Spice up your Salads with Herbs

Herb Plants Best Used in Salad Dishes

Just a really quick blog to give a brief insight into the best herbs for salad dishes. Some are well known salads, some you may well have not heard of before. The list is done in order of popularity (in my opinion) of the salad dish.
These are lists of what can go with each dish - do not put all in and hope for best - sure there are recipes on-line, or you can try...

Salad (general)
Basil, bergamot leaf, bergamot flower, borage flowers, calendula petals, chives, cress, mints, nasturtium leaf, nasturtium flower, parsley and thyme (lots of flavours can be used)

Potato Salad
Basil, caraway seed, cayenne, chives, fennel leaf, oregano, tarragon

Rice Salad
Calendula petals, cayenne, chives, dill leaves, garlic, parsley, rosemary and tarragon

Tomato Salad
Basil, cayenne, chives, fennel leaf, oregano, parsley, rosemary, tarragon

Tuna Salad
Cayenne, chives, dill leaf, fennel seed, horseradish, parlsey

Egg Salad
Cayenne, chives, horseradish, nasturitium leaves, parsley, summer savory

Flower Salads
Bergamot petals, borage flowers, calendula petals, dandelion petals, nasturitium flowers, lemon thyme flowers

Bean Salad
Garlic, parsley, summer savory, common thyme

German Potato Salad
Chives, dill, parsley

Mushroom Salad
Basil, cayenne, chives, parsley, sage

Dressings

Mayonnaise
Basil, cayenne, chives, horseradish, oregano, tarragon, lemon thyme

French Dressing
Basil, chives, parsley, summer savory

Herb Butter
Chives, garlic, parsley, rosemary, summer savory, tarragon, thyme common and thyme lemon

Vinegars
Basil, cayenne, chives, dill, garlic, ginger, horseradish, mint, rosemary, tarragon, thyme

 

Plants which you may not know - explained

Cayenne - otherwise known as chilli pepper or red pepper
Calendula - otherwise known as marigold
Bergamot - just a herb which is readily available, but not that well known - only for use in cold dishes, and to be honest doesn't taste too great
Borage - excellent annual herb which re-seeds inself, lots of kitchen uses - and a long history (one day I will blog it ...)
Nasturtium - otherwise known as Indian cress. Not always the easiest herb to source - very short availability period in the UK. Lovely flowering herb

Oregano - What food guide - popular plants

Oregano

What an excellent plant, and probably one of the better herbs on the market. Should be available throughout the year - unless nurseries run out... Generally a hardy plant, and can handle our British weather - it is very prone to bugs and when selecting at garden centres or nurseries just have a quick check - main intruder is the white fly!!!

There are lots of different varieties of oregano  - here's a few easily sourced varieties

• Oregano green or common
• Oregano greek
• Oregano Golden
• Oregano Country Cream
• Oregano hot and spicy
• Probably lots more, but these are the main ones

The oregano plant has a very close relative in marjoram. Often these are confused, and there is no obvious difference in the look for the untrained eye, smell as well can be deceptive in the colder months - as both oregano and marjoram only let of their smells when dry or in hotter conditions. Think the rule of thumb (ed) marjoram tends to have smaller and pointed leaves (going to regret that comment, will wait to be corrected in your comments section...- ed)

How to use oregano?
Well cooking wise I would stick to the two main varieties - greek or green / common. Both have larger leaves  than the other varieties so easier to work with. The oregano can be chopped up, or put in whole leaves as required. My recommendation is to add later in the cooking process - it will not flavour oils like the rosemary or garlic herbs.

Recommended to use with - meat, fish, vegetables, egg dishes, soups and stews. Can also be used in salads, vegetable dishes and vinegars.

Popular plants recommends you use this in Pizza - make you own pizza toppings, then get a good handful of oregano - wow very fresh. Also popular plants recommends it in pasta dishes - if you are doing a cheese bake or similar - add oregano on top for the last 10 minutes of baking.

Oregano will not tolerate high levels of heat when cooking - turn down heat when adding to frying pan or heat from beneath a pan.

We offer a large and diverse range of oregano in the Popular Plants online shop. Happy to answer questions or queries - and always happy for comments - never stop learning.

Lavender - Where to plant

Popular Plants - Lavender guide (part 2)

Where to plant lavender

As with most plants, lavender is all about location, location, location for best results.

•  full sun
•  Well drained soil
•  Avoid clay soils, or use a raised bed or large containers
•  Pebbles, sand, mixed lime and composted manure are all suggested additions when planting lavender - especially in bulk.

Lavender is traditionally a mediterranean plant, so be aware it will appreciate a spot which offers full sun. Lavender is a fan of dry heat, and once established will need very little care and attention, and also very little watering once established.

The actual art of planting lavender is quite simple, however the distance to plant lavender is always a tricky decision for every gardener. Of course there is no right or wrong answer, and it would also depend on variety, the size of the lavender plant you are planting, and the reason why you are planting it. For hedges I would recommend leaving a foot between each plant (9cm plants - 2 year hedge, 1 litre - 1 year hedge). Specimen lavender (in pots larger than 3 litre / 18cm) will be near their full growth, and are easier to estimate planting distance.

lavender - water and care guide

Popular-plants lavender guide (part 1)

Water and Care guide

When you receive your lavender plants they will be in plastic nursery pots, it is advised to water well, and let them soak for at least 45 minutes before planting. Create holes for the plants to be placed into, and lightly cover the roots with soil, trying not to leave gaps (air holes) but also not to compact the soil too much so the roots can develop.

 Lavender doesn't mind somewhat dry soil once established, too much water can cause root rot. Spread mulch around the base of your lavender plants to help keep weeds from growing. In the autumn, two to three weeks before the estimated hard frost, prune back one third of each lavender plant. This will help to prevent overgrown branches which can break and will ensure a nice full healthy plant the next spring. Do not use insecticide on lavender. It does quite well as long as it is kept well drained, due to its naturally strong essential oils which deter deer and many insects.

 Also very importantly, do not use grow more, or other common feed - lavender will not appreciate this, and will most probably not survive such treatment.