I started a herb garden today.
Until now, I'd been relying on supermarkets and green grocers for fresh herbs. And, let me tell you, that's not a good place to be. Not at all. For starters, fresh herbs are expensive. And too, the range is limited. You're lucky if you can get thyme. Sage? Forget about it. Most importantly, they're not actually fresh. Pick a leaf. Taste it. Mostly, what it tastes like is old grass clippings.
I always had a Bunnings up the road but never bothered to go. Without a car, I guess, working up the motivation to go there and come back with an armful of plants is difficult. Still, on a whim, today, given I was coming home past Bunnings, I ducked in and picked up five small pots. I have flat leaf parsley, coriander, sage, thyme and rosemary. I saw oregano and chives and bay a few herbs I've never used before but will, once I bite deeper into Larousse Gastronomique, including lemon verbena and lavender. I seriously considered the bay plant but it was a bit big to carry home with everything else I already had. In the near future I'll add all of the above, plus basil--couldn't find any today--to the collection.
In the ideal world (well, as of maybe March next year, when I have my own place) I'd like a serious fruit and vegetable garden. Lots of fresh herbs. A good range of chillies. And lots of fruits and vegetables that are either hard to find, expensive or poor quality in shops, such as leeks (overpriced and often old and soggy and sad), blueberries and blackberries. Bunnings has a nice range of berry plants. Indeed, they stock some berries I didn't know were avaliable--fresh, anyway--locally. A lemon tree would be nice, too. After living in houses with lemon trees out the back for 22 years, it really sucked having to start to buy lemons.
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