my love affair with herbs

Herbs, to me, have always had a sort of magical quality to them. Perhaps they evoke some distant, primal instinct, harking back to a time long ago when ancestors needed these little miracle plants for survival in a harsh world. Maybe I just love the tastes and smells of fresh herbs in my food and teas. For whatever the reason, I have been mesmerized by herbs and all of their many functions most of my adult life.

My love affair with these amazing plants began back in the early 90's when I went to visit a friend who was back in the states after moving to France. We met at her mother's townhouse, a shabby looking older building in a slightly run down part of town. You can imagine my shock when, upon entering, I was faced with a breathtaking, light-filled living room; soaring ceilings, beautiful furnishings, exquisite artwork. Yet, with all of this beauty, the most stunning feature of the room was the wall of floor to ceiling windows which looked out upon one of the loveliest herb gardens I had ever seen. As Lisa took me through this small grotto and pointed out each of the many herbs, I felt myself falling in love. Since that visit, I have had some form of herb garden, whether just a small container garden or a larger kitchen variety, in every place I have lived.

Back in the 90's, my ex husband and I purchased a large, older home in a lovely, well established neighborhood. The home had plenty of space, a beautiful, double sided stone fireplace, and large, arching mulberry trees. The one thing it didn't offer, however, was convenient access from the kitchen to the front or the back yards. The kitchen was tucked away in a corner of the house. As a solution to the dilemma of where to put the herb garden, I ended up having a door installed off the kitchen, opening up to the side yard. This served me quite well for the remaining 5 years in which I resided in that house. I grew everything from the basics: basils, parsleys, oregano, mint, thyme, dill- to strawberries, tomatoes, zucchini.

The house I inhabited when my children were very small was Spanish styled, with the entire house built around a center courtyard. This courtyard was flanked on the east side by the kitchen and breakfast nook, the north side wall was the living room, and the west side wall was the master bedroom. The south wall was the garage, with a narrow opening between the garage wall and the master bedroom wall which allowed for a gated entry to a charming little path which lead to another small garden area, which lead, through yet another gate, to a larger yard. This area was complete with a pool, a lawn, flower beds, and a gazebo. In the courtyard, we had all of the herbs that I needed for cooking, with the mint (as mint will) extending well past its borders and down the little pathway leading to the children's play yard and the other small garden. I didn't mind that wild mint, though, and will never forget the fragrance as I watered during the long, hot Texas summers while the children played amongst daisies that were as tall as they were.

After my divorce I moved into a pretty little townhouse with a nice view of a golf course. This was a time of my life, when, much like an adolescent, I was trying on different persona's, deciding who I was going to be for the rest of my life and exhilarated by the possibilities. During this time, I grew a small container herb garden on my patio, although as I write this I have to wonder: was I growing the herbs, or were they helping to grow me?

We are now in our 4th year in the house my husband and I bought together. A lovely home in which we have unleashed our creativity, passion for beauty, and love for all things do-it-yourself. A smaller house, yet a nice open floor plan, tons of windows, and 12 foot ceilings. Best of all, the kitchen/family room overlook a large backyard complete with a small pool, a lawn, full sun, and extensive garden beds. Since our first year here we have had a nice herb and kitchen garden right outside our door. This year, though, I was inspired to take the next step in my knowledge of herbs and all they can do.

I have always been very interested in herbalism. We are a family that has a passion for health and natural medicine, so it is quite logical that herbalism would call to me. I decided this year that I would begin to study it more seriously, and as I have began to delve into to this, I realize just how much I don't know, which pushes me to learn more. My daughter has taken an interest in it as well, and we have learned some basic remedies. This has also caused us to expand our herb garden by more than 4 times, boasting now well over 40 plants in our backyard alone (we keep plots in a community garden as well). This, in turn, has lead us to expand our culinary knowledge, as we have so many wonderful herbs- what to do with them all!? So, in the end, we have learned some practical remedies that we now use in our household, we have had some delightful new cuisine, we enjoy learning, cooking and eating together- all of this due to the remarkable, miraculous herb!