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Sassafras leaves are turning lovely shades of pink and coral. This plant is easily identified because of the three different leaf shapes on one plant: oval-shaped, mitten-shaped, and three-lobed. And then there is the aromatic rootbeer odor when the bark is rubbed or leaves are crumbled. Click on pix to enlarge and read captions.Photo/Illustration: Susan Belsinger
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These hops have bloomed earlier in the season. Hops are bitter-tasting and are used in beer-making. They have a calming effect--we harvest them to make hop tea for insomnia and dream pillows.Photo/Illustration: Susan Belsinger
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This year we have been celebrating Artemisia as herb of the year for 2014. The OFC herb gardens have featured the many artemisias in their plantings. Here are three artemisias: front is 'Silver Brocade', mid height is 'Silver Queen' and the tall bright green in back is 'Sweet Annie'.Photo/Illustration: Susan Belsinger
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Each year the International Herb Association chooses an herb of the year to give in depth close-ups of herbs and to educate people about them. Artemisia is herb of the year 2014 and Savory will be herb of the year for 2015.Photo/Illustration: Susan Belsinger
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'Sweet Annie', (Artemisia annua) grows in the shape of a Christmas tree and can reach 8 to 10 feet in height. It makes wonderful fragrant wreaths.Photo/Illustration: Susan Belsinger
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Tarragon is the culinary artemisia of choice. It is a favorite for vinegars and sauces. https://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/14655/artemisia-herb-of-the-year-2014Photo/Illustration: Susan Belsinger
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Calendulas thrive in cooler weather and the flowers are honking right now. Harvest the petals for tea or dry them to make calendula oil or salve--this is a wonderful herb for the skin.Photo/Illustration: Susan Belsinger
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Scented geraniums are on display in the Heritage Herb Garden and they have loved being taken out of their pots and grown in big deep beds. They are tender perennials, so they will need to be dug up, repotted and brought indoors, or it is easy to make cuttings and root them.Photo/Illustration: Susan Belsinger
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The gardeners at the OFC propagate the pelargoniums by cuttings. They root fairly easily, which is a good thing, since there are so many lovely cultivars to have. My favorites are 'Rober's Lemon Rose', 'Old-Fashioned Rose' and 'Mabel Grey'. These tenders do well indoors in a sunny window during cold weather. https://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/9784/rooting-herb-cuttingsPhoto/Illustration: Susan Belsinger
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Mediterannean natives like this Salvia 'Nana', thyme and lavendar can winter over in this zone 7 climate. It is a good time to cut them back by about one-third to dry for culinary use or make cuttings. https://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/3759/video-how-to-dry-herbsPhoto/Illustration: Susan Belsinger
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Jewelweed is a native to this area--it likes moist soil--so it is happy by this fishpond. The flowers are like little orchids, bright orange with red spots and the pollinators love them. It is a good herb to use to prevent and relieve poison ivy.Photo/Illustration: Susan Belsinger
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Jerusalem artichokes abound on the roadsides and in the fields here. They bloomed a few weeks ago--just waiting for a frost so we can dig the tubers. I will write about these on an upcoming blog so stay tuned!Photo/Illustration: Susan Belsinger
On the road in the Ozarks… here are some photos of the Heritage Herb Gardens at the Ozark Folk Center, as well as some roadside natives, in Mountain View, Arkansas. Do you know these herbs?
The herb beds are gorgeous now and it is time to harvest and dry the herbs for culinary and medicinal use. /item/3759/video-how-to-dry-herbs While whole plants of annual herbs can be harvested back to the ground or pulled up completley, it is best to trim perennials back by about one-third to at most, one-half of their size. The plantings artemisias (herb of the year 2014) /item/14655/artemisia-herb-of-the-year-2014 and scented geraniums are huge and beautiful–perfect for making cuttings. /item/9784/rooting-herb-cuttings
The autumn weather has affected the flora of the Ozark Mountains causing leaves to change color and some have already started to fall. The sumacs, which grow in large masses along the roadside turned shades of red, purple and dark pink along with the poke, poison ivy and dogwoods. Scarlet berries of dogwood, spicebush and euonymous add splashes of color.
Besides the sumac, many of the persimmons have lost their leaves and as they say down here, boy howdy, are they ever loaded with fruit. Although some of the fruit is falling to the ground, one must wait until there is a frost to harvest and eat ripe persimmons. Another wild food, which is best after it has frosted, is the Jerusalem artichoke–even though their bright yellow blooms faded a few weeks ago and their foliage is fading–they are best dug after a frost. Shades of pink, gold, bronze and orange are displayed on the leaves of the sassafras, sycamore and gum trees, three-seeded Mercury and feathery blooms of goldenrod.
The mountain view is no longer verdant green–there are various shades of brown–and brilliant splashes of autumn hues. Here in the Ozarks, folks travel to see the color, which is equally as beautiful as New England, the roads are less crowded and the weather is warmer. Fall festivals abound and there are apples, cider, pumpkins, gourds and squash at roadside stands. At the Ozark Folk Center Heritage Herb Gardens, gardeneners and volunteers are busy harvesting herbs to dry, seeds to dry for next year, moving tender plants in to the greenhouses and coldframes and tidying up for winter. There are lots of visitors–besides the gardens, the craft village is a great place to visit with hands-on demos and first-person interpretation–and there is always local musicians playing music. www.ozarkfolkcenter.com
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