in your soil for extra insurance.

Organic compost that you make yourself is the best however, you can buy it.  To make your own, pile up your grass clippings and leaves and let it sit for a few months.  You can also add coffee grounds, kitchen scraps, sawdust and other organic waste (manure, etc).  Turning the mixture with a shovel every so often helps to quicken the process.

The next step would be to pick seeds and plants that are suited to your growing region.  To find out which region you live in, check with this website: Garden - Hardiness Zones

When choosing your plants at the store, be sure to get healthy ones.  Examine the plants carefully.  Avoid plants that are wilted or yellowing.  Look for insects.  Also, look at the plants surrounding the ones you want -- If they are unhealthy, yours probably is to, just not showing the signs yet.  The soil can also tell you something as well.  If it smells bad, there's probably something wrong.

There are three classifications of herbs: annuals, biennials and perennials. Annuals are plants that die every year.  You'll have to replant them every year. They include plants like borage, flax, german chamomile, basil, sweet marjoram, anise, and dill. Biennials are plants that only grow for two seasons.  These include plants like the parsley. Then there are perennials which are plants that once planted they will come back every year.  Some examples of perennials are yarrow, chervil, arnica, wormwood, roman chamomile, fennel, chives, mints, oregano, and some of the lavenders.

Consider designing your garden layout on paper first.  It's a lot easier and cheaper to make mistakes on paper than in your garden.  Measure your garden site and then draw it to scale on paper.  Mark where trees, buildings, etc., are located.  If you are designing a large garden, make sure to leave room for pathways and keep beds narrow enough to work in.  Choices for plants can be based on color, height, conditions and/or type. Plant in order of descending height.  The tallest in back, the lowest herbs in front.  Or, in an island bed, tallest in the center. 

There are many books published on growing herbs that will prove useful to you. It's a small investment that can bring you rich results. My favorite book is Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs.  It offers a wealth of information about herbs including gardening, garden design, companion planting and a lot more.

Once you've made your choices and you're ready to plant, scoop out a hole in your soil and place each plant so that the top of the rootball is even with the soil line and fill in with a mixture of compost and top soil.  Do not plant the stem.  Water each plant well and regularly.

Your first garden is going to be your learning experience.  You will have some successes and some failures.  That's just how it goes.

THE MAGIC OF THE PANSY

...by Scott Appell

"Yes, in the poor man's garden grow
Far more than herbs and flowers -
Kind thoughts, contentment, peace of mind,
And joy for weary hours."
...Mary Botham Howitt (1799-1888)

We all carry memories of pansies with us from our earliest childhood recollections of gardens and gardening. The beaming faes of these flowers create indelible images, though of course, they are not the only plant that lodges in our young minds; we remember our first encounter with gigantic sunflowers too, our first whiff of pungent tomato foliage, and our earliest taste of freshly picked raspberried. But the pansy alone stands out as the only flower to smile back at you, and when you are young (and child-sized) the flowers faces seem as big as your own.
Pansies are available in a disarming array of color combinations. When this attribute is combined with their light and sweet scent, their ease of culture, their passionate and romantic magical and medicinal history, and their inclination to bloom throughout mild winters, it is easy to see why pansies have become one of the most widely cherished herbaceous garden flowers in America and Europe.

ASPECTS OF PANSIES

One of the most interesting aspects of the modern garden pansy is that it does not exist in the wild. While most of the familiar garden objets - trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, and herbs - were derived from the careful selection and propagation of wild plants, the garden pansy was intentionally developed by gardeners who hybridized several European wildflowers to create a genetic base. The pansy therefore did not exist until the 1820's, and it never grew in American soil until just prior to the civil War. And, truth be known, the parental history of this flower is complex and steeped in mythology, folklore, religion, and magic.
The modern garden pansy belongs to the plant family 'Violaceae', or the violet family. The flowers typically have five petals - four arranged in pairs - with each pair differig (this configuration is known as zygomorphy to botanists). The genus 'Viola' encompasses about 500 species, including the garden pansy, viola, violetta, and violet. Etymologically, the name Viola comes from Greek myth. Zeus hid his love for Io, a virgin priestess, from his wife Hera by transforming her into a white heifer. He made sweet violets spring from the ground for her to graze upon, and named the flowers, 'ion, or 'vion', depending on pronounciation, which eventualloy became viola.
Botanically, the garden pansy is known as 'Viola x wittrokiana'. Taxonomically, the little "x" in the scientific name tells us that plant is the hybrid offspring of different species parents - either from natural or human induced mutation. Interestingly, at the turn of the century, the flower was alternately known as 'Viola tricolor maxima' (the "Big" Johnny-Jump-up), and 'V. t. bortensis' (the "Garden-worthy" Johnny-jump). The modern garden pansy was bred and selected in victorian England during the 1820's through 1840's by a horticulturist known only as Thompson. Mr. Thompson worked on hybridizing 'Viola tricolor', a native of Europe, Asia, and the Baltic region, with 'V. lutea' subspecies 'sudetica' (the yellow-flowered Hudson mountain pansy), which is indigenous to western and central Europe. Botanists also speculate whether he incorporated a third species into the mix - 'V. altaica' (the Altai Mountain pansy), a native to the Crimea and Altai Mountains. By midcentury, there were over 400 cultivars available of the pansy, divided into two types - fancy pansies and show pansies. Varieties of the latter are further subdivided into three classes according to flower dolor - selfs, white grounds, and yellow grounds. The selfs have black, maroon, primrose, white or yellow flowers.
The common name "pansy" may have originated from two different derivations. The first is from the French word 'pensee', meaning thought or remembrance. The other may be a corruption of "pain's ease," an allusion to the flower's analgesic properties. Indeed, all parts of the Johnny-jump-up variety are medicinally valuable. The salicylic acid it contains is an active disinfectant, fungicide, and tissue solvent that can be applied as a poultice to soften hard skin, corns, and warts. The cucilaginous quality of the foliage also lends itself to expectorant, demulcent (inflammation soothing), laxative, and diuretic recipes, and it may be taken internally to cleanse the system and stimulate the metabolism. The juice pressed from the fresh foliage is also prescribed for rheumatism and skin diseases such as cradle cap (tinea capitus or ringworn of the scalp), impetigo, and scabies. For cradle cap and impetigo, take a daily dose (2-5 drops for children, 15-20 drops for adults) by mouth for a week or two. For scabies, use it in combination with baths taken with green soap and sulphur powder or ointment until symptoms are alleviated.
'Viola tricolor' has additional homeopathic uses as well. An overnight infusion of a quart jar filled with fresh leaves and topped with boiling water (and subsequently strained) is good for cancer, fibrocystic breast disease, or mastitis, and it makes a good gargle or mouthwash for gingivitis, ulceration of the mouth, and pain from mouth and herpes sores. Additionally, this infusion is good for the nervous system, eyestrain, too much sunlight, bronchitis and sinus and ear infections. (Be sure to see a doctor is you suffer any of these symptoms).
Though this plant was once formally included in the united STates pharmacopeia, do double-check with your homeopathic healer or general practitioner before using it, as it is always better to be safe than sorry. Some people react dermatologically when they come in contact with the leaves, and too large doese of the roots (which are edible, and high in minereals) can cause stomach upset, nervousness, high blood pressure, and breathing irregularity.

PANSY LORE

The black markings and the petal arrangement are what has given the Johnny-jump-up the reputation of having a face. This human visage has led to scores of common names for the plant - including monkey faces, Kit-run-about, peeping Tom, and "three faces in the hood." 'Viola tricolor' has also been called the herb trinity, in reference to the three colors always associated with it. It symbolizes love and truth, or passion and suffering. Its shade of purple is common in artistic depictions of Mary Magdalene and the Virgin Mary after the crucifixion. It is always allegorically associated with the Virgin and with the unicorn (the emblem of purity).
'V.tricolor' also was beloved as an ingredient of love philters or potions. in the latin era, this pansy was called 'Flos Jovis' (Jove's flower), an allusion to its purported aphrodisiacal attributes. The ancient Celts used the dried flowers and leaves in decoctions intended to seduce and inflame. Folklore has it that at one time all pansies were pure white, but were made purple when pierced by Cupid's arrow. After reading accounts of the flower i the Renaissance herbals of John Gerarde in 1587, William Shakespeare became well aware (as was all of Tudor and Jacobean England) of the pansy's magic. He referred to the pansy (both literally and alleforically) in several of his plays, including 'King Lear', Troilus and Cressida', 'Taming of the Shrew' and 'As You Like It'. The pansy, called love-in-idleness, is integral to the plot of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream). In this play, Oberon, the Faerie King, inquires of Puck about using the pansy on his estranged, sleeping wife, the Faerie Queen, Titania.
"It fell upon a little western flower,
Before milk-white, now purple with love's wound,
And maidens call it, love-in-idleness.
Fetch me that flower; the herb I showed thee once:
The juice of it, on sleeping eye-lids laid,
Will make a man or woman madly dote
Upon the next live creature that it sees."
in addition to love-in-idleness, the pansy had many common names during the Middle Ages and the Jacobean era: heart's-ease or heartsease, ladies' delight, cuddle-me, Kitty-come, cull-me-to-you, tickle-my-fancy, kiss-her-in-the-pantry, and meet-he-in-the-entry-kiss-her-in-the-buttery (which must be the longest and most intirguing common plant name in English)! The Victorian horticulturist and landscapist Gertrude Jekyll referred to it with the epithet welcome-home-husband-be-he-ever-so-drunk.
English Jacobite ppoet, Robert Herrick (1591-1674), explained the naming of the heartsease. in "Hos Pansies or Heart's-ease Came First":
"Frolic virgins, once there were,
Over loving, living here,
Being here their ends denied,
Ran for Sweethearts mad and died.
Love, in pity of their tears,
And their loss in blooming years,
For their restless here spent hours
Gave them Heart's-ease, turn'd to flowers."
Romantic-period English poet Mary Botham Howitt (1799-1888) also contemplated the heartsease:
"Heart's-ease! one could look at it for half a day
Upon this flower, and shape in fancy out
Full twenty different tales of love and sorrow,
That gave this gentle name."
Another poet of the era, Walter Savage landor (1775-1864), described his fascination with a single pansy flower in "One Pansy".
"One Pansy, one, she bore beneath her breast,
A broad white ribbon held the Pansy tight.
She waved about nor looked upon the rest,
Costly and rare; on this she bent her sight."
And in 1884, the preeminent female Victorian artist Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) published her 'Language of Flowers', a work she wrote and illustrated. This particular work encapsulates the Victorian tradition of employing flowers and plants to express feelings (as opposed to actually speaking ten), both positive and negative, in a subtle manner. That is, people of the era, through the giving and receiving of carefully-crafted tussie-mussies, nose-gays, and "Talking bouquets", expressed notions of love and desire that could not be spoken. Every blossom and piece of greenery would have a specific subliminal connotation or hidden message, such as:
"Pansies in a bouquet convey the message of thoughts."
Today, floral tokens conveying every human emotion can be assembled at home from the garden-picked, or florist-procured flowers. of course, deciphering the messages in the flowers is a forgotten skill now. Below are some common varieties of flowers, along with their traditional unspoken meanings.

THE MEANING OF FLOWERS AND PLANTS

Arborvitae: Unchanging friendship
Cinquefoil: Maternal affection
Cup-and-Saucer Vine: Gossip
Double China Aster: I partake of your sentiments
Helen's flower: Tears
Lavender: Distrust
Lesser celandine: Joys to come
Michaelmas Daisy: Farewell
Oleander: Beware
Pansy: Thoughts
Quamaclit: Busybody
Sage: Domestic Virtue
Thrift: Sympathy
Weeping Willow: Mourning
Yellow Rose: Decrease of love

RECENT HISTORY OF THE PANSY

Garden pansies began to wane in popularity between the two world wars, mostly because they were so labor intensive to propagate. Pansies do not breed true from seed and have to be increased manually by cuttings. During this time many of the older cultivars were lost completely. Still, some heirloom varieties are available today. The bronze and yellow Jackanapes variety (named after Jekyll's pet monkey) dates from about 1890, and the pale lavender and primrose Maggie Mott dates to 1902.
Thankfully, garden pansies have recently grown popular once again. Breeders are developing countless new cultivars, and bountiful varieties of the pansy satisfy every taste. The current trend seems to be leaning away from the flowers with familiar black blotches, and more towards pastel selfs in varieties such as the tangerine jolly joker, the pale-yellow clear sky primrose, and the silver-pink sterling silver. And whereas garden pansies in the past would dwindle and succumb to summer's warmth, new heat-resistant pansy varieties are being offered - including water colors mixed, frosty rose, and velour clear blue.
To grow in areas with mild winters, sow packaged seed (not collected seeds unless the label of the original seed packet claims the variety "Breeds true from seed"), or set out plants in early fall for hibernal blooms. Where summers are hot, sow seed indoors during January or February, and set out young plants in early spring. All pansies prefer a rich loamy soil and plenty of moisture. Picking through the season will keep them in flower.
In addition, we cannot overlook the fact that the flowers and foliage of pansies are delightfully edible - and surprisingly high in vitamin C and A. The lightly fragrant blossoms have a faint lettuce-like taste, and can be used in salads, glazed onto frosted cookies, and affixed to ganache-covered cakes. Also, pansies may be encased within shimmering layers of white wine aspic over cold poached chicken breasts, salmon fillets, or pale wheels of brie and camembert. They may also be frozen in ice to decoratively chill party beverages, and they may be candied.
In 1901, Alice Morse Earle, one of America's first female landscapedesigners, summed up the pansy most eloquently:
"These little (pansies) have infinite variety of expression; some are laughing and roguish, some sharp and shrewd, some surprised, others worried...a few are saucy to a degree, [but] all are animated and vivacious".