THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 201 



HERBS 



No home garden can be complete without herbs. 

 These supply a variety of flavors which can be 

 secured from no other plants. They are especially 

 useful for seasoning soups, stews, salads, and dress- 

 ings. They may be used, therefore, fresh or dried, 

 [f dried, they must be kept in glass so that their 

 flavors may not be lost in the air. Preserving in 

 vinegar is also a good way to keep them. The 

 most popular are parsley (which see), sage, sweet 

 basil, sweet marjoram, spearmint, summer savory, 

 thyme, winter savory, and balm. Little need be 

 said concerning their cultivation, as they do well 

 with almost no attention, but a few remarks may 

 be suggestive. 



Balm, a perennial, grows about 18 inches tall. 

 Seeds are sown in the spring where the plants are 

 to stand from year to year. 



Sage, a perennial, grows readily, about 16 inches 

 high, from seed sown in early spring. It is hardy 

 and comes up well for several years in the same 

 place. 



Sweet Basil, an annual, about I foot high, is 

 sown indoors during March or April and trans- 

 planted when the weather has become mild, or it 

 may be sown in open ground in the early spring. 



Sweet Marjoram, a perennial, is generally grown 

 as an annual from seed sown in the early spring 

 in any good garden soil. 



Spearmint, a perennial, is most readily propagated 

 from its creeping rootstocks. It does best in moist 

 soil. Sometimes it becomes troublesome as a weed. 



Summer Savory, an annual, about 10 inches high, 

 is grown from seed sown in early spring where the 

 plants are to remain. It may be transplanted. 



