Ever Green
By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Start your herb garden with herbs you'll use, such as basil, top, and
rosemary, center, as well as parsley and oregano. These kitchen
workhorses can be augmented with more exotic choices such
as lemon verbena, bottom, or lemongrass.
The British, who tend to be more fanatical about their gardens than we are, started the notion of the knot garden, growing herbs in the ground in tidy little patterns that weave in and out of each other. A knot garden requires almost constant care, and no Stately Home of England is without one. If you have a staff of gardeners to weed and water, and you have a crying need for hyssop, burnet and dittany, a knot garden could be a good idea. Pots of herbs
easy to growHaving said this, let's think it over. Actually, in our climate the best way to grow herbs is in pots because many of them wander like beagle puppies. Mint, particularly, will turn up in your ginger or under your plumerias. It is also more practical to grow your herbs near your kitchen so they are easily accessible, rather than as the centerpiece of your garden. Grouped together in pots, they make an attractive arrangement at the kitchen door, and there usually is a water faucet in the vicinity.
Barbara Chu, who lives in Nuuanu Valley, has successfully raised herbs in pots on her lanai for several years. She cultivates them strictly for her own family and friends, and does not provide the supply for Indigo Restaurant, run by her husband Glenn Chu."I couldn't possibly grow enough for the restaurant," she said. "Glenn brings them in along with fresh vegetables from the Big Island."
The Chus come naturally to their interest in herbs and fine cooking -- each had a grandmother who was a great cook, taking a serious interest in food and its preparation. Barbara's French grandmother and Glenn's Chinese grandmother were each also ardent gardeners.
"When growing herbs, choose the ones you'll use," Barbara advised. Look over your favorite recipes, and you'll probably decide to grow basil, chives, dill, parsley, oregano, thyme and rosemary. And you may want to try lavender and lemon grass and other more exotic herbs found at plant sales. "I use a lot of rosemary," Barbara said.
"I rub a roasting chicken with good olive oil and season it with ground pepper and Hawaiian sea salt. I lightly pack the inside of the chicken with sprigs of rosemary and put a few under the skin. Then I crank up the oven and roast it. It's a favorite."
Rosemary is native to the rocky coasts of France and Spain, and has deep green, needle-like leaves and pale blue or white flowers. It is one of the more decorative herbs -- most of them look more like weeds than garden plants. Rosemary is salt tolerant and grows well in seaside gardens. Like most herbs, it does better in dry, well-drained soil, and may lose some of its flavor if grown in rich soil. Barbara occasionally feeds her herbs with Miracle-Gro, but they probably don't need it.Another family favorite is sliced vine-ripened tomatoes tossed lightly with olive oil, feta cheese and a mix of herbs, including oregano, basil and dill. Oregano also comes from southern Europe and grows easily from cuttings. Basil was originally native to tropical Asia, and there are at least a dozen common varieties. Italian Large Leaf, Dark Opal and Purple Ruffles are among the most popular. Unlike oregano and rosemary, basil requires fertilizer several times a year. It is a member of the mint family, and how can you tell?
Because it has square stems, a family trait.
Dill belongs to the carrot family, as does parsley. Barbara prefers flat-leaf Italian parsley for its mild flavor. It is a perennial, but seems to do best if it is pulled up and added to the compost pile every couple of years. Barbara advises using a light hand when adding fresh herbs to cooking. You can always add more, but you can't remove anything.
She has had few problems with insects or diseases on her herbs. "The healthier the plant, the less likely it is to attract bugs, and they don't seem to be attracted to herbs. Maybe the scents are too strong." But if that were true, they would land on the lavender. Barbara doesn't know why, but her lovely lavender plants have no scent.
Because Nuuanu Valley gets more rain than many other areas of the island, the herbs are watered regularly only in the summer. Barbara harvests her herbs in the morning when they are the freshest, using the Japanese-made steel scissors with large handles. "I suppose I could use any kind of sharp shears, but these scissors are beautiful. I like things that are beautiful.
"To mince the herbs you need a really sharp knife. You know if people cook by looking at their knives. It doesn't matter how fancy the kitchen is or how expensive the appliances, if they have rinky-dink cheap knives, they aren't serious cooks."
Like most successful gardeners, Barbara can't trace the lineage of any of her herbs. Some came from her mother-in-law, some from friends and garden shops, and some from sales like the annual spring sale at Foster Garden on May Day.
The sale will offer a great selection of greenery, and at 11 a.m. will offer the national release of four U.S. postage stamps and first-day covers featuring tropical flowers. Mother's Day is creeping up on May 9, so you could do some early shopping.
Spring Plant Sale
What: Annual Foster Garden sale
Gardening Calendar in Do It Electric!
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