My Kind of Plants

Saturday, 14th May 2005

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cupsAfter a cup of coffee at Sunflower Café, Cannon Hall Garden Centre, we browse around the plants. In the herb section I find Buckler-leaved Sorrel, which is good for soup and salads, and French Mint.

I've long intended to try growing Hyssop, a plant that gets several mentions in the Bible. There are two species available; Rock Hyssop and Pink Hyssop. You can use the leaves in soups, salads and sauces while the blue flowers which give the plant its name (apparently 'hys ops' means 'pig's face' in Greek, a reference to the shape of the flowers) attract bees.

bee on lavendarIt's the kind of plant I like to grow; one that attracts wildlife, has a story to tell, makes a good subject to draw . . . and I can eat it too.

I rummage through the pots of garlic until I find one with five cloves (most have 3 or 4) sprouting. I plant them as a row at the end of one of the veg beds. The herbs go at the edge of the raised bed behind the pond; the idea is that we'll be able to sit on the low wall at the edge of the bed on a sunny summer's day (when we get one) and enjoy the scent of the essential oils of hyssop. Next Page

Richard Bell, richard@willowisland.co.uk

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