"It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." A.Holmes

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Blue-Bottle Herb Garden

 The dovecote my husband built me for my herb garden makes me happy . I especially love the detailing in the roof ridge that mirrors the roof ridges he put into our larger dovecote , the goat house, and also the grape & kiwi arbors.
 I keep only 2 doves in my herb garden, my Blue Bottle Herb Garden. You can see how we decided on the name...
 ...there are blue bottles everywhere in this garden.
 These blue bottles are holding the prongs of upside down tomato cages together to form supports for my comfrey . Comfrey loves to get big and floppy , and does so very quickly, often taking over this shady corner of my herb garden if left unattended too long. I use a lot of comfrey for my livestock, poultry, and also make poultices out of it for my feet which have a tendency to get very dry and crack & bleed. Comfrey poultices are great for this. ( I will do another post on this later.)
 Our dog Hawk keeps me company as I weed the garden.
 This old bike holds an old milk crate stuffed with blue bottles and flowers. It is leaning up against a picture window we had to replace after a big earthquake here a few years ago caused the window to split & crack. I like the window in this garden and it helps  keep the woods on the other side of the garden fence at bay.

 Fennel has a lovely licorice scent and thrives in my garden. The fennel has seeded itself in other parts of the herb garden too. It is like growing feathers ! You can see some of the sage and Lady's Mantle growing at the foot of the fennel.
 Lovage also thrives here. I have metal cages and stakes around and through the lovage to keep it from bending and breaking. I love this herb. It tastes like celery, the leaves are yummy chopped up and used in salads, eggs, soups. Anything celery adds flavor to would benefit from lovage. It has a little stronger celery taste, so not too much is needed. The stems grow up to 6 feet in my garden and are hollow so if you strip them of leaves ( or not ) you can use the stems as straws in any drink you might garnish with celery such as tomato juice, delicious!

 My rosemary grows quickly in this garden, and thrives all year, even in the coldest winters. Since my older rosemary plants are now unruly bushes I decided to start 2 new rosemary bushes and encourage them to be more orderly and well-behaved. I placed a large tomato cage upside down over rosemary planted in a large pot. The blue bottle holds the prongs of the cage together. I like the touch of blue it adds.

My blue bird bath sits in the thyme portion of the garden, along with a sun-dial ( not shown here). There are several varieties of thyme in this garden and when they bloom it looks like the bird-bath is perched on a beautiful carpet of color. Our honeybees love the thyme garden especially. My Blue Bottle Garden is a source of herbs my husband and I use for cooking . Some of the herbs are especially beneficial to our health. The garden is also a place of delight on sunny days to soak up the sights, sounds, and scents of Cedar Pond . God is so good and we are truly blessed !

I am joining the Thursday Farm Blog-Hop*. Please check out all the blogs offering useful and inspirational information regarding all things farm,gardening, crops, food preservation keeping poultry & livestock...decorating too. You don't need to have a farm to appreciate all you can learn as you visit these blogs !*

13 comments:

A.K.W. said...

Very nice!

Amy

Thistle Cove Farm said...

Kathy, Hawk looks a dear old thing and your blue bottle garden is pretty. I adore the details on the dovecote...too beautiful.

April D said...

It's just WONDERFUL! I love all the creative uses of blue bottles, and that you've included your doves in the space. I didn't know that about lovage; now I'm wondering if it would grow down here! You included so much to love in this post!
~april

Paula said...

Your blue bottle garden is wonderful, Kathy... and Hawk's expression is so adorable. :)

Connie said...

I love all those bright pops of blue in your garden, Kathy. What a cheery place it is!

LindaSue said...

a visit to your herb garden would make anyone lose their blues! Hawk is a grand companion while you garden - thank you for the lovely tour

GardenOfDaisies said...

I love all these touches of blue in your wonderful herb garden! My mom has a bottle tree in her backyard perennial garden, too. It's so pretty when the light shines through.

Deanna said...

Kathy, I always enjoy my time at your place!
Blue is a beautiful color. Love it!
Have a wonderful week-end,
d

Anonymous said...

I love your garden! We are big gardeners, as well. We are getting ready to plant 3 large vegetable gardens after tonight's freeze. You have a very nice looking spot here!

I enjoyed your comment on the "Blessed at Home" section of the "Hope In Every Season" blog. I found it very uplifting in my struggles with my current house. It was just what I needed to hear. Thank you. :)

Pondside said...

I love what you've done with the blue bottles - so pretty! Thanks for the tip for the Comfrey. Mine is getting ready to fall over - so strange the way it does that.

Beth said...

I adore your blue bottles in the garden! Enjoyed seeing your tea post and the beautiful beach and teacups as well. Have a great week!

Black Fox Homestead said...

How pretty! I love what you've done with the old bike. Thank you for sharing this with the HomeAcre Hop! Hope to have you back again tomorrow: http://blackfoxhomestead.com/the-homeacre-hop

Two Cottages And Tea said...

I enjoyed the tour of your garden so much! I have a few blue bottles and you have given me lots of ideas! I have a old bike and a old window like yours! This was so much fun seeing your post! Thanks for sharing!
Nancy