Four Herbs to Consider in Your Garden Part Four

Rosemary:
This herb is not extremely hardy and needs to be treated as an annual or overwintered indoors. Outdoors in the summer months, rosemary suffers from few problems, but indoors it may develop such problems as fungal disease and aphids. To help overwinter the plant indoors, give rosemary good drainage, air flow, and a sunny but cool location.

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Sage:
This herb will grow easily from seed, and although harvest will be small the first year, this strong-flavored herb will produce sufficiently for modest kitchen use. After the second year, sage needs to be trimmed back in the spring to avoid the center of the plant becoming too woody. If left to flower, it will produce blue blooms that attract butterflies. Plan on replacing sage plants every three to five years. Some types of sage are tender and should be treated as annuals. Among the tender sages, Pineapple sage is very popular as it produces scarlet flowers late in the summer and has a fruit-tasting leaf. Hummingbirds and butterflies enjoy this plant, too.

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French Tarragon:
This is a perennial that requires at least 30 (preferably 60) days of dormancy in cold weather. Gardeners with heavy or compacted soil may have trouble keeping plants from year to year. As French tarragon does not set viable seed, the plants are propagated by root division or stem cuttings and should be purchased from a reputable nursery.

Seeds for Russian tarragon are available, but the plant is not considered sufficiently flavorful for culinary use and has few, if any, attractive features in the garden. French tarragon can be recognized by its glossy green leaves in the spring, which turn brown in mid-season. Cutting back the tarragon in mid-season will help restore the attractive green foliage.

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Thyme:
There are over 300 species of thyme. The most common can be divided into two groups: culinary and ornamental. Common, English, and French thyme, which may also be mistakenly labelled Mother of Thyme, have small green leaves and an upright habit. Lemon thyme also has an upright form, as well as creeping and variegated versions. Silver thyme is primarily an upright ornamental with pretty pink flowers.

Thymes can also make a great lawn substitute or slope retainer. The low-growing thymes include Woolly thyme, Miniature thyme, Mother of Thyme, and caraway thyme . Flowers on the thymes vary from deep rosy pink and red to lavender and white. Garden thyme can be grown from purchased seed, but many of the cultivars can only be propagated by cuttings, division, or layering. Provide thyme with a sunny location and good drainage, and the plant will survive for many years without pest or disease problems.

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