| Gwenythe briat's Journal of Memories of Gwenwood Farms and her Gardens in Litchfield County, Ct. Winter scene of Gwenwood Farms |
| "Happy is the Herb Gardener through all the seasons and the years. Theirs is a life enriched with rare fragrances to be enjoyed at dawn, at dusk, and in the heat of noon." Adelma Simmons It has been my experience that all herb seeds start better if sown directly outside when danger of frost is past. In the past I have attempted to raise these plants in the greenhouse, then transferring them outside to cold frames to harden off. I have found that often the plants that I have sown directly are as large as the plants that I started earlier in the greenhouse! So, spade the soil to a mellow, friable condition. Then mark out the rows with a hoe and sprinkle the seeds in the rows. Cover with just alittle soil and moisten the area with a gentle spray. The general rule is to cover seeds to 3x the depth of their thickness. Seeds that are "minute", I press into prepared soil in a cold frame. Remember to keep the seeded areas reasonably moist until germination is well along. If the weather is cool, the use of row covers is helpful. These can be purchased from Gardeners Supply reasonably. The winter months in New England are an advantageous time to design your herb garden. Below I have taken an area by the back entry, between the coldframes and walkway, which will be my "Doorway Garden". This area will be double dug and then filled with good topsoil and a good percentage of grit. This plan is bordered at the front by creeping thymes, which spill into and join the moss covered stone pathways. The background borders include apple and orange mints,peppermint, spearments in a raised enclosure. This for containment as well as visual height when viewing from the deck or pathways. The corner by the house will have a backdrop of Ostrich and Lady Ferns. These in turn echo the peonies that are unerplanted with lady ferns on the stonewall embankment directly across the lawn area. Wormwood, lovage, calendulas, chinese cabbage, mexican marigolds, and artemesia "silver king" complete the backdrop. On the parking area side will be planted borders of chives and lavendula, with a center planting of angelica, tansy and borage. These are fronted with calendulas and purple and green ruffled lettuce. Large pots of Rosemary will grace the walkways. These pots I overwinter each year in a cool basement. They flourish by a draughty window, with evenly moist soil, good drainage and roomy pots. In the central gardens by the sundial: I will plant swiss chard, burnet, purple sage, lemon balm, wonderful bronze fennel, sweet marjoram, winter savory, tarragon, chicory and basil. These will be interspersed with white marigolds and drifts of clipped white cosmos. By the deck: A curly parsley border will echo the same curls of the lettuce foliage across the path. This will be backed by oregano, anise, coriander, garlic chives and rue. To the rear of the rue will be another fern glade to compliment the ferns planted by the house in the background borders. By the stairway to the deck are planted short white rose climbers. The deck will have drapings of deep purple clematis, yellow roses and soft blue morning glories. The garden in front of the deck is already planted with purple heucheras, white roses, a vintage musk rose bush, rudbeckias and "Cotswold Queen" verbascum, with a centerpiece of an cast iron victorian birdbath. This garden will be bordered with camomile and Egyptian onions. To echo the bronze fennel, the annual chocolate cosmos will be planted here and white cosmos by the entry to the deck. Always remember to echo colours for visual appeal, and that height is important for the same appeal. Which is why I always build up the garden beds that I design with soil, and sometimes use areas that are raised with 10" wood boards, or stone walls for backdrops or central points of interest. It is also important to contain invasive species, which is another reason for the raised bed in the background border that will be planted with mints. |
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| Doorway Garden copyright 1992 by Gwenythe B. Harvey |
| Shopping List for the Doorway Garden: The above area is about 14' by 16'. Perennials: Annuals and Biennials 10 bronze Fennel 12 Basil 12 Chives 6 Borage 3 garlic Chives 12 Chicory 12 Munsted Lavendula 12 Chinese Cabbage 5 Egyptian Onions 36 lettuce, oakleaf/purple/green 7 French Sorrel 12 curly parsley 3 Orange mint 12 swiss chard 3 Spearment 1 flat of white cosmos 3 Peppermint 1 flat of white marigolds 3 apple Mint 1/2 flat of mexican marigolds 5 purple Sage 1 seed packet of Calendulas sown 7 sweet Marjoram April 15th and covered with row covers 3 Tarragon 6 plants of Chocolate Cosmos 2 winter Savory 3 Artemesia (wormwood) 5 BeeBalm 1 flat of thyme |
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| "Mozart" and Hennie Pennie 1985-1993 |
| The Gardener that would know true humility, must weed a bed of Thyme. |
| Thymes thrive in a location that has afternoon sun. When you plant Thyme be sure the roots are way down in the soil, even if the crown of the plant is also in the soil. This way they will not dry out. During the winter, do not trim back, and do cover with salt hay. For appearances sake, you can also mulch with pine or juniper boughs. I have used Thyme successfully in many design schemes. Tucked amongst Dianthus with the tiny leaves of thymus spilling over a walkway is a statement in silvers and whites. Using plantings of thyme amongst stone pathways assures fragrant footfalls. Ancient Greeks considered Thyme a symbol of courage and sacrifice. Tradition tells that Thyme was in the straw bed of the Virgin Mary and the Christ child. In the Middle Ages, ladies would embroider a sprig of Thyme into scarves they gave to their errant knights. At various periods in history, Thyme has been used to treat melancholy, reproductive system ailments, and to improve digestion. In the 18th century, it was recommended as a cure for a hangover. Thyme is an excellent source of iron, manganese, and vitamin K. It is also a very good source of calcium and a good source of dietary fiber. For an in-depth nutritional profile click here: Thyme |
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| If you would like to design a Herb Garden with Thyme as the principal player remember that a thyme herb garden needs lots of room for the thyme to grow. Thyme will not thrive in a small area. Make the beds large enough to work in when dividing plants and mulching. Select a location that has light, dry soil and no excess moisture. Thyme will climb, so near a rock wall is acceptable. The drier the soil the more aromatic the thyme will be. Do expect the thyme to come back every year since it is a hardy perennial. Design a unique shape for your thyme garden, like the octagons or circles of formal English gardens. Line the paths with bricks, creek pebbles or flagstone in geometric patterns. Mimic the same pattern around the entire thyme garden to create echos of the design. The English garden thyme also known as lemon thyme is originally from the high regions of Spain and is particularly fragrant when planted from cuttings or roots. I divide Thyme varieties every three years which keeps the individual root systems healthy. You can design individual sections of your herb garden to display each variety. I am partial to silver thyme, lavender thyme, orange thyme and caraway thyme because these unique varieties can be utilized as oils, flavorings and teas. Recently I cleaned out and upgraded an existing Celtic Herb Garden for the Findhorn Community on the Isle of Erraid in Scotland. Go to the Findhorn link below to read about my adventures and download two original designs for Celtic Herb Gardens, each with their own planting lists. |
| "Yackie" was given to the Farm as a young gosling. She had been hand-raised, was accustomed to eating with the puppy, and also spoiled with a treat every time she "honked". So she was indeed a "Yackie". She quickly became friends with"Jeremiah" Puddleduck. More on "Jeremiah" in the Farm story link. "Yackie" eventually became head of the flock and quite a tyrant about keeping her "feathered friends" in line. When anyone came to the yard, she would run up to them, honking quite loudly. Little did the trespassers realize that this honking was a friendly salute. She was also adept at keeping the sheep away from the corn kernals, by flapping her broad wings at them, rounding them up and sending them in the opposite direction. Eventually, the sheep kept away from any premises that the geese were lurking on. So, "Yackie" was not only a watch-goose, but also a goose-sheep-dog! |
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| Don't forget to save the seeds from the cosmos & marigolds and calendulas for next year! |
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