LITMIR.BIZ

      St John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum), used for hundreds of years as a natural mood booster.

      Lukas Hejtman

      Today, the main plants to include in a medicinal herb garden are those that can be used to make refreshing and digestive tisanes or herbal teas. These can be made at home from a wide range of plants, including lime flowers, chamomile, mint, sage, lemon balm, verbena and fennel.

       THE AROMATHERAPY HERB GARDEN

      In the Middle Ages, scented herbs such as rosemary or lavender were widely used for alleviating damp musty smells and offsetting the effects of poor sanitation, as well as being employed in the sickroom for their antiseptic and disinfectant properties. Herbs such as the cinnamon-scented sweet rush (Acorus calamus) or sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum) were used for strewing on floors. Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) was a favourite herb of Elizabeth I, who had it laid on the floors of her palaces. Others such as hyssop, lavender, sage, chamomile and germander, which release their fragrance when trodden on, were very popular with the gentry and in churches. Bay leaves were also used to disinfect the atmosphere in churches, and chapels strewn with fresh bay leaves can still be found in Italy and other parts of the Mediterranean. Professional perfumers were employed to fumigate rooms in Tudor England, while at the time of James II there was even a ‘Strewer of Herbs in Ordinary to his Majesty’. In more modest cottages, sweet-scented apple wood was burned along with ploughman’s spikenard or nard (Inula conyzae) – a species of elecampane.

      Aromatic flowers and herbal sprigs were also bound into small posies called ‘tussie mussies’ to ward off sickness or infection and to act as amulets whilst travelling. Herbs such as St John’s wort, rosemary, wormwood, mugwort, rue and bay were all thought to have potent protective qualities, and were often planted by doors or hung by windows to ward off bad spirits. Bundles of dried herbs or aromatic powders were also used extensively to scent household items such as bedlinen, clothes or furniture, as well as helping to keep insects and moths at bay. Pot pourri was commonly made using the petals from an enormous range of flowers including roses, marigolds, lavender, iris (orris) and lemon verbena. Perfumes, flower waters and other cosmetic lotions concocted from specially cultivated plants were also popular, the recipes for which would be passed on from generation to generation (see Chapter 5).

      Lavender (Lavandula augustifolia), used in the Middle Ages to alleviate bad smells.

      Marek Walica

       Vegetables, herbs and flowers all grown together.

      Del Boy

      In 1617, William Lawson wrote The Countrie Housewife’s Garden. He not only described medicinal and culinary herbs, but also those which are especially valuable for the still room – where remedies, perfumes, soaps, pot pourri, wines and vinegars were prepared – and for the home. He recommended country women to have both a flower garden and a kitchen garden, and also advised mixing in lavender and roses with the vegetables. Lawson’s potager-style arrangement, where vegetables, herbs, ‘still room’ plants and flowers for cutting are combined in an overall scheme, would make a good design for a modern aromatherapy garden.

       THE CULINARY HERB GARDEN

      A romatic culinary herbs have always been grown for their ability to flavour and enhance the preparation of food and drink. The preservative properties of plants were also considered to be invaluable before the advent of modern storage techniques, such as refrigeration, as were their aperitif and digestive properties. Many of the Mediterranean herbs such as bay, marjoram, rosemary and thyme, which all contain large proportions of bactericidal essential oils, were especially highly regarded in this respect, as were spices such as cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and ginger.

      The health-giving properties of herbs have also played a part in their culinary application. In the late seventeenth century, for example, salads and herbs were considered most important as scurvy was rife, due to a general lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in the diet. John Evelyn, the diarist, wrote a Discourse on Sallets, as they were known, saying that ‘raw Sallets and Herbs have been found to be the most soveraign Diet’ to get rid of disease. ‘Sweet herbs’ was a term that arose in the seventeenth century to describe sage, marjoram, thyme, hyssop, savory and mint, grown in the kitchen garden, along with vegetables or ‘pot herbs’.

       The flower-filled kitchen garden of Château de Miromesnil, France.

      Pack-Shot

      Apple mint (Mentha suaveolens) is rich in essential oils that have antiseptic properties.

      marilyn barbone

      The benefits of eating plenty of fresh vegetables, salads and herbs are well recognised today, and herbs are being grown increasingly for their flavouring and therapeutic qualities. Apple mint, for example, is always useful in the kitchen and is highly aromatic. Sweet violet, pot marigold and nasturtiums lend their flowers and leaves to salads or sweet dishes, while lemon balm, lemon verbena and chamomile all make soothing, delicious tisanes. Angelica stalks can be candied and the leaves used in salads. Parsley and chives are invaluable for garnishing, while the subtle flavours of French tarragon and summer savory are excellent in sauces. For more exotic oriental cooking, coriander, caraway and anise are indispensable, while juniper provides small black aromatic berries essential to game dishes. Sweet bay trees planted in tubs can not only be used to mark the corners of borders or as a central feature, but along with such well-known kitchen herbs as thyme and marjoram, their leaves are intrinsic to creating a bouquet garni.

      Herbs, of course, can also be grown for their aesthetic appeal, quite apart from any medicinal or culinary usage. Although kitchen herb gardens are traditionally quite formally laid out, in the cottage garden culinary herbs are frequently mixed into informal beds. A modern kitchen herb garden can be based on a formally structured design, as in the early monastery gardens, or can follow a more relaxed cottage-garden style. The famous walled kitchen garden or potager at the seventeenth-century Château de Miromesnil in France, for example, displays a mix of vegetables, herbs and flowers, giving the effect of ‘joyous simplicity and generosity.’ Alternatively, most culinary herbs can be grown in pots, tubs or window boxes which can be placed within easy reach of the kitchen door.

       SOME KITCHEN HERBS

      In addition to the herbs listed in Chapter 7, there are a few other species to describe here that are especially valuable for their culinary and household applications.

      DILL (Anethum graveolens) This is a hardy annual with attractive heads of golden flowers. Its leaves are similar to fennel and are delicious in salads and soups, as well as with fish.

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