First up, the mint. Last year it was kind of a letdown. I had read/heard so much about how mint thrives like a weed and will take over gardens and yards, but our pot of mint didn't seem very happy. It never took off and we never had as much as we would have liked. We did a little research and this year, we tried a new spot on the deck, one with more shade instead of constant sun. The mint is much, much happier. Here it is, freshly transplanted May 14:




We got our parsley in the CSA. We transplanted it into a large pot on May 21:


Here it is last Sunday:

We also decided that maybe Randy isn't the attempted murderer. It could have been one of the stray cats or maybe a squirrel, though we doubt a squirrel is strong enough to topple a clay pot of parsley.
Then there's the basil. We planted some seeds in tiny, wee pots Easter weekend.






There's only so much food 2 people can eat, and a little fresh herb goes a long way. We've used our rosemary in lamb & pork marinades, stuffed it in chicken, and roasted it with potatoes. The thyme got used in scalloped potatoes and roast chicken. The basil gets used a lot, mostly in salads, on tomatoes with balsamic syrup, on sandwiches, in salad dressing. We haven't made a potato salad yet, but a lot of parsley will get used in that. The chives and basil are tasty in eggs. And the mint - oh that mint chocolate chip ice cream was so good! Plus mint simple syrup for my iced tea. We find the sage hardest to use, other than in roast chicken, but hopefully we'll be able to preserve some for the winter months and use it for Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing.
But more than anything, I like the sense of nurturing and growing these 'babies' of ours, and the sense of calm and peace they give me when I am on the deck. There are a lot of trees around the deck, we are surrounded by 9 pots of herbs (we have multiple pots of basil) and 2 pots of petunias, and it's just so relaxing to be so surrounded by nature and to inhale all the wonderful smells.
We seem to have the hang of herbs, maybe next year we'll tackle trying to grow tomatoes or cucumbers, although I still have my doubts of any success because of all the wildlife (groundhogs, deer, bunnies, raccoons, squirrels). We'd have to really devote some time not just to planting and nurturing the veggies but to creating some kind of barrier around the garden so that nothing can munch on our goodies.
I gave them a pretty serious pruning when I was over today to water them, so it'll be interesting for me to see just how much they've grown when I'm over again on Monday. I was definitely amused when I saw just how huge basically all of them were - not that my herbs are doing badly, but yours are completely dwarfing all of mine, with the sole exception of the chives - mine are currently a bit healthier than yours, and I suppose our parsley plants are at least pretty comparable (though yours is still larger than mine is, despite the spill yours took ;) ).
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