Whether you're preparing a holiday dish or rushing to make a quick weekday meal, fresh herbs make any recipe stand out.
Herbs are one of my favorite things to grow in the garden. Every year, I grow lots of parsley, cilantro, thyme, rosemary, dill, basil, oregano, sage, chervil, and more. They're easy to grow and they're prolific - almost every herb is a cut-and-come-again variety, meaning one can harvest from the same plant more than once. Herbs can also be grown in raised beds or in containers, from seed or by transplanting. And, many herbs last until the first hard frost. Here at my Bedford, New York farm, we were still picking various herbs from the garden just last week.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I am so pleased with my new raised bed garden. We had such a wonderful summer – so many delicious and nutritious vegetables and herbs grew here this year.
If you follow my blog regularly, you may have seen how I designed and planned this half-acre garden. It is located closer to my home just south of the stable in a pasture that was once used by my donkeys.
Our summer crops are done, but the weather was still quite mild last week, so many of the herbs were still doing well. These cuttings are parsley, cilantro, sage, chervil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, and fennel.
Here is sage. Salvia officinalis, the common sage or sage, is a perennial, evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae and native to the Mediterranean region. It is popular in fall and winter cooking and baking.
This year, I planted herbs at both ends of each bed in my garden. Here is the sage growing at the end of one of our center beds, where we also grew beans, cucumbers, and sunflowers. Sage should be planted in well-draining soil and in full sun.
Oregano is also an herb from the mint, or Lamiaceae family. Oregano is strongly aromatic and has a slightly bitter, pungent flavor.
Oregano leaves are generally oval, dark green, and positioned in opposite pairs along the stems. Some varieties have fuzzy leaves.
I always grow parsley – I use it in my daily green juice. Parsley, or garden parsley, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It’s great in sauces, soups, and stews. It may be finely minced and rubbed on meats before cooking. It is often added to pesto and salads and it is commonly used as a garnish.
This is curly parsley. It is a bit more bitter than flat parsley, and has a light fragrance.
Over the summer, our curly parsley grew so well. Everyone who visited the gardens admired our crop of curly parsley.
Thyme, Thymus vulgaris, is an herb rich in vitamins A and C. The flowers, leaves, and oil are commonly used to flavor foods.
Here is our thyme growing in the bed. The flowers are tiny, tubular, and colors vary from white, pink, and purple. The flowers of thyme are rich in nectar and attractive to bees and butterflies.
Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis L. is an evergreen bushy shrub which grows along the Mediterranean Sea, and sub-Himalayan areas. It is widely used as a spice when cooking, especially in Mediterranean dishes.
Here is our rosemary planted around the asparagus bed. Everything was so prolific.
We also grew dill. Dill, Anethum graveolens, is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is native to North Africa, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula. Dill has a distinctive taste which is likened to fennel and celery. Closely related to parsley, its fresh aroma is popularly used with fish and seafood dishes.
The leaves of fennel are almost identical to those of dill. Fennel plants, which are native to the Mediterranean basin, have a bulbous base that can be eaten like a vegetable, feathery fronds that are used as an herb, and seeds that can be dried for a spice.
And then there is cilantro. Some love it and some hate it. Of course some of this dislike may be preference, but for those whom the plant tastes like soap, the issue is genetic. Some individuals have a variation in a group of olfactory-receptor genes that allows them to strongly perceive the soapy-flavored aldehydes in cilantro leaves. I love cilantro and often call it coriander. Cilantro is the name for the leaves and stems of the coriander plant. When the plant flowers and turns to seed, the seeds are called coriander.
Another popular herb in my garden is basil. Basil is an herb in the mint family that is in season primarily June through September. It adds flavor to meals, and its nutrients are said to have some health benefits, such as reducing stress and supporting the cardiovascular system. Sweet basil plays a role in many Mediterranean, and particularly Italian, cuisines.
Basil is a tender plant that can be sown outdoors once temperatures warm up in early summer.
Now, the garden is nearly all cleaned up for the season. We’ve already started planting our crops in the vegetable greenhouse. But come spring, we’ll be out here again, tending the beds for another year of delicious, natural foods.
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, my peafowl love to get out and explore.
Peafowl are very social birds - they usually travel in groups, enjoy foraging, and often play together. They are also very loyal and tend to stay where they are well-fed and well-protected. I currently have 16 of these magnificent birds. They live in a very safe and comfortable pen near my stable, where they get lots of attention from visitors. Yesterday, I let them out for a short while to roam the property - they walked around the stable, through the gardens, and even perched high on the rooftops. And then after a few hours, they were led back to their familiar enclosure, where I know they are safe and sound.
Enjoy these photos.
I keep all my birds in large, protected enclosures because of the predators that sometime wander through the property, such as coyotes. On this day, I decided to give the peafowl a little freedom to explore. Here is one male walking past the long boxwood allée.
And here is an all-white male following closely behind.
These birds are going in the opposite direction, but where one goes, others are sure to follow.
Peafowl are smart, docile and adaptable birds. They are also quite clever. It is not unusual for peafowl to come running when the food appears.
This group is headed toward my new raised bed vegetable garden, checking out the ginkgo tree and all its fallen leaves on the way.
Peafowl are ground feeders. They do most of their foraging in the early morning and evening. As omnivores, they eat insects, plants, grains, and small creatures.
In all I have 16 peafowl – juveniles and adults. Within a year, peacocks are almost completely mature. Two year olds resemble adult males, but their tails are still short and need time to develop. They become sexually active around the age of three. Peahens develop faster than peacocks and can mate as early as one.
Here are two in front of my stable office exploring every nook. Peafowl are happiest when living in small groups. They often walk around following each other.
As beautiful as peafowl are, they don’t make very melodious sounds. Peafowl have 11 different calls, with most of the vocalizing made by the peacocks. And, with their sharp eyesight, peafowl are quick to see predators and call out alarms. Oftentimes, I can hear them from across the farm.
Like many birds, peafowl enjoy roosting at higher levels. In the wild, this keeps them safe from predators at night. Here is one peacock up on the stable office roof just watching all the activities.
Peafowl also have acute hearing, but can be poor at discerning from what direction certain sounds originate.
After a few hours, it was time to lead the ostentation back to its pen. Peafowl are members of the pheasant family. There are two Asiatic species – the blue or Indian peafowl native to India and Sri Lanka, and the green peafowl originally from Java and Burma, and one African species, the Congo peafowl from African rain forests. Here is one of my blue peacocks – it is no longer breeding season, so his tail is short. It will grow full feathers again next spring when mating season starts.
Here is a curious female – coming up to see the camera. Female peafowl are more dull brown in color.
Both male and female peafowl have a fan-shaped crest on their heads called a corona. It may take up to one year for a corona to reach full size.
And look at its feet. A peafowl’s legs are very strong. They have three toes on each foot facing forward, and one facing backwards. They also have sharp, powerful metatarsal spurs that are used for defense. Also, as they develop, males will tend to have longer legs than females.
Here is a female perched on the other side of the yard. I always call out to them whenever I drive by… and oftentimes, they answer.
Many had also gone into the coop to perch. Peafowl will look at you in the eye; however, if you stare at them or seem aggressive in your body movements, these birds will feel threatened. Talking softly and keeping eyes averted tells them you are not a predator.
They are put indoors every night – to keep them extra safe.
This white peacock is roosting on the rafters inside the coop. The white peacocks are so beautiful. White peacocks are the result of leucism or albinism. While leucistic white peacocks are far more common than albino peacocks, both types are rare.
And remember, only the males are peacocks. The females are peahens, and both are called peafowl. Babies are peachicks. A family of peafowl is called a bevy. And a group is called an “ostentation” or a “muster.” I am very happy my ostentation of peafowl is thriving here at Cantitoe Corners.
My Bedford, New York farm is buzzing with activity this fall - television shoots, photography shoots, and lots and lots of seasonal chores.
My gardeners have also been hard at work planting spring-flowering bulbs. Every year, I order thousands and thousands of bulbs to add to my landscape. It’s so exciting to see the swaths of color in the gardens after a cold and dreary winter. This week, Ryan McCallister planted Puschkinia and Chionodoxa in various beds outside my Summer House, outside my Tenant House, and under my grove of tall bald cypress trees. They will all look so marvelous come spring.
Here are some photos - enjoy.
Every year it is a rush to plant all our bulbs before the ground freezes. This season, we’ve had some very pleasant, very mild days – just perfect for planting. Ryan keeps track of all the flowers and plants, and knows exactly where our bulbs should go. Here he is organizing the varieties – all from Van Engelen Inc., and its sister company, John Scheepers,
When purchasing bulbs, always look for those that are plump and firm, and avoid those that are soft.
The bulbs getting planted on this day include this pretty Puschkinia. Puschkinias are also known as Striped Squill – a deer- and rodent-resistant naturalizer named after Russian botanist Count Apollos Apollosvich Mussin-Puschkin. Puschkinia does best in moist, fertile, well-draining soil in full sun to partial sunlight. (Photo from vanengelen.com)
This is Puschkinia scilloides var. libanotica alba. All Puschkinia varieties take time to mature, but if it’s happy where it’s planted and left undisturbed, it naturalizes by bulb offsets called bulbils: baby bulbs and great planted en masse in garden borders. (Photo from vanengelen.com)
This is Chionodoxa forbesii. Commonly known as Glory of the Snow, this Chionodoxa has up to 12 star-shaped, six-petaled clustered rich blue flowers with bright white central zones atop dark stems with narrow foliage. (Photo from vanengelen.com)
A very close variety is Chionodoxa forbesii Blue Giant. Blue Giant is the improved form of forbesii with up to eight, larger, star-shaped, six-petaled clustered rich blue flowers. (Photo from vanengelen.com)
And this is Chionodoxa sardensis, which has multiple star-shaped, six-petaled clustered bright blue flowers with small white centers atop dark stems. This variety was discovered circa 1883 from an area around Turkey. (Photo from vanengelen.com)
The first thing before planting bulbs is to prepare the bed with the proper bulb food. The food should be a balanced fertilizer that has a good amount of phosphorous. Fertilizing spring-blooming bulbs also helps them fight off diseases and pests.
This area outside my Summer House garden is fed evenly and generously.
In this area, Puschkinia bulbs are tossed gently onto the soil – where they fall is where they are planted, creating a natural growth appearance.
Both Puschkinia bulbs and Chionodoxa bulbs are small, but looking closely, one can still tell which end is pointed and which end is not – it is important to know when planting.
This tool is a dibber, used to create a narrow deep hole for smaller bulbs.
In general, holes should be three times deeper than the bulb’s length.
One by one, each bulb is carefully placed into a hole, with the pointed end faced up, or root end faced down, so the plant grows properly from the bulb.
Once in the soil, Ryan backfills the area with his gloved hand.
Ryan planted both sides of the footpath leading to my Summer House garden. It will look very pretty come spring.
Another area is here, underneath and near my towering bald cypress trees, Taxodium distichum – a deciduous conifer.
Once again, Ryan feeds the area with a good amount of food specifically for planting bulbs.
Bulbs need to be packaged very carefully to ensure they are kept in the best conditions during transport. Van Engelen uses different bagging materials depending on the bulbs’ humidity needs. The bags are also designed with a number of holes for air circulation and humidity control.
Here are chionodoxa bulbs. These bulbs also have very distinct pointed ends and rounded bottoms.
Each bulb is placed in a hole about three to five inches deep. Ryan is always careful to place it in the hole properly. However, if a bulb accidentally gets planted sideways or upside down, it will still grow – it will just take a bit longer.
And once again, as the bulbs are planted, the areas are backfilled.
I can’t wait to see all these bulbs erupt with gorgeous color come spring. We still have many, many more bulbs to plant. Follow this blog and see where we go next – the daffodil border perhaps?
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