Week of April 12, 2020

A year-round feature of the Florida garden is a multitude of herbs for our cooking and grilling.  While we enjoy them in all seasons, spring is the best with a bounty of tender sprouts containing the best flavors for our dishes.  We have two perennial herbs: a lemon grass plant to flavor our water and a bay tree for leaves to flavor soups and stews.  Our younger son, Eric, and his family sent us two self-watering pots several years ago, and they are bursting with delicious flavorings.  One pot has sweet marjoram for our green beans, fern leaf dill for salmon and potatoes, rosemary for lamb, and a globe basil for salads.  The other pot has oregano for Italian dishes, thyme for grilled Veggies, chives and parsley for all things, and lavender to make it smell heavenly.  We have a couple more pots inside the Lanai screen:  full-sized basil for tomato-cheese dishes, and some extra parsley, since the black swallowtail butterflies lay their eggs on the outside plants and their voracious green caterpillars eat the whole plant overnight.  We often buy foods to go with our herbs rather than vice-versa.  Fresh herbs are a must-do part of any Florida kitchen garden.