How About Herbs 



North of the Notches 



Interest in herb gardening is 

 state-wide, but in the upper parts 

 of New Hampshire, Maine, and 

 Vermont and Canada, the choices 

 in plant material might be slightly 

 different. There's still plenty to 

 choose from — and here are some 

 ideas. 



Again, I've chosen some plants 

 that we do not always think of as 

 herbs, but which have herbal 

 properties — a special fragrance, a 

 medicinal or culinary use. Some 

 of these will be familiar, but you 

 may not be aware of their herbal 

 characteristics — which would be 

 good to promote to customers fo- 

 cusing on their herbal landscapes. 



The first is pulmonaria, com- 

 monly known as lungwort. Hardy 

 to zone 3, it has dark green 

 leaves, with many varieties having 

 white leaf spots — which dapple a 

 shady area quite nicely. In medi- 

 eval times, it was considered a 



remedy for respiratory disorders 

 and gastro-intestinal problems 

 and was also used as a spring 

 potherb. It flowers early in spring, 

 with its foliage lasting throughout 

 the summer — except in sun, 

 where it will fade, then die back. 

 Today it's grown mainly as a 

 ground cover or accent plant in 

 shade gardens. Usually the flow- 

 ers are blue, fading to pink, but 

 there is a red variety — Pulmonaria 

 rubra 'Redstart;' a white — P offici- 

 nalis 'Sissinghurst White,' and a 

 nice blue-flowering type — P. an- 

 gustifolia 'Azurea.' 



Yarrow (zones 2-Q) is considered 

 by many to be a common weed, 

 but there are a number of yarrows 



well-suited for herb and perennial 

 gardens. From ancient times, this 

 herb has had wide medicinal use 

 and has been associated with 

 healing wounds and stemming 

 blood-flow Achilles supposedly 

 healed his warriors' wounds 

 with its leaves — which is why it is 

 called Achillea. The cultivars A. 

 filipendulina 'Coronation Gold' and 

 'Moonshine' are best for drying 

 because they keep their colors 

 well. The many new colors — 

 salmons, pinks, reds, even lilacs — 

 do not keep their colors when 

 dried (usually turning grey), but 

 are excellent as fresh-cut flowers 

 in herbal bouquets. 



I was pleased a few years back 

 to read that hollyhock {Althaea 

 rosea) has herbal properties. It's 

 one of my favorite old-fashioned 

 flowers — something I remember 

 well from my childhood in Ver- 

 mont. This tall biennial is one of 



L 



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