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Aconite
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 Scientific Name: Aconitum napellus
Common Name: Aconite
Other Common Names: Aconite, Carmichael's Monkshood, Fischer Monkshood, Monkshood
Plant Type: Perennial
Where To Plant: Full Sun to Partly Shady
Soil Types: Average
Zones (See US Zone map): 4-9
Germination: Medium - Needs to be sown in fall or winter.
Uses: Medicinal
Notes: Recognized as a poison since antiquity. Be careful! Contains Aconite, a useful sedative for many conditions.
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Agrimony
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Scientific Name: Agrimonia eupatoria
Common Name: Agrimony
Other Common Names: Common Agrimony, Cockleburr, Cocklebur, Stickwort, Church Steeples, Sticklewort, Philanthropos, Ackerkraut, Agrimonia, Funffing, Herbe de Saint-Guillaume, Liverwort, Stickwort, Acrimony, Harvest lice, Aigremoine, Odermennig, Agrimonia, Herba agrimoniae, Agrimoniae herba, Burr Marigold, & Garclive
Plant Type: Perennial
Where To Plant: Full Sun to Partly Shady
Soil Types: Average
Zones (See US Zone map): 5-9
Germination: Hard. Sow in Fall or 45 degree cold chill for one month.
Number of Seeds Per Pack: 25
Uses: Medicinal
Notes: Agrimony is astrigent, Hemostatic, Anti-inflammatory and Analgesic.
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Agrimony, Hemp
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Scientific Name: Eupatorium cannabinum
Common Name: Hemp Agrimony
Other Common Names: Holy Rope, St. John's Herb, Boneset, Common Dutch Agrimony, Common Hemp Agrimony, Eupatorio, Gravel Root, Hemp-agrimony, Hindheal, Holy Rope, Khad Al Bint, Koninginnenkruid, Koyunpitragi, Linwe Di Tchet, Water Agrimony
Plant Type: Perennial
Where To Plant: Full Sun to Partly Shady
Soil Types: Average
Zones 5-9
Germination: Easy
Number of Seeds Per Pack: 25
Uses: Medicinal
Notes: Extra care. Sow the small, pappus-laden seeds on the surface of a flat in the spring, and keep moist until germination. Good Remedy for Liver problems and to purify the blood.
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Italian Pesto Basil
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Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
Description
Basil is an annual herb to 2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) tall with green stems (usually woody at the base) that are square in cross section. Basil has opposite leaves, 2-4 in (5.1-10.2cm) long, and tiny purple or white flowers arranged in flattened whorls that encircle the stems, one whorl above another. Plants are leafy and branch freely with a pair of opposing branches in a flat plane, then another pair above in a plane perpendicular to the last, and so on.
Used plant part
Leaves; frequently, the entire herb (all aerial parts) is harvested. Best harvesting season is before flowering. Basil leaves should always be used fresh, as they lose most of their flavour within a few weeks after drying.
Mediterranean Basil is one of the most pleasant spices, and indispensable for several Mediterranean cuisines. The sweet and aromatic fragrance is especially popular in Italy. Since the delicate aroma of basil is quickly destroyed by cooking, chopped basil leaves are frequently sprinkled over cold or warm dishes before serving.
GROWING TIP: Basil thrives when the soil is warm and nighttime temperatures are above 60°, so don't rush springtime planting. To encourage branching on young seedlings, cut back stems to just above the first set of leaves when plants have developed three pairs of leaves.
HARVEST TIP: Prune often to avoid flower formation. When a stem has developed four pairs of leaves, cut each stem down to just above the first set. Continue cutting plants back throughout the summer, or set out new seedlings in succession a month or so apart and harvest the entire plant for pesto.
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Sweet Marjoram
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Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana)
Marjoram is a highly perfumed herb with thick trusses of dainty white or purple flowers which make it a highly decorative herb that is suitable for the flower garden. In warmer climates it is a perennial, but it is treated as a half-hardy annual in colder areas since it will not survive a severe winter. Plants grow to 1-2 feet with a spread of about 8 inches. Flowers are tiny but plentiful and grow in clusters around the stem.
Cultivation
Plants may be grown from seed or started from summer cuttings. Roots may be divided in the fall. When grown from seed, it should be started indoors or in cold frames in early spring. Transfer outside when temperatures aren't expected to drop below 45 degrees. To keep the plants neat, cut out all dead wood and remove dead flowers and stalks.
Harvesting
Begin harvesting the leaves and stem tips when plants are 4 to 5 inches high. The flavor will improve after the flower buds form, just before flowering. To harvest, cut the stem tops down to the first two sets of leaves. New stems and shoots will grow, producing second and sometimes third crops. Dry the leaves in a warm, dry, shaded place, and store them in an airtight container.
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Oregano
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Oregano (Origanum vulgare)
Description:
Plants in the genus Origanum are can be perennial ground covers, tender perennials or even small perennial subshrubs. Even Origanum vulgare can take many forms. Most have stems that can get very woody.
•Foliage: Oregano leaves are oval, dark green and in opposite pairs. Some varieties have fuzzy leaves, others not.
Exposure:
Full sun
Golden oregano does best in partial shade; its leaves tend to scorch in full sun.
Mature Size:
Oregano can reach a height of 30", but usually grows between 8-12", especially if you are harvesting regularly. Plants will spread about 18" and will send out runners.
Bloom Period/Days to Harvest:
As with most herbs, oregano leaves taste best before the plant flowers. You can begin harvesting when plants have reached 4-5 inches in height. Cutting stems all the way back to the ground will encourage more stems and a fuller plant.
The stems tend to get woody and the easiest way to strip the leaves is to hold the stem by the top, uncut end and run your finger down the stem.
•Flowers: The flowers stalks are spiky and may be white, pink or purple.
Oregano starts out as a ground hugging rosette of leaves, but it can easily grow to about 2' tall.
Varieties:
There are many named oreganos, but the common names tend to vary by region:
•'Greek Oregano', the variety usually used in Mediterranean cooking, is O. heracleoticum This is the type we associate with oregano flavor. You may also see Oregano onites listed as Greek oregano.
•O. vulgare is known as 'Common Oregano', 'Wild Marjoram' and 'Pot Marjoram'. Marjoram is a type of oregano with a less pungent, sweeter taste, often used in French and English cooking.
Growing Tips:
Starting Plants: Plants can be started from seeds, divisions or cuttings. Since different species of oregano will cross pollinate, you may not get what you expect from seed.
Oregano seeds require some light to germinate, so cover only slightly with soil. Start seeds indoors and transplant when temperatures remain above 45 degrees F.
Oregano plants are widely available in nurseries and through specialty catalogs.
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Parsley
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Champion Moss Curled
Description
A selected strain of Parlsey with tightly curled rich green leaf, ideal for garnishing, soups, stews etc. Parsley Champion Moss Curled is a fine windowsill pot plant which will supply fresh parsley on demand.
Sowing Instructions
Parsley will grow in ordinary soil in sun or part shade, but for best results prefers a rich moist soil. Soak the seeds overnight before sowing. Sow seeds outdoors from spring to mid summer. Earliest sowings can be made in the warmth during late winter and planted out in early spring after hardening off. Outdoors, sow 1cm ( ˝in) deep in drills 30cm (12in) apart.
Growing Instructions
To harvest, pick over all the plants regularly to encourage fresh new growth.
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Sage
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Its botanical name is Saliva Officinalis. Its common name is garden sage, red sage, saurge, Salvia salvatrix. Its Arabic name is Maryamiah, ( Marameeah, Maramiah, Maryamiya).
It is native to the Mediterranean from thousands of years ago. Ancient Herbalists used it externally to treat sprains, swelling, ulcers, and bleeding.
The parts used are mainly the leaves as whole herbs. Sage is a silvery-green shrub with very fragrant leaves. The most commonly cultivated species of sage originally came from the area around the Mediterranean but now also grows in North America. The leaves of this common kitchen herb are used in medicine as well as in cooking.
Sage generally grows about a foot or more high, with wiry stems. The leaves are set in pairs on the stem and are 1 1/2 to 2 inches long, stalked, oblong, rounded at the ends, finely wrinkled by a strongly-marked network of veins on both sides, greyish-green in colour, softly hairy and beneath glandular. The flowers are in whorls, purplish and the corollas lipped. They blossom in August.
The aroma of Sage can be very powerful with sometimes a bitter taste. All parts of the plant have a strong, scented odour and a warm, bitter, somewhat astringent taste, due to the volatile oil contained in the tissues.
The main constituent of Sage and its active principle is a yellow or greenish-yellow volatile oil (sp. gr. 0.910 to 0.930) with a penetrating odour. Tannin and resin are also present in the leaves, 0.5 to 1.0 per cent of the oil is yielded from the leaves and twigs when fresh, and about three times this quantity when dry. The volatile oil of sage contains the constituents alpha- and beta-thujone, camphor, and cineole. It also contains rosmarinic acid, tannins, and flavonoids
Sage oil contains a hydrocarbon called Salvene; pinene and cineol are probably present in small amount, together with vorneol, a small quantity of esters, and the ketone thujone, the active principle which confers the power of resisting putrefaction in animal substances. Dextro-camphor is also present in traces. A body has been isolated by certain chemists called Salviol, which is now known to be identical with Thujone.
Sage oil of commerce is obtained from the herb S. officinalis, and distilled to a considerable extent in Dalmatia and recently in Spain, but from a different species of Salvia. A certain amount of oil is also distilled in Germany. The oil distilled in Dalmatia and in Germany is of typically Sage odour, and is used for flavouring purposes.
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