Backyard Gardener (Photo Illustration/MetroCreative)
Hello to all the farmers and gardeners of the Mid-Ohio Valley! We have been experiencing some very hot weather in the valley this week. Please remember to water your garden and containers early in the morning or late in the evening. Water your garden down to the base of your plants and give your plants plenty of water.
When working in your yard or garden, avoid prolonged exposure to the sun, avoid the hot afternoon sun, and always stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water or sports drinks with electrolytes.
In honor of Pollinator Week, we want to talk about flowering herbs. When planting an herb garden, many home gardeners think of fresh basil for summer pasta salads, mint in their iced tea, or freshly harvested oregano for grandma's spaghetti sauce recipe. But did you know that herb gardens can also be a vital food source for native pollinators and honeybees?
Herbs are a wonderful addition to your home landscape. There is no substitute for fresh herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, oregano that your family can harvest and use in your cooking. Once they flower (we call this “bolting”), many of them become very attractive to pollinators, adding another attractive element to your garden. When harvesting herbs, we always recommend “picking the best and leaving the rest.”
Herb growers can harvest fresh herbs this fall and winter, plus some extra to dry and store. Once you've harvested what you need, let your plants go to seed (Dr. Seuss would be proud, right?). The herbs will self-seed, produce beautiful flowers (like sage), and provide a needed food source for bees and other pollinators.
Mint, thyme, sage and chives produce amazing flowers that attract honeybees, bumblebees, native bees and the Bee Gees. Bees and other pollinators should be “dancing”! Just kidding! Herbs keep pollinators “alive.”
Mint's pleasant aroma is one of the reasons it's a popular essential oil, garden herb, and ingredient in sauces, jellies, and drinks. If you've ever planted mint, you know that the flowers of this herb attract honeybees.
Mints (Mentha species), which include apple mint, spearmint, peppermint, and others, are very hardy and produce beautiful flowers for busy pollinators. Mint can easily become invasive, so be sure to plant them in raised beds or other places where they won't spread out of control.
These herbs add an earthy flavor to meats, stuffings, soups, and more. Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) produces abundant lavender flowers for pollinators, with colors ranging from white to pink, and a long flowering period. Once established, thyme is easy to care for and tolerates drought.
Once fully grown, watering and maintenance is minimal. As an evergreen perennial, pick fresh thyme at the beginning of the season and allow it to flower for the bees. And yes, the flowers are edible. Thyme flowers add a lemony flavor to dishes, and some culinary uses suggest using them to make flavored butter.
This versatile herb is a must-have ingredient in sausages when combined with garlic, and is easy to use as a gorgeous cut flower. Salvia (Salvia officinalis) produces beautiful profuse purple-blue flower spikes in early summer that attract bees, butterflies, and the occasional hummingbird.
Sage is a drought-tolerant perennial that grows to look like a woody shrub. The gray leaves of the common varieties contrast beautifully with the greens of many other plants, so sage need not be restricted to herb or vegetable gardens.
Once harvested, the herb produces beautiful flowers that attract bees. Small varieties can also be grown in pots to provide fresh sage indoors during the cold winter months.
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are a plant in the onion family that add a mild onion flavor to potato dishes and vegetable dips. Chives' pink to purple flowers are actually round spheres densely packed with tiny star-shaped florets. Bumblebees and other types of bees love to visit these beautiful flowers.
Chives are hardy, drought-tolerant perennials that grow in clumps from underground bulbs and produce round, hollow, green leaves that are much finer than onions. Growing to about 10-12 inches tall, the herb makes a beautiful addition to floral arrangements and is used for decoration. If sown to seed, chives can spread to unwanted areas of the garden.
If you have any questions, please contact the Wood County WVU Extension Office at 304-424-1960 or email me at jj.barrett@mail.wvu.edu Until next time, good luck, and happy gardening!
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