The International Herb Association has chosen dill as its 2010 Herb of the Year.

Dill is easy to grow and beautiful to look at, and finds a place in herb, vegetable and flower gardens. 

      Dill is a cool season plant, which means it is best planted from seed in early spring.  .  It is an annual, but self-seeds prolifically, so once you plant it you probably won’t ever have to plant it again.  Don’t worry though – seedlings that pop up in unwanted places are easy to pull so it doesn’t become uncontrollable.  And those little seedlings can be used in salads, sandwiches and dips right away.

      The plants that grow on their own in subsequent years will probably be stronger and healthier than the ones that grow from your carefully placed seed.  Still, you may want to save some seed to make later plantings throughout the early part of the season to provide a continuous supply of fresh dill. 

      Dill has ferny green leaves and showy yellow flowers, and reaches a three foot height, making it a good background to tall marigolds, zinnias, blue salvia and red and green basil.         

      Plant dill seeds in full sun about ¼-inch deep early in spring after danger of frost is past, about ten inches apart in rows two feet apart.  A less formal approach is to scatter the seeds and rake them lightly into the soil.  Tamp the soil to ensure seed-to-soil contact.

      When the plants are about six inches tall, you can begin clipping the leaves close to the stem.  Do this in the late morning or in the evening for best flavor.  When the plants get a little older, the cut flowers make long lasting aromatic additions to summer bouquets.  As soon as the real heat of summer sets in, the plants will quickly set seed.

      Dry dill by hanging bunches of it upside down or spreading the stems out on newspaper for a couple of days in a warm dry place indoors.  Store the dried leaves in an airtight container.  You can also freeze freshly picked leaves in plastic freezer bags.

      Harvest seeds when they turn dark brown.  Snip the umbrella-shaped plant tops off with a scissors and let them dry for a week or two on newspaper or in a paper grocery bag in a warm room.  If the seeds do not fall off themselves, you can easily rub them off by the handful.

      The seed heads ripen just in time for making dill pickles from your garden-grown cucumbers and can also be used in breads or salad dressings.  The leaves are good in tomato dishes and potato, egg, and tuna salads, or mixed with cream cheese or butter for a tasty spread.  Remember that one tablespoon of chopped fresh dill equals one teaspoon of dried dill weed.

      Have you seen those little white daisy-like flowers growing in the gravel at the very edges of country roads?  That is the herb chamomile.  You can grow a taller, prettier version in your garden.

      There are a few different types of chamomile with many different common names, but for simplicity here, we’ll talk about two of them that are similar.  There is a perennial chamomile, often called Roman chamomile and an annual plant, usually referred to as German chamomile.

      Roman chamomile grows 8-12 inches tall and has fewer flowers than the annual German chamomile which grows up to two feet tall.  Both plants’ flowers and foliage have a lovely apple scent.  German chamomile self-seeds freely, so once you have it, unless you are fanatical about deadheading the flowers before they go to seed, you will always have it.  However, the seedlings are easy to pull or hoe out when they are young.

      Chamomile is valued for its medicinal use as an anti-inflammatory for afflictions of the skin and mucous membranes; as an anti-spasmodic for indigestion and menstrual cramps; and an anti-invective for numerous minor illnesses.

         For the home gardener, a relaxing tea can be made of the dried flowers.  Steep one teaspoon of dried flowers in one cup of hot water for 5-15 minutes.  It is also makes a refreshing iced tea on a warm summer afternoon.  People with allergies to ragweed or chrysanthemums should be cautious about drinking the tea.

      To add sunny highlights to blond or light brown hair, make a strong tea and use it as a rinse after shampooing.

      Besides the benefits that humans get from use of the herb chamomile, it brings benefits to the other plants in your garden.  It has been called a “nurse plant” in that it helps any plant it grows near to.  It does this through the attraction of pollinators and of other beneficial insects that feed on insect pests.

      Chamomile tea is traditionally drunk in the evening to promote relaxation, but my husband enjoys it first thing in the morning.  It helps him face a stressful work day. 

      I harvest a few thousand chamomile blossoms each year.  I store them in a quart canning jar after spreading them on a newspaper to dry for several days. 

      Harvesting the small blossoms in great amounts is easy but tedious (except that you get to be out in the sunshine on a beautiful day).  I usually pick about 100 blooms a day over a period of six or eight weeks.  Flowers can be harvested by snapping them off the plants by lifting them between two fingers.  They are best picked when the white petals just begin to curve downward.

      It was late summer and I just wanted to grow something, anything.  It was too late to plant seeds outdoors.  I’d been thinking about growing alfalfa sprouts for years, but thought it was too complicated.  It turns out it is easy, fun and best of all, fast.

      Sprouts can be grown on your kitchen counter top in a quart canning jar with a mesh screen or even a piece of pantyhose stretched across the top.  Use a canning screw top or a thick rubber band to hold the mesh in place.  The point is to be able to drain water out of the jar, but keep the seeds inside.

      If you want to spend more money on the project, all manner of sprout growing equipment can be found on the internet. 

      Seeds for sprouting can be purchased at most health food stores, by mail order from garden seed companies or over the internet.  I bought a pound of seed the first time, and that is going to last for a very long time!  

      Some of the kinds of sprout seeds available are alfalfa, clover, radish, broccoli, sunflower, mustard, onion, mung bean, soy bean, and lentil.  For my first time, I bought a mix of several kinds of seed.

      Here’s what to do.  Put two tablespoons of seed in a quart jar and fill the jar about half full of water.  Soak the seed for 8–12 hours.  Drain the water out through the screen top.  Every 8–12 hours for five or six days, rinse the seed by running water into the jar and swishing it around before draining it out again.  To keep the seed from clumping together, roll the jar a bit so the seeds cling to the jar sides. 

      The sprouts will germinate by the end of the second day and get bigger each day.  It is not necessary for the jar to be in the sun or even bright light.  On the last day, though, set the jar in the sun for 15-30 minutes so the sprouts green up.  If the sprouts are clumped tightly together, loosen them with a fork or your fingers before setting them in the sun so the light can reach more of them.  Refrigerate the sprouts after the sun treatment.

      Ideal growing temperature is 70 degrees, but my house isn’t that warm and they grow just fine.  Lower temps result in slower growing sprouts while higher temps make them grow faster.  When the room temperature is very warm, be sure to rinse the sprouts every eight hours.  Warm air and the heat produced by the growing sprouts themselves can encourage the growth of disease organisms.   If you smell an “off” odor, discard the batch and start over in a clean jar.

      Sprouts are highly nutritious.  They provide vitamins A, B, C, E and K, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, carotene, chlorophyll, amino acids, trace elements and protein.

      It’s hard to have missed the news articles over the past several years on the many health benefits of flaxseed oil.  The omega-3 fatty acids in flaxseed oil help lower cholesterol and blood pressure.  Other parts of the plant are also useful – the fibers are used to make linen cloth, high quality paper and rope.  The seed produces linseed oil which is used as a drying agent in paint and varnish and in making linoleum floors. 

      Flax is also a wonderful plant for the perennial flower garden.  The inch-wide five-petaled flowers are sky blue streaked with darker blue lines and float above stiff, wiry two-foot tall stems with needle-like leaves.  The flowers bloom from May to September and even into October or November if the fall is mild.  Each flower lasts only one day, but there are so many stems that there is never a day without flowers. 

      Flax is a tough, long-lived plant.  It grows in pretty much any well-drained soil in full sun or light shade.  The plants don’t require division and need watering only in extreme drought.  Once established, flax needs very little care other than cutting it down in fall, which is easily done with a hedge clippers.

      You could transplant a clump of flax from a friend in early spring, but it is just as easy to grow from seed.  Don’t waste your money buying a half teaspoon or so of seed in a packet and paying a couple dollars for it.  Instead, buy flax seed in bulk at the grocery store for about $1.59 for a whole pound.  Yes, this is the same flax seed you buy for using in baking or sprinkling on your yogurt. 

      In spring, broadcast the seed on the soil and cover it with about a quarter inch of fine soil.  Keep moist until it germinates.  You should have flowers in about 100 days.  Seed can also be planted in fall and left over winter to germinate the following spring.

      The flowers produce many seeds and the plant self seeds freely.  Any plants growing where you don’t want them are easy to pull up when they are small.

      Flax is prettier in a large patch rather than as individual plants.  Flax interplanted with red or pink poppies would be gorgeous.  Another lovely combination is flax with alliums, lupines and wild geraniums.

      Plant flax and beginning just before the peonies and roses bloom in June, you’ll have your own little piece of blooming sky.

      Chives have a place in your garden, whether you have an herb or vegetable garden, or just a flower bed.  They are truly the easiest herb to grow and they are perennial, coming back year after year.

      Chives are one of the first plants to poke through the soil in spring.  They grow from bulbs that look like little onions.  At first they appear to be a clump of very healthy looking dark  green grass, about 6-10 inches tall.  In early June they develop beautiful pale purple clover-like flowers atop some of the stems.

      All parts of the chive plant are edible.  They have an onion-like flavor and are used in salads, soups, cheese and egg dishes, in sandwiches and sprinkled atop vegetables.  The mild-flavored leaves are the part most commonly used, but the tiny bulbs can be used as you would other onions.  The bulbs can also be pickled.  The flowers decorate a salad prettily when fully opened.  When in the bud stage, they have a very strong, almost hot, onion flavor that adds a zip to whatever dish they are part of.

      Chives grow best in full sun with rich soil and plentiful water.  Like many plants, however, they will grow just about anywhere, except deep shade.  They grow in slowly expanding clumps and are easy to divide or move in early spring by cutting through the plant with a shovel or sharp knife, allowing at least ten bulbs per new clump.

      Chives are harvested by cutting with a scissors about two inches above the soil line.  They can be harvested when the leaves are at least six inches tall and will quickly regrow.  After flowering, cut the spent flower stalks off to encourage the plant to continue growing.  For the most part, chives keep their neat appearance throughout the year and are rarely bothered by pests. 

      Although chive flowers can be dried for decorative use, the leaves themselves do not dry well, so to preserve them for year-round culinary use, they should be frozen.

      To enjoy chives earlier in spring, dig up a clump in fall and place it in a pot.  Keep the container outdoors for several months so the tops die back and the roots freeze.  They need this dormant period before they send out new growth.  In late February or early March, bring the pot indoors and place it on a sunny windowsill.  In a few weeks the plants will sprout and you’ll have chives before the rest of clump outdoors even thinks about starting to grow.

      Mint is an easy herb to grow and it comes in many different flavors along with the traditional peppermint and spearmint.  There are mint plants flavored with chocolate, orange, apple, pineapple, basil, lavender, lemon, banana and more.

      Some varieties are hardier than others, but all grow well in our climate.  A few, like pineapple mint, must be potted up and brought indoors over winter.

      Gardeners tend to have more problems getting rid of mint than they do getting it started.  To give some perspective, our old nemesis creeping charlie is in the mint family. 

      Mints grow best with morning sun and afternoon shade, but that isn’t strictly necessary for good production.  They like plenty of moisture, but again, they’ll do fine in a drier spot.  In drier areas the leaves may be a bit smaller, but the aroma and flavor will be just as strong.

      Because mint can be invasive, it is best grown in a pot sunken into the ground.  It can also be grown in a bottomless #10 can.  The container should be at least 10 inches deep to prevent the roots from spreading.  Let the rim of the pot stick above ground at least an inch; otherwise roots will grow out the top and spread along the ground.  Place mulch around the plant to hide the rim, but check periodically to make sure no stems are lying on the soil.  Tiny roots will form along the stems where they touch the ground and then you’ve got an uncontained mint plant!  Of course, mint can be grown in above-ground pots as well. 

      Frequent cutting keeps mints at their prettiest.  It encourages stems to branch and makes the plants more lush and healthy.  Plants in large containers should be divided and repotted every five years or so.  Mint in smaller containers needs repotting every year.

      Mints have pink or white flowers in spikes at the tops of the stems.  Each flower is insignificant, but an entire plant in bloom is very pretty.  For best flavor, harvest mint before it flowers. 

      Mint has few pests and diseases, the most common being rust.  Remove the affected plant parts and dispose of them.  Do not compost diseased plants.  If the problem continues, move the plant to a sunnier spot. 

      Fresh use is best, but mint can be dried by tying a few stems together and hanging them upside down to dry.  It can also be frozen.  Chop leaves and cover with water in ice cube trays.  When frozen, pop out the cubes and store them in freezer bags.  Use the cubes to give a delicious mint flavor to drinks.  Mint can also be used to flavor cookies, bread, cakes and hot or iced tea.

      Besides smelling and tasting wonderful, mints repel garden pests like aphids, flea beetles, and various cabbage pests.

      The International Herb Association has named calendula its 2008 Herb of the Year.  Calendula is also known as pot marigold, but it isn’t the marigold you think of when you go to buy bedding plants.  “Pot marigold” doesn’t come from the fact that it is grown in pots, although it is an excellent container plant, but rather from its common use in the cooking pot.

      The Romans first named this golden plant when they observed that it was in bloom on the first day of every month, or calends.  It is an annual plant that in Wisconsin will bloom by mid-June, and blooms continuously even well after fall frosts.

      Deadheading, or cutting off spent flowers, keeps it looking nice and encourages even more bloom.  If not deadheaded, the flowers form seeds that look like little boats.  To save seeds, cut the seedheads when they turn brown and store them over winter in a paper bag in a dry place.  If you want calendula in the same spot next year, skip the deadheading.  You will never have to plant calendula again. 

      Calendula grows best in full sun in average, well-drained soil.  Once established, it is drought tolerant and the plants that self-seed need no supplemental watering even in the driest years.

      Calendula’s flowers range in color from pale yellow to deep carrot orange and are 1½-4 inches across, looking something like zinnia flowers.  They close at night, but each flower opens again in the morning and lasts a week or more.  But never fear, when a flower is spent, there are many more on the same plant waiting to take its place in the sun.  The plants are compact, growing from 12-18 inches tall depending on the conditions. 

      The flowers are easy to dry for use in potpourri or other crafts and retain their bright color.  Cut them off just below the flowerhead and lay them face down on newspaper.  Turn them over after a few days and in a week or so they will be dried.  A faster alternative is to remove the petals individually and dry them on paper.  It is important that they are completely dry before storing and that they are stored where moisture cannot reach them or they will get moldy.  A glass jar works well.

      Calendula wasn’t named Herb of the Year for its looks alone.  It has medicinal uses in that it is very soothing to the skin.  It is anti-inflammatory, astringent and anti-microbial and is used to help heal cuts, scrapes, rashes, bee stings, burns and bruises. 

      The flowers and leaves are edible and are added to salads, soups, stews, and poultry and baked into bread and cookies to add a bright color.  The dried flowers can be ground into a powder and used as a substitute for saffron.

      Calendula’s petals also have use in making a yellow dye for cotton, wool or silk.

      As for cosmetic use, a calendula rinse brings out highlights in brunette and blond hair.  Make a strong tea of the petals and pour over hair.

      With all these attributes, calendula certainly deserves its Herb of the Year designation.

      Growing your own garlic is easy and there are many more varieties available for home gardeners than you will find in the supermarket.  Garlic is best planted in the fall, right around the time tulip bulbs are planted, in mid-October. 

      You may be confused about the various types of garlic.  Here is a simple lesson.  There are two types of garlic – hardneck and softneck.  Hardnecks are further divided into purple stripe, porcelain and rocambole.  Softnecks are divided into artichoke and silverskin.  Softnecks last longer in storage, mature faster and are more productive than hardnecks.  However, softneck cloves are harder to peel than hardnecks.  Hardnecks offer more color and flavor variety than softnecks.

       Some varieties do better in cooler or warmer climates than others, but we are fortunate to be able to grow any of the types of garlic in Wisconsin.  The unusual thing about garlic is that a certain type can adapt to the conditions where the gardener is trying to grow it in about three years by replanting the cloves yearly.

      You will find good descriptions of garlic offerings in mail order catalogs.  The best thing to do is try several varieties to find out what grows best in your garden and what flavors you like.

      Garlic grows best in full sun in well-drained soil amended with lots of organic matter.  To grow garlic, plant the cloves, the sections of the bulb.  Each clove produces a new bulb.  Place the cloves in a hole or furrow with the flat end down and the pointed end up, with the tip about two inches beneath the soil line.  Fill the hole with soil and top it with 6” of mulch like straw, pine needles or dried grass clippings.

      The garlic starts to grow in the fall.  You’ll see shoots coming up through the mulch in four to eight weeks, depending on the variety of garlic and the weather.  The garlic stops growing over the winter and starts up again in spring.  Leave the mulch in place in the spring to thwart weeds and conserve moisture. 

      Make sure the garlic gets about one inch of water per week either from rain or the hose from when it starts growing in spring until about June 1 when the leaves begin to yellow.  Stop watering then to allow the bulbs to firm up.

      If you’ve planted hardneck garlic, it will sprout a flowery stalk called a “scape” in spring.  Remove the scape to encourage more vigorous bulb production and use it to flavor pesto, dip or soup.

      When between half and three quarters of the leaves turn yellow-brown, in late June or early July, it’s time to harvest.  Dig up the bulbs carefully and put them in a shady spot to dry and cure for four to six weeks.  Softneck stems can be braided and hung to dry.  When it is thoroughly dry, trim the roots, being careful not to knock off the outer skin.  Cut the stalks about 1½” above the bulb and store in a mesh bag recycled from onions or oranges.

      One of the many definitions of the word “herb” is “a useful plant.”  It may be useful for culinary, medicinal, aromatic and/or craft purposes.  Often an herb is valuable in more than one category.  Herbs are generally grown more for these useful purposes than for their beauty, as they often lack the splashy splendor of traditional flower garden plants like roses, petunias, marigolds, lilies and zinnias.

      That said, an herb garden can be very pleasing to the eye.  Herbs are so versatile that they can find a home in most any landscape.  They can be part of perennial beds, rock gardens, pathway edgings or the pathway itself, container gardens and vegetable gardens.  Or they can have their own space, an entire garden dedicated to herbs.  The herb garden can be very tidy and formal with orderly plants like calendula, germander, some sages, thyme, basil, parsley, lavender and rue, or more casual and sprawling with big plants like dill, tansy, hyssop, hops, comfrey, angelica and mints.  Or the two can be combined, with any combination of your favorite plants.

      Just like any garden, an herb garden takes a little planning.  Most herbs are native to the poor rocky Mediterranean soils, so they do fine in less than optimum conditions.  In fact, overly fertile or moist soil will cause herbs to grow too leggy and flop over.  However, it won’t hurt to add organic matter like compost, chopped leaves or well-rotted manure if you are starting a new garden.

      Place the tallest herbs in the back and the shorter ones in the front.  Do some research on how tall each of the herbs can be expected to get and how wide they will spread so as to allow ample space between plants.

      Herbs can be annuals or perennials.  Some perennial herbs cannot survive our winters and must be dug up and brought indoors over winter.  Another option is to grow those tender perennials in containers on the deck or patio, or set the pots right in the herb garden for some added interest.  Some herbs, especially those in the mint family, can spread faster than you’d like them to.  Others like tansy and comfrey do the same, so do your homework.  These spreaders should be grown in pots sunk into the ground. 

      Herbs can be started from seed, or from division, cuttings or transplants.  Not all herbs can be started each way.  For example, it is very difficult to start lavender from seed; it is usually started from cuttings or by buying transplants.  Basil and dill grow easily from seed.  In fact, once you plant dill, it is unlikely that you will ever have to plant it again as it reseeds prolifically.

      There are many ways to educate yourself about herbs before you start your herb garden.  The Winnefox library system has hundreds of herb books, the internet is packed with information and there are several herb magazines and herbal association newsletters to which you can subscribe.

      Every year the Herb Society of America selects an herb of the year.  Possible choices are evaluated based on being outstanding in at least two of three major categories:  medicinal, culinary or decorative. 

      The 2007 Herb of the Year selection is lemon balm, Melissa officinalis.  Past selections have included oregano, echinacea, garlic, sage, rosemary and lavender. 

      Lemon balm grows throughout the world and is a perennial plant of the mint family.  Like most plants in the mint family, it is easy to grow.   It grows readily from seed and germinates better if the seeds are soaked overnight and are not covered when planted.  You will find out how easily it grows from seed if you let it flower and set seed.  The next year you will have many little lemon balm plants surrounding your main plant.  Plants can also be propagated by division in spring or by cuttings taken in spring or summer. 

      The plant grows to about a foot tall and can be kept tidy by trimming it back a few times a year.  It dies to the ground in winter.  It grows best in full sunlight but will survive in shade.  It needs well-drained soil.

      Lemon balm has pretty light green heart-shaped leaves with toothed edges.  Their lemon-scented perfume attracts bees but repels other insects.  The small flowers, which are not a reason to grow the plant, are half-inch long white tubular flowers that bloom from July to September.

      Like most herbs, lemon balm is susceptible to very few diseases.  The only problem it may have is powdery mildew.  To avoid this, allow space around the plant for air to freely circulate.  Remove any mildewed stems as soon as you notice it and cut the plant back in fall to a couple inches tall.

      Leaves can be picked for fresh use anytime, being careful to avoid bruising.  For drying, harvest in late summer when the essential oils are most concentrated.  Hang upside down in a warm, dark, well-ventilated place or dry on a tray or screen.  Keep dried leaves in an airtight container in a cool place.

      Lemon balm is good in green and fruit salads, white sauces for fish, omelets, sauerkraut, casseroles, marinated vegetables, chicken salads, stuffing, poultry, pork, jelly, custards, fruit drinks, white wine punches and hot and cold teas.  Place a sprig in a bottle of water or a few sprigs in a pitcher of water and place in the refrigerator for a day or so for a refreshingly cool lemon-flavored drink.

      Lemon balm has a few medicinal uses.  It makes a pleasant and relaxing tea that is good for settling the stomach and calming the nerves.  Herbalists recommend it for nervous tension, heartburn, colds, headaches and depression.

      The leaf can be infused as a facial steam, added to bathwater, and as a rinse for oily hair.  Fresh leaves applied directly to insect bites relieve itchiness.

      Dried leaves can be used in sachets to freshen drawers or in potpourri.