Archive for the ‘Herbs’ Category

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Cooking with Basil – Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

Sweet basil is used to flavor non-alcoholic beverages, ice cream, candy, baked goods, puddings, condiments and meats. Especially used to flavor Italian dishes.

One of the most popular recipes that use basil as the main ingredient is for Tomato Basil Soup. It’s a great, tasty way to use some of your basil that’s ready to harvest in your garden.

Here’s the recipe to get you on your way.

Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

Ingredients

# 2 teaspoons olive oil
# 2 garlic cloves, minced
# 3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
# 1/2 teaspoon salt
# 3 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
# 2 cups fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
# Basil leaves (optional for garnish)

Preparation

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in the broth, salt, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes. Stir in basil. Place half of the soup in a blender; process until smooth. Pour pureed soup into a bowl, and repeat procedure with remaining soup. Garnish with basil leaves, if desired.

Still have more basil to harvest? Try some Basil Beer Bread or Thai Basil Chicken.

Learn how easy it is to grow your own sweet basil.  It’s fun!

Posted in Cooking With Herbs, Harvesting Herbs, Herbs, Uncategorized, gardening, organic gardening | No Comments »

CMA Awards and Music City Gardens

Friday, June 11th, 2010

If you’re a country music fan and are in town for the CMA Awards, be sure and go by and see the rose collection named for many famous music stars and their songs at the Music City Gardens in downtown Nashville, Tn. Names like Ring of Fire, Rocky Top,  Tennessee Waltz, Pam Tillis, Barbara Mandrell, Amy Grant and many more are included in the list of roses named in the garden.  Our own Nashville Rose Society is to thank for this fun garden.

The Music City Garden is located at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Demonbreun in the Hall of Fame Park -just in front of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Get driving directions here.

Want to see more gardens while your here?  Visit our web site at www.MidSouthGardeningAdvice.com and learn more about Carnton Plantation, and Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Museum complete with pictures and videos.

Learn more about growing roses from our web site here

Upload a picture and tell us your experience here. It will become a page on our website…so come on and get published!

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Posted in Botanical Gardens, Full-sun perennials, Herbs, Perennials, Public Gardens, gardening | No Comments »

Growing Costmary Herb

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

Costmary is also known as “Bible leaf” and “sweet Mary” and it has become one of my favorite herbs. This hardy, large, and decorative plant with light green leaves nearly a foot long. The flowers are small and yellow and the leaves taste minty. Use them to season meat, cake and in teas.

A good background plant, growing as high as 5 feet, costmary requires thinning. It does best if partially shaded. Although you can start costmary from seed, root division is the best method of propagation.

Not always an easy herb to find, it’s worth the extra effort. Its charming appearance and sweet fragrance along with its history is filled with fascinating tales from all over the globe. Especially interesting is its special place in Christianity.

In colonial times, the costmary leaf served as a bookmark in the bibles and prayerbooks of many devout churchgoers. When the sermon became long and boring and drowsiness set in, the sleepy listener treated themselves to the minty flavor of the costmary leaves in an effort to stay awake. Thus the name “Bible leaf” grew popular.

For more gardening advice and information on growing costmary herb and other herbs, visit our website and download our free e-book entitled Herbs for your Health: How to Grow and Use Them when you sign up for our gardening newsletter

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Posted in Cooking With Herbs, Harvesting Herbs, Herbs, Perennials, gardening, perennial herbs | No Comments »

Online Catalogs Make Ordering Seeds Easy

Saturday, January 9th, 2010

The easiest and quickest way to find the seeds you want to plant this year is through online catalogs. Seed companies like Select Seeds, Gurneys, Henry Fields and more make it fun and easy to select the best varieties for your area. They even group them together so that if you want to find seeds for a fragrance garden, cottage garden, edible garden, perennials, foliage or container plants, you’ll find great pictures and growing information.

One caution though. Be sure not to get too carried away with your choices especially when ordering vegetable packets. Only grow what you and your family can reasonably eat.

Learn more about ordering from online catalogs at our website at www.MidSouthGardeningAdvice.com

Shop at Gurneys.com for your vegetable and flower seeds!

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Posted in Annuals, Herbs, Perennials, Shrubs, Uncategorized, gardening, organic gardening | No Comments »

Boost Your Immune System by Growing and Using Echinacea

Friday, December 18th, 2009

Echinacea is one of the best herbs to use to stimulate your immune system because it stimulates antibody production. Recent research has found that it also promotes rapid healing of wounds and has antiviral and antibacterial properties.

It’s very easy to grow. The narrow-leaf variety, such as the Tennessee coneflower, is the best variety to use in making tinctures.

Tinctures are simply made from alcohol and powdered herbs. The alcohol extracts the herbs’ active ingredients. Mix 1/2 cup powdered dried herbs with 2 cups (500 ml) brandy, vodka, or gin. Mix ingredients together in a glass bottle and allow to steep in a warm place for several weeks, shaking occasionally. Strain, then store in a cool, dark place. Use about 9 drops either straight or mixed in 1 cup (250 ml) of hot water. These keep a long time because of their alcohol content. (Encyclopedia of Herb Gardening)

Plant in zones 3-8 in full sun. Echinacea is drought tolerant once it’s established. Add it to your potager garden or your perennial border.

Grab a free download of our newest book Herbs For Your Health: How to grow and use them by visiting our website at Mid South Gardening Advice.com

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Posted in Herbs, Perennials | No Comments »

Tennessee Coneflower

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

Tennessee coneflower

In a recent article of Tennessee Greentimes, a magazine published by the Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association, graduate student Richard Gualandi wrote an interesting article about the once thought to be extinct Tennessee coneflower or Echinacea tennisseensis.

We have successfully grown this for the past two years in our own garden and would highly recommend it to anyone. We had to spray it with Deer and Rabbit Off to keep the pesky animals from eating to the ground (which is what they did the first year).

Here are a few things I learned from the article and from growing them ourselves.

  • The Tennessee coneflower was the second plant to be listed on the U.S. Endangered Species list but continues to be threatened by development and habitat destruction.
  • Few of these plants remain in the wild despite conservation efforts
  • Coneflowers in general are tough and adapt well to most any type of soil as long as you have good drainage and full sun.
  • Butterflies and the yellow finch love this flower (and any other coneflower for that matter)
  • The Tennessee coneflower is smaller than purple coneflowers with a height of about 2′.
  • Collection from the wild is illegal. Look for it at your local garden center.
  • Propagates easily from seed by means of stratification methods. May cross pollinate when planted next to other coneflowers.

We agree with the author that this flower is a rare gem in its native habitat and it should be planted in more gardens not only so others may enjoy it, but also to “be a part in preserving the volunteer state’s natural history.”

Learn more about growing coneflowers here.

Posted in Herbs, deer-resistant perennials | No Comments »

Our First Frost

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

Sunday night we had our first good frost. I was glad to see that the lemon grass didn’t suffer.

Lemon grass is good for drying and using in herbal teas, but if it gets frozen before you harvest it all, you’re in trouble. I usually cut the whole thing back to the ground and hang it in bundles for drying. Then I use it in potpourri and teas. It’s wonderful used in combination with lemon verbena and lemon grass for a healthy refreshing tea.  Simply take equal amounts of each and steep in hot water for 3-5 minutes.  It’s great hot or cold.

You can grow it or transplant it into a container and bring it inside if you like. I have never tried this myself since it get about 4 feet tall and wide. There’s just not enough room in our house for that large of a plant.

If you have never tried lemon grass before, be sure and look for it at your nursery next spring and give it a try. It makes a very handsome planting in the landscape. If you want to learn more about growing and using herbs, sign up for our newsletter and receive our latest e-book Herbs For Your Health: How to Grow and Use Them.  Follow this link to receive yours instantly www.MidSouthGardeningAdvice.com

Herbs for your Health: How to Grow and Use Them

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Posted in Cooking With Herbs, Harvesting Herbs, Herbs | No Comments »

Rosemary Chicken Recipe

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

Now that you have grown a few herbs, you may be wondering what to do with them.  This rosemary chicken recipe that I found on www.cooks.com is  a great recipe for using your fresh rosemary.

To harvest your rosemary,  or most any culinary herb for that matter, be sure and harvest just before the buds open if possible.  This is when the concentration of essential oils is greatest.   Of course,  you may harvest most anytime, especially rosemary, by simply snipping a few fresh stems that are about 6 inches long throughout the growing season.  Use fresh or hang to dry.

To use rosemary in dishes, snip a branch, rinse off and pat dry.  Then, pull off the leaves and chop well.

I hope you enjoy the recipe for Rosemary Chicken below!

For a free e-book on growing and using your herbs, please visit our website at www.flowers-plants-gardening-advice.com

CHICKEN ROSEMARY

1 chicken, cut up
Olive oil
Generous amount Rosemary
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 c. white wine
Salt & pepper
Brown chicken in olive oil. Add garlic, Rosemary, wine, salt and pepper. Cover and cook about 45 minutes. Remove cover and brown.

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Posted in Cooking With Herbs, Harvesting Herbs | No Comments »

Joining the Herb Society of America Has It’s Benefits

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

If you love herbs and want to know more about growing and using them, consider joining the Herb Society of America.

It’s dedicated to the promotion and education of the use of herbs through educational programs, research, and the sharing that goes on between its members.

If you are interested in herbs, then you qualify to join. Benefits include discounts on herb and garden books, as well as on merchandise, and access to HSA educational programs and library.  Not only that, but you receive a 50% discount on a 1 year subscription to The Herb Companion magazine, reduced admission to many public gardens and arboretums, plant profiles, early access to The Society’s Seed Exchange and much more.

For more information on joining the Herb Society of America, please visit their website at http://www.herbsociety.org/.

If you would like to learn more about using and growing herbs through a free e-book I just published entitled Herbs For Your Health: How to Grow and Use Them, please click on the above link or visit our website at http://www.MidSouthGardeningAdvice.com/.  With  124 pages of charts, pictures, and growing information, you are bound to find something you like!

Happy Gardening!

Herbs For Your Health: How To Grow and Use Them

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Posted in Herbs, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Herbs For The Honey Bees

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

In days gone by, colonial housewives knew that the bees loved the fragrant blossoms of the herbs growing in their garden. They also loved the honey the bees produced!

A bee skep with a hole cut in the bottom of the handwoven skep in which a strong branch was placed inside, lured the bees to set up housekeeping. Shortly afterward, the bees produced a comb full of wonderful honey

Although used only as decoration in gardens today, there’s still nothing as charming as seeing a bee skep nestled among the sweet smelling herbs.

This is our first year have real bee hives in our garden and it’s been a real joy to see which herbs the bees enjoy.

At the moment, they are loving our Mountain mint and porcelain berry vine (Ampelopsis glandulosa). I love hearing the constant hum of busy bees knowing that we will reap the benefit of their hard work.

I have also noted in my journal that they love the Six Hills Giant mint, chives, anise hyssop, hyssop, sage, and thyme.

I found this herbal honey recipe in the wonderful book called  The Pleasure of Herbs: A Month-by-Month Guide to Growing, Using, and Enjoying Herbs by Phyllis Shaudys and thought you might enjoy it. You may use store bought honey if you don’t have your own bee hives as we do to achieve the same effect.

Herbal Honey Recipe
Place a fresh, washed leaf of rose geranium in a small, sterilized, glass jar. Warm the honey, and pour it over the herb leaf. Cap the jar tightly, and allow about 24 hours for the flavor of the herb to permeate the honey. Serve as a sweetener for tea.

If you would like to learn more about growing and using herbs, please visit our website for a free download of my most recent book entitled Herbs for Your Health: How to Grow and Use Them.

Bees love our anise hyssop

Bees love our anise hyssop

Here is our bee skep with a wonderful skep house a friend made for us

Here is our bee skep with a wonderful skep house a friend made for us

Our own bee hives

Our own bee hives

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Posted in Cooking With Herbs, Herbs | No Comments »

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