Herbs-n-Shake-art

This document is also available in: text or Word formats.

Herbs-n-Shake-art - 6/7/18

"Garden Herbs and Shakespeare" by Countess Tessa of the Gardens, OP.

************************************************************************

NOTICE -

This article was added to this set of files, called Stefan's Florilegium, with the permission of the author.

These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

While the author will likely give permission for this work to be reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file.

Thank you,

Mark S. Harris...AKA:..Stefan li Rous

stefan at florilegium.org

************************************************************************

Garden Herbs and Shakespeare

by Countess Tessa of the Gardens, OP.

GARDEN HERBS

It has been a joy for me to discover that gardening with herbs is both relaxing and productive. From watching the little seedlings emerge to catching whiffs as they grow, from transplanting to harvesting fresh bunches [for the bodice or the kitchen], from sharing and trading with friends to gardening in containers then be able to take portable herbs on the road to a class, I find it to be relatively inexpensive yet personally rewarding beyond value. It is fun to trade transplants with fellow enthusiasts or leave a sturdy rooted pot at someone's door to surprise them.

There are the risks of loss: such as the tall dainty dill which baked in summer's heat, the feathery fennel left growing too long in the container, the parsley in ground, frozen during winter, and a sprawl of lavender which drowned in deep lingering rain just last week. My results with thyme, a low growing, small leaved herb, find me usually keeping it too wet! But there is always "thyme" next season to start those again...

Here are a few simple herb uses:

Clipped garlic chives, pictured top, are easy for youngsters to add to churned butters [shaking little jars of whipping cream]. Rosemary sprigs, pictured top, are quick to boil down for a delicious meat rub which gives the whole cooking area a compelling aroma... and it is so easy to clip fresh lengths of rosemary to gently squeeze the needles and release the aroma, then tuck away into one's day basket or bodice. Worth mentioning is rosemary’s exotic scent that surrounds the yard after a solid peppering rain gently bruised the needles. A lemon balm mint leaf is easily bitten into as a breath freshener or adds flavor to fruit salads or a citrus drink. Basils, one pictured top, of several varieties can be harvested in small or large quantity to season a supper for few or a feast for many. In bloom, basil's flower towers easily drop seeds "right there" in plentiful supply, for the next season’s crop.

SHAKESPEARE

The Bard, William Shakespeare immortalizes certain herbs. Among many are the following:

FENNEL- every part of this perennial from seed to root is edible. There’s fennel for you and columbines. Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5.

LAVENDER- has fragrant scent with deep purple or pale lavender spiky flowers on silver or grey-green feathery foliage. Can be used in powders, soaps, or reduced to oil and added to olive oil. Here’s flowers for you; hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram. The Winters Tale, Act IV, Scene 4.

PARSLEY- hardy biennial needs protection in cold weather. Curled parsley, or more flavorful Italian or French. I knew a wench married in an afternoon as she went to the garden for parsley to stuff a rabbit. The Taming of the Shrew, Act IV, Scene 4.

ROSEMARY- a tender perennial evergreen. There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray you, Love, remember. Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5. Pictured, top.

THYME- grows small leaves, close to the earth; not a tall plant. I know a bank where the wild thyme blows. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act II, Scene 1. Pictured, top.

Some readers of this article already know about a garden place near the BorderKeep where the SCA Dream comes alive!

Photos by Liz Lee of garden herbs at home and at the BorderKeep.

------

Copyright 2018 by Liz Lee, Beaumont, TX. <tessa at gt.rr.com>. Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited. Addresses change, but a reasonable attempt should be made to ensure that the author is notified of the publication and if possible receives a copy.

If this article is reprinted in a publication, please place a notice in the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.