Nice Summary Jane, on a side note I like Bergarten Sage, has a nice
flavor and is rather cold hardy. Also love the flavor of globe basils,
just chop them up stems and all if it's fairly new growth. I second
your opinion of Bronze Fennel, I have it growing like crazy as a
foundation planting near the back door on the south side of the house.
I leave the stems and seed heads up for winter interest. it self sows
freely...VERY freely!G Swallowtails butterflies love it too.

I second your vote on the Oregano, much prefer the Greek to the
Italian, though I usually blend them after drying for storage and use
in cooking. I have one Rosemary that I am not sure of the variety,
bought it as Tuscan Blue but it has very narrow leaves almost needle
like and much sharper taste, with almost pure white flowers. I also
have a Tuscan Blue that I use for Lamb and such, I use the other one
as smoke material for the grill.

Lost my last two Bay trees to some sort of disease, heart turned dark
and the bark split, so I have to replace them this year. Not a big fan
of Tarragon so I don;t grow it but I do grow Lavender for use in Herbs
De Provence, and also just because I like it.

As for the rest of your list, have you been peeking in my back yard?
G

Dave Fouchey
Sterling Heights, MI Zone 5 or so


On Tue, 11 Mar 2003 05:57:07 GMT, "Jane"
wrote:

BL I have an herb garden and I have many different varieties of herbs for
cooking. It depends on which ones you personally like but I'll suggest some
of the traditional ones for you to find.
English Thyme or Common Thyme (thymus vulgaris) are most popular but I also
grow and love Lemon thyme( thymus citriodorus) just as you'd expect it to
taste.
French Tarragon is the best. (artimesia dracunculus)
The Rosemary ( rosemary officinalis)I like the best is Tuscan Blue but if
you're down south a bit you could really have a great time with Prostrate
rosemary because it makes a gorgeous and fragrant groundcover that cascades
over walls with little pale purple flowers.
Sage is only good for eating in my opinion if it's Salvia officinalis. The
tricolor ones and large leaf ones don't have as nice a flavor. But Pineapple
sage is a good second type of sage to get because it has red flowers and an
amazing fragrance.
The spiciest Oregano is Greek Oregano ( O.vulgare subsp. hirtum) but the
Italian (O.onites) is more like sweet marjoram.
Then there's Basil (Ocimum basilicum) which is so great in every flavor. The
classic one is Sweet Basil, or Mammoth sweet Basil. The pretty ones are
Purple Ruffles and that works great when used fresh in salads and cold
dishes. I also love the African Blue basil for the beautiful plants that
attract honeybees to my garden. The Thai Basil is great if you like Asian
food. it has a slightly licorice taste and it's also very pretty.
Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis) can grow over winter where it's warm but I take
mine in every year in zone 6b.
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are easy. Garlic Chives are delicious and can
be a substitute for garlic in recipes if you're out of the real thing.
Dill (Anethum graveolens)depends on what you want it for. If you want dill
weed,plany Dukat. If you want seed heads for pickling, Long Island Mammoth
is good.
Fennel is really great if you like the anise flavor seeds or leaves. I grow
bronze fennel because i love the color. There is abulb type fennel if you
want to harvest and eat it Italian style, but it takes more space.
Lemon Balm is great! (Melissa officinalis) I pick three or four leaves and
pour boiling water over them in a mug for a cup of tea that tastes like
lemon candy.
If you grow Mint make sure to keep it away from anything else because it
will take over the world! I burried 8 inch boards around the mint to contain
it but it got around them and I'm still chasing it! I love chocolate mint
and Spearmint the most but a huge number of mints is available.
Savory is good for a ground cover and great in bean dishes and poultry. I
planted winter savory and it's spreading neatly over the years.

Hope this helps,
Jane

wrote in message
.. .


Having grown Russian Tarragon only to discover that French Tarragon is the
true
tarragon for cooking, can anyone tell me the correct names for the herbs
Sage, Rosemary and Basil, used for cooking purposes?

Last year I noticed there were about 20 different basils, but which one is
for
cooking italian dishes, I just don't know. Same for poultry spice (sage)
and
rosemary for potatoe dishes.

Can anyone help me out with the full names of these so I buy the right
ones?

With thanks,
BL
People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun
is out,
but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there
is a
light from within. ~Elizabeth Kübler-Ross~