Herb Gardening

I've been growing herbs since I moved to Washington 15 years ago. About the time I was old enough to start cooking more than just "college" food and that was in Austin, Texas...

It's not that I really cook a lot now, but I do like having fresh herbs available to me when I need them. Certain times of the year I like using my garden herbs for cooking and that time is fall. Don't get me wrong, I love using basil and mint in summer... but fall for me is for "real" cooking.

Here are some of the herbs I've been using from my garden:

Parsley -- I've used it a lot to make vegetable stocks and as a fresh herb "stuffing" for chicken along with thyme and rosemary. It was so easy and available. And to make a soups and stews taste and look fresh, I've topped each serving with about half tablespoon of fresh, chopped parsley.

Chives -- That's another one I like to use from eggs to potatoes. The classic on potatoes, however, is rosemary roasted with olive oil. Dill is good on potatoes too and it looks so good in my garden adding a nice "hazy" green soft texture.

Sage -- Not only does this herb look beautiful in the garden, it's worthwhile to have as we approach Thanksgiving, which can be used in turkey and dressing. I like making nice patterns using sage leaves under turkey skin.

Rosemary and Thyme -- For all types of roasting, great on chicken particularly if you make stock.

Bay Leaf -- I've used in all soup stocks this fall

The best place for an herb garden is right outside the kitchen door. This location for me is north-west exposure, which still provides enough sun. I devoted a small strip 15" wide by 30' deep. It's not all filled with herbs but in between my espaliers euonymus shrubs (which will some day be an evergreen wall) and fig tree.

Design wise they look great and add to the "roman" feel of my garden. Both my thyme and rosemary have grown over the edges and flow onto my thick Belgian cobble parking pad. It feels so Italian and old world, particularly when I zoom up and in on my Vespa. I love it!

I will use my herbs well into winter. All are semi-evergreen. Fresh herbs in 4.5" container size come to the store every week. We'll have them available for you up to Thanksgiving.

Final Tip: It's not to early to plant and plan ahead for the holidays. I've already started testing recipes and making stocks to have available for the big day. I have a delicious recipe for vegetable stock. I'm happy to share and email the recipe to you. Let me know.

House Tour

I think every year going back thirty years, I'm forty now, I had to work a house tour. I would have to help either my aunt or mom with some event when I was young. Both were extremely particular, everything had to be perfect. Later in my career, I helped others get their house ready for events and home tours. Well now it's my turn and my house is on display this Sunday for the Shaw Neighborhood Home Tour.

All I can say is it's great to have experience. Another good thing is that it forced me to get my house together and finish decorating projects. Having 300 people over is a great motivator to get things done.

I have to say I was stressed out about it but everything just came together. I was inspired with new interior paint colors with a trip to Istanbul, and later in the year coming home from Paris I found the exact color I wanted in the Air France Magazine. I truly believe it came to me because I was forced to make a decision and focused on change.

Then I called my mom and asked for some stuff. Of course she was already facing impossible deadlines, but then stepped up and rallied. After explaining the circumstances she got on board quick. She sent me wonderful pictures of my family dating back to the 30's and 40's. I always wanted to do a photo gallery up the staircase. They look super.

Now for the garden stuff. Okay with these things you're supposed to go overboard and I did. I stuck to a theme. It's fall. Celebrate it. Here's what I did. I planted a mix collection of pansies in my tree box, then weeded and re-mulched the garden and added plants in bare spots both front and back. Fall is an excellent time to plant and garden. New plants look so fresh in the cooler weather.

For decorating, I used fall ornaments. I placed a fancy mix of pumpkins and guards on the front stoop and a harvest corn swag for the door. For floral arrangements I chose really naturalizing materials such as cat tails that grow in lake beds, harvested wheat, grass, hypericum berry and rose hips. And with other arrangements I used large Liquidamber styraciflua "Sweetgum" tree branches. The leafs are changes colors now and are beautiful just placed in a simple glass vase.

For something new, I topped it off with a fresh collections of mums in floral garden bags. This is a new item for us at the store. We have 8 by 10 inch canvass bags which can be used for planting or garden arrangements. I planted one up with mums and hung it on the front gate just for something different.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at Garden District. Now for my final garden tip, get out and garden, it's a great time to get your plants in the ground. Take the time to look all the beautiful colors that fall has to offer.