herb gardens

(by renatta)

Herbs. Herb gardens. That sounds impressive….when you can tell people that you have an herb garden. It makes you sound like someone who is a really good cook, someone who is really au naturel, who really gets into the whole “provide for your family through nature” thing. Yep.

So a few months ago, I was at Publix and I needed some fresh basil for a recipe. I really try to avoid any recipe that calls for fresh herbs, since they’re outrageously expensive for a small bundle. But, turns out they were selling fresh herb PLANTS for the same price. I figured, what the heck, even if I end up killing the plant (which is highly likely), I won’t lose money. I still need it for this recipe. So I bought it. Put it in a pot in the yard. Watered it when I remembered. Sometimes it gets to looking a little scary because I forget about it, but it’s still alive. And it makes me feel like I’m a minor version of Martha Stewart when I tell one of my kids to go in the yard and “clip some basil.” What I wouldn’t mention if this were Facebook is that they started to get irritated when all they could taste in our salad was basil, or that they really complained when all they could taste in the squash (I didn’t grow that….I bought it at Publix) was basil. OK, I admit it. I overdid it just a tad. But hey, fresh herbs in MY YARD. I was impressed with myself.

Well, then, my daughter wanted some mint to make tea, so we bought some mint, thinking once again that it was cheaper to buy the plant. We put it in a pot and then we had TWO herbs in our “garden,” mint and basil. Now, mind you, we have NO USE whatsoever for the mint. (She never even made the tea she wanted.) I tried making Sweet Pea and Mint Couscous but it was overpowering. You aren’t supposed to taste mint when you eat a side dish at dinner. That’s a dessert flavor. So, the mint probably won’t get used much. But hey, it’s in my “herb garden.”

So then last week, we were at Publix again, and they STILL had those fresh herbs. Not wanting to veer too much from the personality trait that I have of “overdoing things,” I bought some oregano. So now I have three herbs in my garden. Yep. A regular “Martha Stewart.” And if this were Facebook, I would only tell you that I am now working on expanding my herb garden. I wouldn’t mention that the “herb garden” sits in plastic pots on top of our picnic table that has the tablecloth bungee-corded around it so it won’t blow off and we don’t have to change it. And I wouldn’t mention that on the table WITH this herb garden is an empty plastic pineapple container (also from Publix, thank you very much) where we keep the pellets we use for keeping mosquitoes away. I also wouldn’t mention that there’s an Amber Bock label stuck to the table from the last hang-out experience in the yard. And I certainly wouldn’t mention the fact that we have mildewed cabinets and broken sinks and fly-paper in our carport, which isn’t too far away from the “herb garden.” No, that’s not Facebook material. Too “icky” for the “perfect persona” we want to share on FB. 

But hey. This is perfect for this blog. Which is why I LOVE IT. So here it is. My herb garden. And also a photo of the carport. Just so you don’t think it’s too “perfect.”