I’ll admit it. I have been nothing short of obsessed with my herb garden this spring.  Mother Nature has been showing off the past couple weeks, and my perennials, experiments, and transplants are in heaven.  Here are a few of my favorites right now:

Hot and Spicy Oregano (perennial):  I couldn’t resist trying this little number when I was looking for an oregano specimen to plant in my garden.  It has that signature Italian flavor with a tiny kick of spice.  The first year I put it in, it was a little scraggly, but a few years later it has spread out to about 6 feet long by 2 feet wide.  Just a couple weeks ago it was maintaining its winter hair cut at ground level, now it’s about a foot high!  Foodie uses:  whole leaves are great surprise in salads.  A delicious finish to pizzas and pastas.

Bay Laurel (evergreen tree):  While I didn’t have enough space to trade in my full sun spots for a bay tree in my garden, I had a dream that I would have fresh bay leaves from my own tree after taking cooking lessons at the Culinary Institute of America.  We harvested leaves as needed from a large tree just outside their kitchens.  I grow mine in a pot on the deck.   It’s been a little thin for the two years I’ve had it, but it has a number of new blooms that popped out in the last week (lighter green leaves).   Foodie uses:  Use to flavor soups and sauces, fishing the leaves out before serving or storing.  My favorite beefy BBQ steak sauce uses them minced up!

Chervil (annual):  A month or so ago, I tucked a couple tiny chervil plants into a open pot on my deck (so as not to tempt the deer in my main garden).  It’s sometimes referred to as French parsley.   If you know what Italian parsley is, chervil’s leaves are a little smaller and more delicate than that with a slight licorice flavor.   It started growing like crazy the last few weeks.  I would have moved the pot to give it more room, but it seems to love the cool shade on this pot rack.  Foodie uses:  A great finish to dishes you might use parsley for.  Extra yummy over perfectly cooked scrambled eggs.

And now for updates on my science experiments … I have been reading up on foods you can regrow from kitchen scraps.   I have results on celery, green onions, and carrots so far.

Celery (biennial):  Cut off the bottom couple inches of a celery stalk you buy at the store.  Instead of throwing it out, plant it!  I put mine flush with the soil.  After a few weeks, celery leaves have started poking through, and the plant is widening.  I read that celery loves a lot of water, so I planted strategically, and it’s helping me balance out this wine barrel planter that tends to pool water on the bottom level!

Green onions and carrots:  I have also read that you can regrow green onions and carrots from the parts you would normally throw away (the hairy root end of the green onion and the top of a carrot).   Instead of heading to the compost bin or landfill, why not try to regrow them?  Here’s my barrel with green onions in the back and carrots in the front.  After a couple weeks, I can see the onions are turning into something I can use.  The carrot tops are starting to sprout too, so I’m hopeful a lil’ carrot is doing it’s thing underground

OK, back to the garden.  Bye for now!