The Book of Herbs - Rosalind Northcote (snow like ashes series txt) 📗
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[85] Neither lime nor chalk must be repeatedly added or the soil will be impoverished.
Horehound and Rue may be coupled together as liking a shady border and a dry, calcareous soil, and I have always heard that the latter thrives best when the plant has been stolen! It is a good thing to cut the bush down from time to time, when it will spring again with renewed vigour. Rue may be grown from seeds or cuttings taken in the spring. Horehound may be grown from seeds or cuttings, but is most usually increased by dividing the roots.
Hyssop, Rosemary, and Sage are natives of the south of Europe, and the two first appreciate a light, sandy soil, and not too much sun. Hyssop should be sowed in March or April; rooted off-sets may be taken in these months or in August and September, or cuttings from the stems in April or May, and these should be watered two or three times a week till they have struck. Both Hyssop and Sage are the better for being cut back when they have finished flowering. Loudon[86] says of Rosemary: “The finest plants are raised from seed. Slips or cuttings of the young shoots may be taken in the spring and summer and set in rows, two-thirds into the ground and occasionally watered till they have struck. In the autumn they may be transplanted.” There are four kinds of Sage: red, green, small-leaved, or Sage of Virtue, broad-leaved or Balsamic. Gardening books speak of the red variety as being the commonest, though it seems to me that the common green sage is the one oftenest seen in kitchen-gardens. Red Sage seldom comes “true” from seed but is easily raised by cuttings, and it sometimes succumbs to a hard winter. The other varieties are propagated by seed or by cuttings taken in May or June; the outer shoots should be the ones chosen and they should be put well into the ground and watered. After about three years the plants begin to degenerate and new ones should be set. Three kinds of Marjoram are cultivated, Winter (Origanum Heracleoticum), Pot (O. Onites) and Sweet Marjoram (O. Marjorana). The last-named is not a perennial. Winter and Pot Marjoram like a dry, light soil and are best propagated by off-sets, slipping or parting the roots in spring or autumn, but they may be also raised from seed. Bergamot, sometimes called Bee Balm, is, Robinson says, of the simplest culture, thriving or flowering in any position or soil. “For its scent alone, or for its handsome crimson flowers it would be well worth cultivating.”[87] He adds that the different varieties of Monarda are admirably suited to being planted “for naturalization in woods and shrubberies.” Bergamot may be increased by division of the roots in the spring or grown from seed.
[86] “Encyclopædia of Gardening.”
[87] “English Flower Garden.”
Balm grows almost too readily and has a terrible habit of spreading in all directions unless severely checked. To propagate it, the roots should be divided, or slips taken either in spring or autumn.
Thyme.—Of the varieties of Serpyllum there seems no end, and the number of the species of Thymus is still dubious. Twelve kinds of them are offered for sale in an ordinary seed list sent to me the other day, but of these, few are grown in the kitchen-garden. Common Thyme or Lemon Thyme are the kinds most usually cultivated. Common Thyme has long, narrow-pointed leaves and Lemon Thyme is easily recognised by its scent from the wild Thyme, of which it has generally been considered a variety. Golden or Variegated Thyme (also lemon-scented) makes a pretty and fragrant edging to a flower-bed, but should be cut back when it has done flowering, unless the seed is to be saved, as it becomes straggling and untidy, and there is more danger of its being killed by the frost than if the winter finds it compact and bushy. Thyme is propagated by seed, by taking up rooted side-shoots, or by cuttings taken in the spring. It thrives best in a light, rich earth, and should be occasionally watered till well rooted.
There are two varieties of Camomile, the single and the double-flowered; the first is the most valuable in medicine, but the second is the most commonly met with. Camomile grows freely in most soils, but seems naturally to choose gravel and sand. The roots may be divided or, as the gardener before quoted, remarks: “Only let a plant of it go to seed; it will take care of itself.” Costmary is seldom grown. Loudon says the whole plant has “a peculiarly agreeable odour”; personally, the odour strikes me as exactly resembling that of mint sauce. The plant is rather handsome, with large greyish leaves and small deep-yellow flowers; it likes a dry soil and is increased by division of the roots after the flowering time is over.
Mint, Peppermint and Penny-royal, demand the same treatment, and all like moisture. They are easily increased by dividing the roots in the spring or autumn, by taking off runners in the autumn, or by cuttings taken in the spring. The cuttings should be planted about half way into the earth. To have really good mint, it should be transplanted about every third year. Green Mint is sometimes required in the winter and early spring, and this may be provided by putting a few outside runners in a pot and placing it in bottom heat. “Plant for succession every three weeks, as forced roots soon decay.”
Winter Savoury is “propagated by slips or cuttings in April or June, planted in a shady border, and transplanted a foot apart and kept bushy by cuttings.”[88]
[88] Abercrombie, “Every Man his own Gardener.”
Fennel has become naturalised and is sometimes found growing wild by the sea; it is usually raised from seed or increased by side off-sets of the roots which may be taken in spring, summer or autumn. Bugloss or Alkanet grows freely anywhere, but seems to prefer moisture, and it may be increased by division of the roots or grown from seeds.
Of Mallows and Marsh Mallows, De la Quintinye says, “They ought to be allowed a place in our Kitchen-Gardens... they grow of their own accord,” but he admits that it is best to “sow them in some bye-place,” because of their propensity to spread. They are raised from seed, but cuttings may do well, and off-sets of the root, carefully divided, are satisfactory. Sweet Cicely may be increased by dividing the roots. It is well suited to an open shrubbery or wild garden, as well as to a herb-border. Elecampane is propagated by off-sets, taken when the plant has done flowering; it likes a moist soil or shade, and sends up tall spikes of bright yellow flowers. This year some of mine were over six feet high.
Angelica, Abercrombie tells us, is an annual-perennial, which means that it must be taken up and newly planted every year to be at all good, though off-sets from the plant would continue to come up of their own accord. It delights in moisture, and flourishes on the banks of running streams, but will do well almost anywhere. Angelica is best raised from seed, which, if sown in August, will grow better than if sown earlier in the year and it will sometimes grow from cuttings. Liquorice is “propagated by cuttings of the roots. On account of the depth to which the root strikes when the plant has room to flourish, the soil should have a good staple of mould thirty inches or three feet in depth. Taking the small horizontal roots of established plants, cut them into sections six inches long. Having traced out rows a yard asunder, plant the sets along each row at intervals of eighteen inches, covering them entirely with mould.”[89]
[89] Abercrombie.
PLANTATION OF LAVENDER
Saffron will grow in any soil, but prefers a sandy one, and plenty of sun. It is increased by seed, and by off-sets, which must be taken from the bulb when the plant is in a state of rest. As Saffron is an autumn-flowering plant, the time of rest is in the beginning of summer, and the bulb should be taken up when the leaves (which appear in the spring) begin to decay. The parent bulbs should be kept dry for a month and then replanted, that they may have time to “establish themselves” and flower before winter. This should be done once in three years. Skirrets are seldom eaten, but occasionally seen; they may be raised from seed, or by off-sets from the roots taken in spring or autumn. Chives are propagated by dividing the roots either in spring or autumn, and when the leaves are wanted they should be cut close, and then new ones will grow up in their place.
Sorrel of two kinds is cultivated, Rumex Acetosa and Rumex Scutatus or French Sorrel; Garden Sorrel rejoices in a damp, French Sorrel in a dry, soil. Both are most commonly increased by parting the roots, which may be done either in spring or autumn, and the roots planted about a foot apart and watered. Loudon says: “The finer plants are propagated from seed,” which should be sown in March, though it may be sown in any of the spring months, and the plants must be thinned out when they are one or two inches high. When the stalks run up in the summer they should be cut back occasionally.
Herb Patience or Patience Dock is raised from seed sown in lines and thinned out and the leaves to be eaten must be cut young. Burnet is easily raised from seed, or increased by dividing the roots in the spring. All the flower-stalks ought to be cut down, if they are not required for seed. Dandelion, it is hardly necessary to say, is only too easily raised from seed or by roots. Loudon says that when wanted for the table, the leaves should be tied together and earthed up, which will blanch them satisfactorily; otherwise, it may be grown blanched by keeping it always in a dark place.
For obvious reasons there are obstacles to the cultivation of Water-cress; a very little running water, however, will suffice, and it may be grown from seeds or by setting roots in the shallow stream. It should never be grown in stagnant water. Loudon quotes several authorities on the subject of growing Samphire; it is difficult to please, but this treatment was successful at Thames Ditton. The Samphire was “placed in a sheltered, dry situation, screened from the morning sun, protected by litter in the winter, and in the
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