My Perbs (personal herbs, growing in pots on my back deck) are now two weeks old. Time for some gratuitous photo updates. (You can enlarge any and all by clicking on it.) If any of you know a lot about herbs and/or pot gardening, please (please!) feel free to chime in with tips and tricks. I’m pretty clueless about all this. All I know is that herbs taste good, enjoy sunshine, and require reasonably managed moisture levels.
This is the biggest pot, a mix of dill (which is growing like a weed–I’ve pinched of flowers a couple of times on the theory that this is, well, I dunno, it just seemed like a good idea), thyme, and chives (can’t wait for the flowers, yum, love the taste of those things). They look as though they’re doing okay. I think.
Parsley. This one looked very sickly when we brought it home, then it got dropped on its head–but it seems to be picking up nicely.
Marjoram. I think this is my favourite. Why? No idea. But if any survive the summer and indicate they might thrive over winter, I hope it’s this one. (Though I kind of have hopes for the thyme, too.)
Basil. This smells the best but I’m a bit fretful about its long term prospects. It seems incredibly sensitive to moisture and lack of same. I’m thinking I should have put this in a bigger pot/more stable environment.
Sage. Better tasting than the stuff out front. It looks pretty sturdy, too. Next to it is some kind of mint–smushed close to the other pots in a vain attempt to give it shade. (That’s what it’s supposed to prefer but, frankly, I can’t be bothered putting it somewhere else where I’ll have to drag potting soil and watering can. So I’m thinking of this as an experiment.)
Speaking of sage, for comparison purposes here’s what the sage and rosemary look like in the front garden: very butch, burly and territorial.
Here’s a bunch o’ stuff to the left of the front door that I can’t name (apart from the roses). And, oh what the hell, here are the roses on the other side of the door.
If you want to see these roses from an entirely different perspective, see Kelley’s blog, “What are the odds?”
Have a lovely Sunday.
Nicola Griffith 
Gorgeous!!! I am coveting your yard :P. I would love to have an herb garden, but I have two huge elm trees in my back yard that put it in shade for most of the day. I'm going to see if I can beg my landlord (dad) to fence off the sunny area in the front side yard next summer for vegetable/herb garden purposes. I do have one nicely ripening tomato in the one partially sunny spot in the back side yard. Can't wait to eat it :).
There's something deeply satisfying about eating something grown in one's own garden. At our last house we had a cherry tree (cf Always) and–until a virus killed them all–three beds of the most delicious strawberries I've ever tasted. Summer was heavenly.
The Perbs look great. I don't have any real gardeging tips, but I have grown most of that stuff in LA. Basil was one of the easiest things to grow – even my neglect didn't kill it. Just some water and the stuff grew out of control – huge. Same with mint. The standard variety grows like a weed in LA. Doesn't need a lot of water, just lots of sun. My sage (i tried a couple of different kinds) needed the least water of all, and it grows pretty fast as well.
The roses are looking beautiful!
I agree – something deeply satisfying about eating food one has grown oneself. No doubt one of the reasons it tastes so damn good.
A cherry tree would be fabulous. I am missing not having friends with avocado and meyer lemon trees…
My baby plum tree out front is producing plums for the first time :). I am reclaiming the back yard from several years of serious neglect (previous owner got hooked on meth & yes, we had the walls sealed) so it's a work in progress, but my plan is to put two more flowering fruit trees along the NW side of the back yard to make a four-tree fruit orchard. I'm hoping that I can find a variety of cherry that will grow well here – tree-ripened cherries are divine.
Fencing off the front sunny area will involve the SW neighbor's permission, but I'm not expecting any objections if I offer to share. There is just nothing on this earth as good as a garden-ripened tomato :).
and speaking of herbs, here is a link on pot derivitives that are making good progress in MS treatment. You probably know of this research, but I thought of you when I read it. Hope all went well with the 22nd. Woody S.
And here is the bloody link: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/59872/title/Not_just_a_high
It all looks really good! I've been gardening for years, and my deck garden looks like shit for whatever reason.
Your perbs all look like they're thriving Nicola. If you have any liquid seaweed that would give the parsley a boost and green it up too. The mint won't mind the sun as long as it doesn't dry out. Looks like it has tiny leaves? Just wondering if it's Corsican Mint? Hmn – so, your garden sage over-winters? That's interesting to me – difficult to over-winter sage here in the cold & wet unless it's well established. Cherries do really well in southern Norway – beautiful crops. There is at least one self-pollinating variety, we have one in the fruit tree nursery I work in called “Stella”. : )
PS Just had a closer look at your sage – it can be sensitive to wet weather, watch out for mildew and collar rot!
This is great info. Thanks. Keep it coming.
It's now clear that there's something definitely wrong with my basil. I hope it's not the dread Downy Mildew…
Well now I know what happened to my basil plants!
Lovely! I'll look forward to seeing more photos as the summer progresses.
Watching things grow, introspection, and “Under the Jaguar Sun” by Italo Calvino mix in my mind as I look at your oh so bright photos.