Winter Herbs
A warm welcome into 2022
The days are short and cold. We stumble out of bed in the morning and bundle up in layers of old sweatshirts and sweatpants that have definitely seen better days. The earliest riser has put on a pot of coffee, it sputters and steams, a little morning anthem. We pour ourselves a cup and savor the first sips. Then slide our feet into our old dirty muck boots by the front door.
Coffee steaming from its cup and breath fogging from the chilled winter air we stand and survey our garden in its winter state. Some things have browned and gnarled back, but like a phoenix, come spring they will rise from the ashes fresh and new.
A blanket of frost lays upon some red rose-hips that we have yet to gather, they glitter in the morning light. Two Eurasian doves take refuge in the old oak tree cooing softly to each other. There is so much beauty to these cold winter days, and we know that soon it will be so hot that all we do is beg and plead with the gods of the seasons to bring us back a frosty winter’s morning.
Welcome friends to our first blog back in 2022, we have been on a bit of a creative hiatus but are coming back to you with many new blogs, creations, and curiosities for this coming year. Today we are going to give you all a list of some of our favorite cold hearty winter plants. Planting these gives us vibrant pops of green throughout the Curious Garden in winter.
Winter Herbs
Here are some winter, cold hearty herbs that will push forward with growth in these colder months, so long as you don’t live somewhere where it’s snowy!
Sage: there are many hearty sages that will continue to thrive in cold conditions, our favorite being, common garden sage. Sage is delicious when browned in butter and added over your favorite raviolis.
Parsley: A lovely addition to warm winter soups and stews, parsley is a great cold tolerant plant.
Rosemary: Rosemary, with it’s tough woody stems is great at surviving inclement weather. It’s a great addition to season meats, and flavor hearty dishes. It also is great for adding flavor in homemade breads.
Mint: a favorite of ours for many things, mint is wonderful addition to teas and hot toddies. As well as fruit salads, and they compliment chocolate desserts in a heavenly way.
Lemon Balm: Following suit with the mint, lemon balm is also great in hot tea as well as a topping for delicious desserts or as a garnish for cocktails.
Thyme: This crawling beauty is very cold tolerant and is perfect to be gathered up on a winter morning to add to a farmers market breakfast or boiled with some sugar and water to make a delicious thyme syrup that can elevate your favorite gin and tonic recipe!
Winter Savory: Savory is a great addition to any meats, we love savory and rosemary tossed in with our ribeyes and copious amounts of butter to baste our steaks in a delicious herbal flavor. Compound butters are also a great way to use savory, thyme and rosemary. These are delicious spread over homemade biscuits or bread.
Some brief winter growing tips and tricks
Frost: It’s usually inevitable that the frost will come and it will likely take out some plants that you love. To prevent this, be prepared in the winter months with frost cloth, enlist your fellow family members, entice them with a hot toddy if you have too, and tuck the cloth over all of your precious, more delicate outdoor plants.
Garden Critters: Don’t forget about our garden friends in the winter, set up insect hotels (here is one of our favorites: https://www.amazon.com/Lulu-Home-Butterfly-Ladybirds-Beneficial/dp/B0831CNBQC/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=2FR3EDAYGUGI6&keywords=insect+hotel&qid=1643211424&sprefix=insect+hotel%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-3-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExVEVFQ0xFRTU3QVhEJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjgxODQ0MUJHUjg4NzJRSVY5TCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzg1MjAwMk9XTkpMOUZFUjFPTiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU= ) Put up bird feeders, bird houses and bird baths, as well as any broken terra-cotta pots set upside down as a tiny sanctuary for traveling toads. Owl boxes and bat boxes are also great ways to keep our helpful critters cozy!
Time: Use some of the down time that you have in these winter months to create and organize your ideas for the coming spring garden. Pour yourself a hot cup of tea, bust out the notebooks, laptops and seed catalogs and get creative! Make a list of seeds you may want to buy, plan the layout of this year’s garden. Think critically about what you want to grow, what grew well last year, what didn’t, etc, etc.
Stay warm and stay curious!
