For an alternative, try using lemon scented geraniums and making a glaze with fresh lemon juice.

• Wash leaves in plain water and gently blot the leaves dry with a towel
• Grease your cake pan as usual
• Place scented geranium leaves on the bottom and along the sides of the pan (the butter, cooking spray or shortening will hold the leaves in place).
• Prepare a white cake mix according to the instructions on the box and pour into prepared cake pan. Even better is a white cake made from scratch!
• Bake as directed.
• When the cake has cooled, remove all of the leaves and discard.
• Frost with a simple white frosting or a glaze. For added flavour, try adding a drop or two of culinary grade rose water to the frosting.

Apple Scented Geranium

If Lavender is the queen of herbs, then Scented Geraniums have to be the court jesters as they have the ability to fool you with their varied scents. Close your eyes as you sniff the leaves of a scented geranium and you would swear you are smelling roses, or apples, or lemons or mint, or pine. Even chocolate, though it does take a bit more imagination to smell that fragrance.

Scented geraniums or pelargoniums, are a fascinating group of about 250 plants. Typically they are grown for their fragrant foliage, rather than their flowers which are less showy than their cousins of the garden varieties we know too well. Their foliage ranges in shape from fern like, to tiny bunches to large fan shapes. The leaves can be plain green, have dark purple veins, or are variegated, so they are quite capable of holding their own in the garden, as they provide important foliar interest.

Okay, they smell good and have interesting foliage, but what do you do with them? What don’t you do with them?! Aside from being the perfect potpourri ingredient, scented geraniums are surprisingly, at home in the kitchen. To a lesser degree they are used medicinally and in aromatherapy.

Tender perennials, scented geraniums must be over wintered indoors. Not difficult in theory, but when attempting to trick Mother Nature, problems will and do occur.

The first step in bringing your scenteds in for the winter is to get rid of any little creatures that may be hiding in the foliage. Do this by spraying the foliage with water (outdoors!). Hopefully, you will wash all or most of the beasts off the plants.

Next, cut the plants back by at least one third. Save the leaves and dry them for potpourris or, use them fresh in recipes.

Place the pots in a sunny window where they will receive at least four hours of direct sunlight a day, in or lighted plant stand. Allow the pots to dry out between waterings. Do not fertilize in the winter months. The goal is to maintain the plants, not promote vigorous growth.  Snip off any spindly new growth as it appears. In late March you can begin fertilizing the plants once a week with a half strength 20-20-20 water soluble fertilizer.

Scented geraniums, when grown indoors, unfortunately seem to be a magnate for whiteflies and to a lesser degree, aphids, spider mite and mealy bug. At the first sign of infestation, wash the insects off with water in the kitchen sink, using a fine spray. You will have to repeat this every week for a few weeks. If washing the insects off does not control the population, you will need to resort to using an insecticidal soap such as Safer’s. Follow the instructions on the bottle and repeat every week for about three weeks. Yellow sticky traps, placed just above the plant canopy, are another useful tool for combating insects, but not as effective as the first two methods.

For an amazing selection of scented geraniums, order a copy of Richters Herbs catalogue (see Sources). You will be hard pressed to select just a few to order. Some of the better garden centres will have a good selection to choose from, though not as numerous as Richters. If you are fortunate enough to have a herb farm in your area, they should have a good number of varieties available as well.

The Herb Garden

A few observations:

The spring bulbs are all but done, replaced by irises, dames rocket, lily of the valley, aquilegia and bleeding hearts. The old fashioned roses have begun to send out a few brave blossoms to test the waters. It will not be long before the rest of the rose buds follow.

I have noticed the irises and lilacs are producing smaller flower heads than in previous years. At first, I thought ours were the only ones blooming on the small side, but travelling the county, I see a good many in the same condition. The same with the aquilegias.  A result of the extreme cold and deep snow of this past winter perhaps?

Now that the perennials have leafed out, the effects of a cold winter and a wet spring can really be seen. We have lost all of our foxgloves, delphiniums, lupins and perovskia and a few ferns. Will they be replaced or will we take this opportunity to redesign the gardens, adding different plants? We won’t make that decision until the summer when we’ve had a chance to live with what’s left and given our imaginations time to dream up new landscapes.

The bridal wreath spirea hedge at the front of our property is blooming more prolifically that ever before! I was beginning to think that the hedge I fantasized about when we first planted it would never happen. How nice to be wrong!

This weekend has been set aside for planting up container gardens. Having learned my lesson a couple of years ago when I potted up forty-three container gardens, this year I’ll stick to five or six. Oh wait, I’m already at six, so maybe I’ll limit myself to nine.

Year two for the “new” herb garden and it is already too small! The perennial herb plants have grown like crazy leaving no room for annual herbs. Guess the annual herbs will have to go into containers. So much for limiting container gardens to nine! This fall we will have to seriously re-think the size of the herb garden. I foresee an expansion in the future.

Come to think of it, our entire yard seems to be shrinking more and more every year. Hmmm. Either the gardens have to be downsized, or we have to eliminate most of the remaining lawn area. Or we have to move to a property with more land!

If you were around in the sixties, you probably remember the patchouli craze. Patchouli incense was considered totally groovy. Sitting around someone’s basement, listening or jamming to folk, rock or psychedelic music, there was always a stick of patchouli incense burning to add to the illusion of being one of the “cool kids”.

Here we are a couple (?) of years later and I still love the scent of patchouli. So much so, that I will go out of my way to find patchouli incense, candles and oils (not so easy these days). I have grown patchouli. It’s not a difficult plant to grow (except in this house, which sounds the death toll for every exotic plant I bring into it).  But I have grown it successfully indoors before. 

When planted in a container, Patchouli loves vacationing outdoors for the summer.

Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin)

Tender Perennial

Hardy in Zone 11

Full to part sun (loves the heat)

Rich, well drained soil

Tiny white flowers bloom in late summer/early fall

Can be grown well in pots if fertilized regularly

Withstands heavy pruning

Propagate by seed or cuttings

Natural insect repellent

Disease tolerant

Use dried leaves as a fixative for potpourris

 Oils used in perfumery and aromatherapy

Patchouli is not  commonly offered at most garden centres or greenhouses. You’ll have better luck finding it at your local herb farm, or it can be ordered from Richter’s Herbs.

Here’s some info about a climbing herb that has moved house with me several times – Hops Humulus lupulus

Hops

Perennial (annual varieties are available)

Hardy to Zone 3

Height: 20’ – 25’ + (very fast grower)

Full sun

Well drained soil

Flowers (Bracts actually) are cone shaped, multi layered, light green 3” long

Leaves are medium green, resembling grape leaves

Propagate by divisions

Can become mildly invasive

Somewhat susceptible to spider mites and aphids

Somewhat susceptible to mildew, molds and rust, but easily prevented or controlled by providing good air circulation

Requires a strong trellis/arbour/fence to grow on

Flowers do not have a very pleasant scent, especially when dried

Leaves can cause mild dermatitis, so wear gloves and long sleeves when working with it

Harvest flowers just as they open out and when they are still fairly green

Uses:

Beer of course.

The dried flowers are used to make sleep pillows (mix with a pleasantly fragranced herb such as lemon verbena to offset the scent of the hops).

There is some question about whether it is the hops, or the alcohol, in beer that causes drowsiness. Probably both!

Dried flowers are lovely additions to wreaths and dried arrangements

Dry the flowers on the (harvested) vine and draped across a mantel or high cupboard looks so homey. Hint: Set it up where it won’t be disturbed too often as flowers become quite fragile.

Medicinally, the flowers have antiseptic properties and are said to relieve swelling when make into a poultice and applied externally

As with many of our Christmas traditions, the use of holly as an important celebratory plant began long before the first Christmas, though Christians have adopted and adapted the tradition to make it their own.

The Romans are credited with originating the custom of gifting their friends with holly boughs during the festival of Saturnalia (which coincides with the Christmas season).Rather like us adding a sprig of holly to a prettily wrapped package or the Christmas pudding.

Druids bedecked their homes with holly during the winter to ward off evil spirits. Today, evil spirits are not such a concern but, we carry on the tradition by using holly as a dominant accent during the holiday season.

To incorporate holly into the new Christian religion, a new legend was born; Holly first appeared where Christ walked. The thorny leaves symbolize His suffering and the red berries, His blood.

There once was a time when holly was considered a herb and used medicinally. Because of holly’s dense wood, it was used to make printing blocks, weaving looms and walking sticks.

Those who are fortunate enough to have holly growing in their home landscapes can cut their own sprigs for Holiday decorating. The rest of us must rely on our friendly florists for fresh cut holly.

Caring For Fresh Cut Holly

-          Wear gardening gloves when working with holly. The leaves have very sharp spiney tips that can hurt

-          remove holly from packaging immediately

-          moisten if necessary

-          keep the cut holly in a cool dark place until ready to use (the refrigerator is great for storing holly)

-          holly sprigs may be put in water. Cutting or crushing the bottom of stems will help them absorb water.

-          Prevent holly from freezing

-          Misting the leaves daily will prolong their freshness

-          Treat holly as you would any fresh cut flower

-          Arrange holly in a shallow container filled with water and keep it watered!

-          Holly dries well and can be kept several years. When dry, the leaf colour become softer and the berries darken and shrivel

Down with the rosemary and so,

Down with the bays and mistletoe,

Down with the holly, ivy all

Wherewith ye deck the Christmas Hall

                                    Herrick

Rosemary (rosmarinus)

In the language of flowers and plants, Rosemary is a symbol of remembrance and fidelity.

There are many customs, legends and myths surrounding Rosemary. As Christmas approaches (too quickly), here are a few season relevant ones:

The flowers of the rosemary plant used to be white until during the flight to Egypt, Mary placed her blue cloak over a rosemary shrub. The flowers turned blue overnight and rosemary has bloomed blue ever since.

Yet another legend of Mary and the rosemary plant, says Mary took shelter under a rosemary shrub, hence its Spanish name, Romero or Pilgrim’s Flower.

Then, there is the legend of the height of the rosemary plant. It says the rosemary plant grows as the Saviour grew. After thirty-three years, it will no longer grow taller, but will only grow in width.

An old custom is to gild a rosemary branch, adorn it with colourful ribbons and present it with a clove studded orange as a New Year’s gift.

Lastly, rosemary was often used in place of incense in religious ceremonies.

Over Wintering Rosemary

There is an old saying about rosemary over wintered indoors:

“The house where rosemary grows in winter is ruled by a woman”

Over wintering rosemary indoors is fairly simple.

Rosemary likes to be kept on the dry side of moist. Confused yet? Don’t be. Plant in well draining potting mix and allow the  rosemary slightlydry out between waterings.

Keep humidity levels up by misting the plant daily.

Place in high light, away from cold drafts.

Prune new growth back if it becomes spindly.

Keep insects under control by placing yellow sticky traps around the plant.

Mealy bugs, aphids and white fly are common. If the sticky traps aren’t controlling the insects, wash foliage with plain, lukewarm water, using a gentle spray.

Do not fertilize the plant until late March or early April. Then use at half strength, a balanced fertilizer every two weeks until the outdoor temperatures are warm enough for the plant to move outside for the summer.