Veggie Bites – Calendula and Other Herbs

My calendula is producing flowers at a good rate and beginning to set seeds. It is a great plant for pollinators and I often plant it with my tomatoes.

Greetings fellow gardeners,

I have been enjoying these little moments of cool breezes as the summer continues. One thing that I have noticed is that a number of my herbs have been looking tired.

Borage

My borage is forming seed heads and is drooping so I cut back the old growth to where the new growth was beginning. I discovered borage a few years ago. I tried it as I try something new every year. It came easily from seed with rough leaves and good height and then in August blue flowers appeared; I was impressed by the beautiful blue flowers and that the plant was covered in bees. This is a real pollinator plant. The seed is easy to collect and it will often self-seed if the conditions are favourable. It has a mild cucumber taste and the flowers can be used as a garnish for cakes. I like to grow it with calendula as the flower colours work so well together.

Calendula

My calendula is producing flowers at a good rate and beginning to set seeds. It is a great plant for pollinators and I often plant it with my tomatoes.  I deadhead my calendulas but towards September I will let them go to seed so I can collect good seed for next year. Calendula is an amazing herb. It is quite edible but does not have the zing of the nasturtium plant.  I am making calendula oil this year. Calendula oil and cream are very healing for your skin. There is a possible allergy alert if you have a heavy ragweed allergy so be sure to test it out first.

Sage

I have a love of sage. In addition to common sage for cooking I have pineapple sage, royal raspberry sage, hummingbird sage and white sage.  All sages have a tendency to look tired at this time of year, so it is a good idea to do some trimming.  I grow pineapple sage for the glorious pineapple scent and royal raspberry for the strong red flower. Hummingbird sage has a blue flower that is stunning and white sage has leaves that feel like velvet. I use white sage for tea if I am not feeling well. Sage leaves steeped in hot water with honey have been used for a variety of ailments since Roman times.

Rosemary and Lavender

Now is the time of year to take cuttings of your rosemary and lavender. Clip several branches of lavender, strip the bottom third of leaves and place in a pot of good soil. The clippings should root giving you new plants. You can plant the new plants in the garden once they have rooted. I usually put some leaves around my lavender to provide some winter protection and don’t cut it back until the spring. You can use the same method to get rosemary cuttings. I am not able to keep rosemary in the garden for the winter, but it will do well under my plant lights. 

Have a wonderful week, water your pots, and deadhead your flowers.