Completely reworked herb garden bed this year and also planted a bunch of herbs in pots, so that they can be brought in for the winter.
*Bought two chamomile plants, planted them in different locations and both got eaten by bugs. Can't even see where they were planted now. Tried to start some from seed and that failed as well. Next year I will buy chamomile plants and keep them in pots in the house. Let's see if that works!
*Planted dill from seed. It came up, lots of it, and was looking good, then saw that it was being eaten up. No sign of the dill now. Diatomaceous earth didn't help.
*Planted lemon balm seeds several months ago. Several small plants are growing, about an inch high, will very small leaves. They are kind of cute, but still in a pot on the plant rack. Bought a lemon balm plant and it is in a pot and doing well. I want it in the ground, but have much to do to get the garden bed ready for it.
*Bought a bee balm, and found out it is not really a medicinal bee balm. It is in a pot and doing well. I will use the leaves for tea, but will bring it in for the winter. I want to plant it and the lemon balm in the yard, but the spot where I want it has not been cleaned out and it will take work to get it ready. The bed has creeping bell flower in it, and that is a tough plant to get rid of. Bought a second bee balm, that looks more like the real deal and it is in the ground in the herb garden. I hope it grows to be a bush!
*Two new rosemary plants in the reworked herb bed. Looking good!
*Chives in the herb garden, looking good.
*Sage in the herb garden, looking good.
*Comfrey in the herb garden, free from someone in the area. I just listened to a Youtuber talk about comfrey tonight. The conversation about comfrey is about 30 minutes into the video.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoPymFhMVNY
She has another video on comfrey.
*Artemesia in the herb garden, thriving.
* Thyme in the herb garden, doing well. Not sure what variety it is.
*Catnip in a pot, doing well.
*Basil, started from seed months ago, finally starting to look like basil. Will bring the pot in for the winter.
*Holy basil in a pot, looking good.
*Peppermint in a pot, looking really good. Want to plant it in the same place where the creeping bellflower is, but not ready to do so yet. Have some peppermint growing in another garden bed, but this garden bed needs to be re-worked and amended.
*Spearmint in a pot, looking really good. Want it where the creeping bellflower is eventually. Have some growing in the bed where the other peppermint has been, but not much is there. I have had it for years, but I think grape hyacinths are pushing it out. Grape hyacinth ~ mint bed needs to be dug up and sieved to remove all the hyacinth bulbs. They are wild in the yard. Lots of time and work to make this happen.
*Verbena in a garden bed. It is doing okay. I know there are a few varieties of verbena. I have two varieties, another one in a flower bed and it is stunningly beautiful. I doubt that this is the medicinal variety, but I will always want some growing in my yard because of how beautiful it is. It grows close to the ground, spreads out and is very showy with colors. Have red, purple, dark pink. Have to figure out if either of them are medicinal, or if I have not found the medicinal one yet.
*Planted 3 more lavender plants, different types. Had one from a few years ago.
*Garlic has gone wild in my yard and I am currently sieving one bed to remove all the garlic bulbs, which I will likely dehydrate and powder. There are many that are small in there, some are a little larger. Will rework this bed, amend and plant asparagus there. Have another good sized garlic bed gone wild that will be next. First one has been getting worked on everyday, bucket after bucket of soil cleaned. Much more to go.
*Thought I had calendula but realized it was coreopsis. Oops. now want calendula.
*Tarragon in a pot, looking okay. These are sure fragile plants. One already died on me. Will bring the pot in for the winter as they are cold sensitive and will never make it outside over winter.
*Oregano, growing in a pot from last year. Doing well.
*Cayenne, while not an herb, is used medicinally. I have a large and healthy cayenne pepper plant in a 5 gallon bucket with several peppers on it.
*Rue--I seeded one of the packets of mixed wildflower seeds and up grew this plant I didn't know. Figured out it is rue. I use it as a filler or background in flower bouquets, which I try to give away as often as I can, to people I see. I gave lots of flower bouquets away this year and some got some rue.
*Catmint is spreading in my yard, from the neighbors. There are about 6 plants in the yard.
What am I missing? Parsley and cilantro. I had cilantro, but it never makes it through the summer. I am also missing a couple well prepped garden beds to put lemon balm, and mints in. Working on it daily, but time and heat are factors.
