Do you have a favorite plant in your garden?

[Blueberry Acres]

What is your favorite plant you have in you garden? Please share why you chose it (I would love pictures, too!)

Post away!

 

[digitS']

Bok choy and other Asian Greens have probably made the most beneficial contribution to my diet. Perhaps my favorite green isn't likely to be green, at all. That's Baby Beets -- tasty. Greens tend to be falling into short supply this time of year and I do take very special joy in the Cucumber, Sweetcorn, Tomato, and Melon Time of the Year. Oh, Yes!

This is my favorite herbal tea herb -- Lemon Verbena.


Really, it is the only herb that I like by itself but, especially, with Anise Hyssop. Perhaps, there are other licorice flavored herbs that it would go well with but with only these 2 plants, I don't have enough to experiment with and the commercially available dried Lemon Verbena is a far cry from the fresh.

Steve

 

[Blueberry Acres]

View attachment 59549
Bok choy and other Asian Greens have probably made the most beneficial contribution to my diet. Perhaps my favorite green isn't likely to be green, at all. That's Baby Beets -- tasty. Greens tend to be falling into short supply this time of year and I do take very special joy in the Cucumber, Sweetcorn, Tomato, and Melon Time of the Year. Oh, Yes!

This is my favorite herbal tea herb -- Lemon Verbena.

View attachment 59548
Really, it is the only herb that I like by itself but, especially, with Anise Hyssop. Perhaps, there are other licorice flavored herbs that it would go well with but with only these 2 plants, I don't have enough to experiment with and the commercially available dried Lemon Verbena is a far cry from the fresh.

Steve

Nice!

 

[Blueberry Acres]

This is my favorite herbal tea herb -- Lemon Verbena.

So you make tea with it?

 

[digitS']

Nothing to it.

Tea ball or the kettle basket -- steeping for 30+ minutes allows making the best use of the limited supply. I have been adding dried cranberries but I'm not sure if this isn't just adding a sugary sweetness. Freezing the fresh herb is nearly as good as fresh. Of course, this is all to-my-tastes .

 

[heirloomgal]

Lemon Verbena is such a wonderful, fragrant herb. I can understand why it's your preferred tea herb @digitS' . Few plants have such a truly sweet, delicious scent. I found the Lemon basil from this year very, very similar and easy to grow from seeds. Lemon verbena sadly has ceased to be available here for a few years now. I bought a Lemon Grass plant this year and while the torn leaves smell nice, they don't hold a candle to LV.

I think one of my favorite garden plants is Job's Tears, Coix lacryma-jobi. It isn't edible, it makes a grain that is used as beads, but it is a lovely plant. Too bad it isn't so easy to grow where I live. Of course, the story of Job is a powerful one and the plant seems to capture that somehow. I find the beads really do conjure the sense of falling tears. Here's my last plant from 2022.

 

[Blueberry Acres]

Nothing to it.

Tea ball or the kettle basket -- steeping for 30+ minutes allows making the best use of the limited supply. I have been adding dried cranberries but I'm not sure if this isn't just adding a sugary sweetness. Freezing the fresh herb is nearly as good as fresh. Of course, this is all to-my-tastes .

That's so neat! Do you make tea with other plants, too? I was thinking about doing it with my bee balm.

 

[Blueberry Acres]

I think one of my favorite garden plants is Job's Tears

I have heard of Job's Tears, but I have never seen the plant. Thanks for sharing!

Of course, the story of Job is a powerful one

Yes, it is. Are you a Christian?

 

[heirloomgal]

I have heard of Job's Tears, but I have never seen the plant. Thanks for sharing!

Yes, it is. Are you a Christian?

Yes ma'am.

 

[Zeedman]

I'd have to say beans of all kinds are my main interest, because there are so many species & varieties to choose from. There is more diversity than can be explored in a lifetime, and tons of ways to use them.

Aside from that, I love anything rare or unusual, provided it is actually useful. My avatar, bitter melon, is one of those (and I'm regrowing that one this year). I'm always looking for tropical vegetables that will survive & produce seed in my short-season climate.