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 After
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.
 It'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.
Richard Bell, richard@willowisland.co.uk
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