Every spring when I start planting my balcony window boxes and planters I always make one up entirely of fresh herbs. When the weather turns warmer I always crave healthy and fresh food so having readily available seasonings to throw into recipes is a great way to do that.

When I made my first ever herb box I went a little crazy planting over 10 different herbs and crammed them in together. This caused many problems. First I didn’t end up using some of the more uncommon plants and the ones I really enjoyed were not as abundant as I would have liked.

I have now whittled my choices down to five favourites that I plants every year and love to cook with.

Parsley

I prefer the taste of the flat leaf variety to that of the curly or Italian kind. It’s great simply as a colourful garnish or chopped into sauces. It has a very delicate flavour that blends well with most other herbs. I’m not a big fan of cilantro with its stronger more bitter taste so I replace it in most recipes with parsley.
Tabbouleh Recipe

Basil

As one of the most popular culinary herbs, this fresh leaf has a sweet, clove-like taste that pairs well with all tomato dishes. Because the taste is so strong it is often paired up with garlic where it holds up well against its pungency. It is used extensively in Italian and Mediterranean dishes.

Classic Pesto Recipe

Thyme

This herb is most popular in French cuisine because of its subtle lemony, mint flavour. Commonly used in stuffing and seasoning blends for poultry, thyme also works well with soups and sauces. Use the whole plant including the stems to get the most flavour.

Baked Brie with Apples and Thyme Recipe

Oregano

Oregano is used in most cuisines from Mexican and Spanish to Greek and Italian. It’s robust taste and smell lends well to soups, sauces, stews, vegetables and most meats.

Oregano Chicken Recipe

Chives

As a mild member of the onion family chives can be used anytime you want that onion flavour. It is great in potato salads, dips, breads, pastas, egg dishes and sprinkled on top of baked potatoes with sour cream.

Bacon Cheese Chive Muffins Recipe

All of these herbs except chives can be dried and stored for later use. To get the most flavour out of them add the seasonings at the end of your cooking time. Also remember that regular harvesting encourages more growth and a fuller plant.

Gerberas add a touch of colour to my herbs

It use to be the gardening standard that once May 24^th came you could safely begin planting out your tender annuals and vegetables without the fear of frost. Now with the climate changing people are usually waiting until the weekend following the Victoria Day holiday. I like to play it extra safe and wait one more weekend after that.

Planting away

Each year when I put together my hanging window boxes I try to use at least one plant that I’ve never used or haven’t used in a while. I always plant Bacopa to drape over either end of the planter and I use a different variety of ivy to hang down from the middle. Bacopa is one of my favourite annuals to use in hanging baskets because of its fullness and eventual size. I filled the rest of the planter with a variety of shades of pink and purple impatiens and it was my centre plant that I decided to try something different.

The common plant people use to create height when making their own baskets is the spiked grass Dracaena. I prefer to create that visual effect with taller flowers that will add more colours to the overall final product.

This year I used the African Daisy, Osteospermum. This pretty flower is part of the Daisy family and comes in shades of white, yellow, pink and purple. It will grow up to 18″ tall in the full sun and makes an excellent cut flower. I chose purple ones to go along with the colours of my impatiens.

It may be easier for some to go out and purchase pre-made baskets and window boxes but if you like experimenting with new flowers and discovering you inner floral designer then try making them yourself. The final product will always be rewarding.

The final product.

Every year a new trend comes out that is a little bit different, a little bit inventive that people suddenly go crazy over and “have to have”, and next thing you know it’s everywhere.

Way, way back it was garden gnomes. More recently it was iridescent glass insects that you skewered into the ground. I try not to get caught up in that stuff since I much prefer a plant to be the eye catcher in a garden.

However at Canada Blooms this year I saw a trend that I may just jump on the bandwagon for.

Upright Vases

What intrigued me was this variety of stand-alone vases that help showcase individual cut flowers as opposed to big bundles. Some of these vases were tall columns with individual test tube size glasses at different gradations of height while others were long and horizontal cylinders in different lengths.

Horizontal Vases

What a brilliant idea for flowers like Calla Lilies and Gerbera Daisies that don’t need fillers like ferns or baby’s breath because they are so beautiful all on their own. With their contemporary glass cuts you could choose to add rocks, gels and sands for even more interesting looks.

I haven’t jumped yet but these vases look like they could be around for a long time.

Gerbera Daisies on display.

Any trends you’ve avoided like the plague or bought shares on the company?