Maybe you’ve never grown herbs because they remind you of medieval woodcuts filled with unicorns and mandrake roots. Or you imagine that’s what hippies in toe-socks and sandals like to grow.
Actually, lots of people grow herbs. In fact, it’s trendy. That’s not speculation on our part; St. Louis Herb Society president Kitty Ferrell uses exactly that word. “It used to be the only place you could buy them was here,” she says, referring to the Missouri Botanical Garden. “Now, you can find them at nurseries.” And when the herb society holds its annual sales in April, Ferrell says, “gazillions” of people descend and snap up pretty much everything in a pot.
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Our herb society is the oldest west of the Mississippi River (it celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2011). Its mission is to educate people in the knowledge and use of herbs, and as part of that mission, it’s maintained the herb garden behind Tower Grove House, Henry Shaw’s former home on the Missouri Botanical Garden grounds, since the ’60s. The herb garden’s current incarnation was installed in 2004 and features tidy brick paths and French-style parterre gardens edged in germander, a woody, fast-growing herb that can be used in place of boxwood. The Society dismantled the existing brick pathways, dug out 6 feet of dirt, and installed new irrigation and drainage systems. Then they replaced the dirt with silky, rich soil from the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers; enclosed the area in new black wrought-iron fencing; and planted thousands of herbs, separating the beds by use: culinary, medicinal, fragrant, and utilitarian (including ornamental, cosmetic, dye, and household herbs). The design is Victorian, to reflect the history of the house and the neighborhood.
“During Victorian times, herb gardens came into their own,” Ferrell says. “Victorian gardens are very structured; they liked a lot of curves. It was meant to be walked in, so you could enjoy the scents and the general atmosphere. Ours tries to evoke that. Though people are not out there cutting basil every day—it’s a teaching garden.”
The space measures 90 by 56 feet and is packed with about 600 varieties of herbs. Each spring, herb-society members plant about 1,500 seedlings, grown inside the botanical garden’s greenhouses, into 16 beds: eight corner beds on the east and west ends and eight curving beds in the center of the garden, which also holds a millstone fountain and a “thyme boy.” Which is…? “It’s a statue of a little guy who is a sundial,” Ferrell laughs. “That’s a very standard, Victorian feature in the center of shaped beds in a garden.”
Some herbs, any novice would recognize—sage and basil—but there are also less common ones like flax, sweet woodruff, yarrow, pineapple sage, and aloe. The garden also holds decorative plants you might be surprised to see classified as herbs: peonies, irises, Cornelian cherry trees, and a medlar tree (a relative of the pear).
The society’s plantings shift a bit from year to year, depending on which members tackle the planning and planting. In 2012, the plant list will definitely include roses—it’s the Herb Society of America’s herb of the year. (Last year it was horseradish.) Ferrell says the year she designed the garden with two other members, they used “true herb colors,” like soft blues, greens, lavenders, and creamy whites. “In fact,” Ferrell says, “we grew purple peppers, and when they turned red, we would clip them off! But other members like brighter colors. Others like a more spare look. So it shifts a bit, but the standard elements are always going to be there.”
Ferrell and other members of the St. Louis Herb Society maintain the herb beds every Tuesday morning from 8 to 10 a.m., April through October, and are available to answer gardeners’ questions. The society also offers classes in the spring and fall and operates a Speakers’ Bureau. For more information, go to stlouisherbsociety.com.
For Best Results
“You can’t hardly kill herbs,” Ferrell laughs. “I mean…you can, but it takes a lot of work.” But remember when you’re planting: Herbs need at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day, and the soil should be well-drained, with a pH between 6.5 and 7.0. “There are so many different ways you can plant them,” Ferrell adds, “in containers or hayracks out the back door.”
St. Louis Herb Society Publications
All titles are available at the Garden Gate Shop at the Missouri Botanical Garden or at stlouisherbsociety.com/publications.aspx.
It’s All in the Name (1997)
How To Grow Herbs In The Midwest (2004). Regional growing manual includes full color plant photos, plus advice on how to use each herb.
Herbal Cookery From the Kitchens and Gardens of the Saint Louis Herb Society (2009).
Sales
April 26
9 a.m.–noon (member preview); public hours noon–5 p.m.
April 27 & 28
9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Orthwein Floral Display Hall at the Missouri Botanical Garden
4344 Shaw, 314-577-9400, mobot.org, stlouisherbsociety.com
Free with regular garden admission.
Webster Groves Herb Society Annual Sale
April 28
8:30 a.m.–2 p.m.
Free admission
First Congregational Church of Webster Groves
10 West Lockwood at Elm, 314-494-1790, wgherbs.org.
St. Louis Herb Society Classes at Missouri Botanical Garden
Sacred Seeds Medicinal Walking Tour
Saturday
April 28 10-11:30 a.m.
Regustration ends April 27
Become a Great Gardener: Herbs in Containers
Sunday
April 29, 1-3:30 p.m.
Registration ends April 20
How Does YOUR Herb Garden Grow?
May 21
9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Registration ends May 14
To register for classes, Call 314-577‑5100, or visit mobot.org.
Recipe
Herbed Grilled Steak with Blue Cheese
Courtesy of the St. Louis Herb Society
2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons chopped fresh garlic chives
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh summer savory
1 teaspoon coarsely cracked pepper
2 teaspoons (or more) extra-virgin olive oil
2 (1 1/2-inch) beefsteaks such as sirloin, rib-eye or T-bone
2 tablespoons crumbled, high-quality blue cheese
Equipment needed: a mortar and pestle; an outdoor grill
Mash the salt with the garlic in a mortar and pestle. Add the garlic chives, oregano, parsley, savory, and pepper, mashing and stirring after each addition until well mixed. Stir in enough olive oil to form a smooth paste. Preheat an outdoor grill. Coast both sides of the steaks with the herb paste and place on the grill rack. Grill for 5 minutes on each side or to 145 degrees on a meat thermometer for medium-rare, turning once. Remove the steaks to a warm plate with the hottest side up. Sprinkle with the blue cheese and serve.
Note: Garlic chives have long, think, flat stems with a flavor more like garlic than chives, though milder. Both the leaves and stems are used. If making paste for several steaks, a food processor can be used to chop herbs, but do not over-process. The flavor comes from the pronounced texture of the herbs.
Garden Map
Plant Lists
Culinary Bed
Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
Shallots (Allium cepa)
Lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla)
Dill (Anethum graveolens)
Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium)
Borage (Barago officinalis)
Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)
Epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides)
Meyer Lemon tree (Citrus meyeri)
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
Lovage (Levisticum officinale)
Mint (Mentha)
Cumin (Cuminum eyminum)
Oregano (three types) (Origanum)
Parsley (two types) Petroselinum crispum
Rosemary (four varieties) (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)
Sage (three varieties) (Salvia officinalis)
Summer Savory (Satureja hortensis)
Winter Savory (Satureja Montana)
Burnet (Poterium sanguisorba)
Thyme (6 varieties) (Thymus)
Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citrates)
Garlic (Allium sativum)
Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana)
Bay (Laurus nobilis)
Saffron (Crocus sativus)
Medicinal Bed
Cone Flower (Echinacea purpurea)
Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum)
Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis)
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
Perennial flax (Linum perenne)
Aloe (Aloe vera)
St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)
Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium)
Wood Betony (Stachys officinalis)
Verbascum (Verbascum)
Elecampane (Inula helenium)
Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)
Calendula (Calendula officinalis)
Turmeric (Curcuma longa)
Toothache Plant (Spilanthes acmella)
Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile)
Horehound (Marrubium vulgare)
Fragrance Bed
Scented geraniums, 11 varieties (Pelargonium)
Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus cinerea, Eucalyptus citriodora)
Chocolate Daisy (Berlandiera lyrata)
Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides)
Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile)
Dragonhead (Dracocephalum moldavica)
Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens)
Hyssop (Hyssop officinalis)
Balsam (Impatiens balsamina)
Lavender, 3 varieties (Lavandula angustifolia, Lavandula dentate)
Garden Pinks (Dianthus)
Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla)
Hops (Humulus lupulus)
Patchouli (Pogostemon patchouli)
Iris (Iris)Salvias, 3 varieties (Salvia dorisiana, Salvia elegans, Salvia greggii)
Peony (Paeonia)
Lemon Mint Marigold (Tagetes lemmonii)
Rose (Rosa)
Utility Beds
Dyers broom (Genista tinctoria)
Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena)
Everlastings Straw Flowers (Helichrysum arnarium)
Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens)
Lavender, 2 varieties (Lavandula angustifolia)
Henna (Lawsonia inermis)
Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum)
Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella hispanica)
Madder (Rubia tinctorum)
Marigold (Tagetes tunuifolia)
Vetiver Grass (Vetiveria zizanoides)
Camphor Southernwood (Artemisia camphorata)
Bergamot (Monarda didyma)
Mullein (Verbascum Thapsus)
Yarrow (Achillea filipendulina)
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis)
Garden Pinks (Dianthus)
Bayberry (Myrca cerifera)
Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)
Peony (Poenia lactiflora)
Witchhazel (Hamamelia x intermedia)
Goldenrod (Solidago Canadensis)
Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus)
Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum)
Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum)
