Ahhh it's finally spring. I know, it's technically been spring for over a month now, but, for me, it doesn't truly start until I have a full garden. I want herbs, flowers, fruits, veggies, trees, shrubs, everything. This year so far I have many flowers, quite a few herbs, some fruits, but I don't have any veggies. The main attractions in my garden are my 20+ lavender plants and my beautiful variety of rose plants. For this post I'm going to focus on my herbs, but you'll get a rose treat at the very end, so be sure to look at the whole post!
Last year I bought a bunch of different herbs which I used almost daily in my cooking. The only plants that survived the winter were the oregano, chives, and rosemary. Fortunately, all of my lavender plants survived this year. Last year we had a snowstorm which I blame for the death of 3 lavenders. This year, though, they all made it through, and I am excited to see them bloom with fragrant flowers this summer.
The lavender pictured ab is very cool because it's a white spanish lavender. Traditional spanish lavender is purple like the plant that you can see in the background. This specimen is a unique addition to my collection that I purchased two years ago. So far only the Spanish type have flowers, but the English, French, and other types will begin blooming in the summertime.
The lavender in this picture is the very first lavender plant that I bought three years ago. It is the very common English type. This type of lavender is very easy to grow because it doesn't require a lot of watering, and it can withstand cool temperatures. It smells great, and the flowers offer a strong bitter flavor.
This is a chive plant that survived through the winter. I didn't expect this plant to have such attractive flowers, but I really fell in love with it. It is convenient to always have topping for hashbrowns or baked potatoes any time I need it.
My golden oregano survived through the winter! I was so happy to see this because it is one of the most versatile herbs in my garden. The golden variety of oregano offers a light yet flavorful boost to soups, meats, and a variety of other cooking needs.
For new herbs this year (see the first photos), I bought a red basil and a variety with a purple flower. I also bought a new lemon thyme (I had one last year as well that didn't survive), a parsley, and a bay shrub.
I am very excited to see my bay shrub grow into a big man shrub. It is supposed to grow up to 15 feet tall in a conical shape. I don't know what I'll do with so much bay. Let me know if you're in the Portland area and need some fresh bay leaves this summer!
And finally, the special rose picture as promised! There are no rose flowers in this shot, but I want you to gaze upon the glory of all those buds. This is a Don Juan climbing rose that will soon explode with fiery red flowers all over my fence.
