Caring for an Italian Herb Garden
Growing your own herbs in an Italian herb garden provides a huge amount of possibilities. Some of the most famous and tastiest herbs in the world come from Italy. Some of the best cuisines come from Italy and are famous in part for their herbs.
Many Italian recipes use basil, one of the best known Italian herbs in the world. Basil will not only add flavor to many Italian cuisines, it is also useful in the garden to other plants. The taste of peppers and tomatoes will greatly improve if they are grown right next to basil. Plus, basil will also repel flies and mosquitoes in your Italian herb garden.
Parsley is a relatively hard herb to grow in an Italian herb garden but it is very useful in both Italian and other types of cuisines. Before breath mints were widely used, it was a tradition to eat fresh parsley after a meal to remove bad breath. The tradition arose to serve parsley on a small dish after the meal. This tradition of using parsley as a garnish on a variety of meals continues to this day.
Besides being flavorful, oregano is also used as ornament. When it is fully mature it will sprout pretty little purple flowers. Oregano should be harvested after it blooms because this is when the plant is at its best.
Fennel seeds are popular for improving the flavor of Italian sausages. The interesting thing about fennel is that the plant loses its flavor as it matures. It is a perennial plant that should be divided and replanted in an Italian herb garden every few years to keep its taste.
Rosemary, like basil, is another Italian herb that is useful to the garden. It grows into a big shrub that produces pretty little blue flowers. It helps the Italian herb garden by attracting bees. Although it is a tough evergreen perennial, it is sensitive to frost.
Garlic is probably the most popular herb in Italian cuisine. No Italian herb garden would be complete without this useful herb. Garlic cloves will thrive in any kind of soil even with very minimal attention. They can be stored to be used at a later time after they are harvested by freezing them or pickling them to store in the refrigerator.
Sage is used to flavor a variety of Italian meat and salad dishes. Shoots of the sage plant contain the taste of the herb, therefore they should be trimmed regularly to prevent them from growing into mature woody plants. Young shoots will begin to grow. The best time to harvest sage is after it has fully bloomed.
There are different types of herbs you can plant in an Italian herb garden but you have to carefully choose what you will actually use. Think about the growing conditions each plant needs and consider whether or not you can provide these conditions.
Italian herbs should be considered as more than something that just improves the flavor of food. They also make amazing additions to landscape designs. They can be displayed for color and their aroma. Planting Italian herbs among other plants will give you the sweet aroma of Italy. Having an Italian herb gardenwill be just like strolling along an Italian hillside.