Unplanned Beauty: Herbs

I am a planner.  I have been for as long as I can remember.  My childhood was filled with elaborate plans for my Barbies’ futures and coursework for the imaginary students I taught in my small, fully-stocked classroom.  I make lists, I keep an up-to-date calendar and I plan our family budget at least a month in advance. I don’t even head to a restaurant spontaneously.  I look up the menu, read a few reviews and plug it into MapQuest just in case I may not know the fastest way to get there.  Sick, I know.  But when it comes to our garden each year?  I don’t plan a single thing.  Nothing.  Nada.  And it mystifies me.  Apparently when it comes gardening I throw caution to the wind.

As evidenced by our small herb garden.  As you can see we have three beautiful herb plants and one not-so-beautiful bare spot.  Work with me here.  Use your imagination and picture a lovely, delicious parsley plant front and center.

We are forever using popsicle sticks around this house:  plant markers, craft projects, puppets.  I am a huge fan of reusing what we already have and since I haven’t spent a dime on these I won’t be bummed when my son removes them and I find them instead stuck in a houseplant, in a candy dish or in his pockets after they have been washed and dried.

Sweet basil.  We use basil a lot in our Italian fare.  In fact some of these babies are heading into our dinner tonight.  Why am I whispering?  I’m not sure.  I guess I’m worried they’ll hear me.  I planted the basil facing north so it won’t shadow the other plants as it grows taller.

Cilantro!  My very favorite herb ever!  I love it in salsas, salads, Thai food, sandwiches, chocolate brownies, you name it.  C. and I are as close as a herb and a human can be.

Rosemary.  This woody herb finds its way into many a dinner around here.  Especially in recipes that have some poultry in the mix.  It is so fragrant and hardy.

I’m off to buy parsley and finish planting the rest of my very unplanned but always miraculously delicious garden.  The picture of the strawberries is a little preview of the rest of the controlled chaos.

What are your favorite herbs?  Are you a garden planner or do you free-wheel it like me?  If you are a planner, can you pray for me?  I could really use some divine intervention.

Stacey