This morning I was out at 5:15 in the morning, setting up the hose to water the gardens at the front door. Before I went back into the house, I decided to fill the bird feeder and birdbath.<\/p>\n
\nIt was light outside, but the angle of the sun was still low on the horizon. The birds were just beginning their wake up chatter, and the hum of traffic sang quietly to the south.
\nSince I had picked up the watering wand to fill the birdbath, I decided that I would water the herb garden, too. It gave me the chance to make an assessment of what needed to be done in the garden.
\nI don’t know if it is due to the heat we’ve had, or due to the angle and height of the sun, the lack of water, or the number of growing days, but many of my herbs have started to flower. Blooms are popping up on the different types of thyme, the Scottish spearmint, the basil, and sage. The feverfew has been in bloom for weeks, and the borage plants, which JUST sprang up as volunteers, have a lovely fuzzy blue flower.
\nThree or four weeks ago, we gave the chives a severe haircut. They are fully grown and are trying to bloom again. The oregano has gone lanky and is flowering. I haven’t harvested it this year, so the stalks are long, and are flopping over the sides of the raised beds. The garlic chives have started to form flower heads. We cut back the flowers on the sage, and they are creating more bloom stalks. We cut the lemon balm in half, and today I noticed scads of tiny leaves, and…..more flowers!
\nIf you grow herbs for essential oil, you want to harvest the herb before it blooms, because the oil is more concentrated. Basil, used in cooking, should be harvested before the plant flowers, for the best flavor. My herbs must be fulfilling their destiny. “Reproduce!” their genes say.
\nI give up. I’ll pull the weeds, and sow some more dill, and let the rest go to flower. Who am I to argue with Mother Nature!?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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