Garden Clippings
Flavor the garden and dishes with herbs
By RUTH DAVIES
Article published on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2006  |
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| Photo by RUTH DAVIES |
| Sweet basil is ready for picking and pesto. |
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Occasionally, you may have tasted a dish that looked delicious, but lacked memorable flavor. Herbs can provide flavors that can impart their own flavor or enhance the flavor of the dish. Many herbs can be used for minor ailments.
The commonly used herbs are parsley, thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary and sage. Parsley is the most recognizable, as it is often used as a garnish and that is the curly variety. Flat parsley has a stronger flavor and is preferred in cooking. I can’t imagine shrimp scampi without lots of parsley, unless it’s made with basil instead. Parsley can sweeten breath.
Thyme comes in many flavors and colors. I prefer the common or English thyme or lemon thyme for cooking. In the garden, they are all low growing and look great in the border. Lemon thyme has a yellow tinge, silver thyme has a variegated leaf and English thyme is a medium green and mother of thyme is the smallest, lowest-growing variety. They give a checkerboard look if planted together.
Basil also comes with many flavors, but the most common is sweet basil, the one used most to prepare many Italian dishes. There is a variety named Thai or Siam basil, which has a hint of cinnamon scent.
Basil can grow 3 feet tall and is bushy. Buy some pine nuts and olive oil and make pesto in late summer. Basil grows best here in the hot summer months, and unless we get frost, it will grow at a slow rate through winter.
Oregano grows well in this area. There is Italian, that makes a ground cover; Mexican, that makes a bush; and Puerto Rican that can be pruned to a hedge or left to a natural 4-foot bush. Use in spaghetti sauce to put in that authentic flavor.
Rosemary grows uniquely by variety, but to my taste, they’re all the same. Some have a yellow shade, blue and dark green, grow tall, medium and short. It’s a strong herb, but chicken recipes become choice when included. Pruned branches can be placed on a grill fire to impart a great smoky flavor.
The winter months are the best time to grow sage in Pinellas County. Generally, sage cannot make it through our wet, humid summer.
One herb I enjoy growing in Florida is tarragon – not the French variety, but Mexican, tagetes lucida, that blooms in the fall with bright yellow flowers. It has a true tarragon flavor and one leaf flavors an omelet to a “t.”
These plants fit into a landscape perfectly, prefer dappled shade and average moisture. The exception is basil, which thrives in sun. Basically, herbs are not fussy about soil chemistry and seem to grow well in our sandy ground.
Go easy when flavoring a dish with herbs, but don’t eliminate them from recipes so dishes have the pow that pleases.
Events for gardening enthusiasts
• The Florida West Coast Orchid Society will have its annual Orchid Show and Sale on Friday, Oct. 6, noon to 4 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 7, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 8, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Pinellas County Extension/Botanical Gardens, 1250 Ulmerton Road, Largo. Call 518-2436 or e-mail Pam Heath at pheath2@tampabay.rr.com.
• The Pinellas County Master Gardener semi-annual sale will be Saturday, Oct. 7, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Extension in Largo. Bring a wagon to haul plants. Specially featured at this sale will be bromeliads, day lilies and cracker roses. The sale is open for Florida Botanical Gardens members at 8 a.m. Membership is available at the door.
• The Florida Botanical Gardens Foundation will host Kool ’n Fancy, an ice cream social Saturday, Oct. 7, noon. The theme is the 1950s complete with antique cars and The Rockers dancing the day away to the DJ’s music with Bobbi Sox and Stormin’ Norman. There will be a dance contest with prizes, 50/50 drawing and, of course, root beer floats. Wear your poodle skirt and slick back your hair. A $10 donation is requested, free with Botanical Gardens membership and for kids under 12.
Ruth Davies is a Pinellas County Master Gardener. Questions can be sent to her at editorial@TBNweekly.com.
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Article published on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2006
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