All of the beds in the Culinary Herb Garden are open for harvesting (you’ll see we’ve removed the sparkly stars). Sara, our herb gardener, offers some information and instructions for picking the group of herbs that became available last week:  rosemary, lemon verbena, and cutting celery. When cutting any herbs, make sure you leave 2/3 of the plant so it continues to produce.

Rosemary

This popular herb has what seem to be 1,000 uses. It pairs beautifully with many foods and is popular in Mediterranean dishes. Its citrusy, woodsy flavor is delicious when infused in olive oil or vinegar or roasted with meats. Rosemary is thought to improve memory, and has been used as a symbol of remembrance.

Harvest rosemary by snipping a 2-inch sprig or two with scissors.

Lemon verbena

Steep lemon verbena as an herbal tea, or use it to flavor cocktails and other creative drinks. It can also be used to infuse a simple syrup made with sugar and water, or added to flavor any foods, including desserts.

Harvest lemon verbena by snipping a 2-inch sprig or two with scissors.

Cutting celery

Cutting celery is new to our herb garden this year. Find it at the back of the row of sorrel, and next to the fuzzy sage. Use cutting celery as you would celery leaves.

To harvest, cut a few sprigs from the outside of the plant, as you would parsley.