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Herbs & SpicesLemon Balm
Lemon balm is a pretty plant that prefers rich moist soil and partial shade. It can tolerate direct sunlight but plants grown in shade tend to be larger and more succulent. It is related to mint in appearance, but it is not as invasive and easier to control. A clump-forming herbaceous perennial with heart shaped, deeply veined leaves that are covered with stiff hairs. Chopped fresh leaves can be used to add zest to sweet or tangy dishes. It combines well with allspice, bay leaves, mint, pepper, rosemary and thyme. A wonderful addition to fruit salads, green salads, herb butters, fruit drinks, sorbets. It can also be used in egg dishes, custards, soups and casseroles. It works well in stuffings for poultry,lamb or pork. Its subtle flavour is a perfect for sauces and marinades for fish.
Mint
Spreading perennial to 45 cm. Best in separate bed or pot. Pick and use at the last moment as mint aroma dissipates very quickly. Mint is commonly used combined with lamb, carrots, potatoes, peas, pork, yoghurt and in desserts, drinks and herbal teas.
Parsley Curly leaf
One of the essential kitchen herbs, parsley is easy to grow in pots, containers and window boxes where it can be kept close to the kitchen door. It also attracts many beneficila insects to the garden. As a biennial plants it will flower in it second years and should then be replaced.
Thyme
Holds its strong savory flavour well - add at beginning of cooking. Thyme is the perfect plant for garden edges when it can be walked on to scent pathways and simply harvested. Sore throats benefit from a thyme gargle which is strongly antiseptic.
Cardamon Ginger
Ginger like plant growing in clumps, makes an excellent low screen adding a tropical feel to any garden. The seeds don't resemble true cardamon, the leaves can be used in desserts, to add flavour when steaming rice or used to wrap fish.
Curry Tree
Fresh leaves from this tree are an indispensable ingredient in Indian cooking. The leaves are pretty much unknown in the West because they lose most of their flavour when dried. They have a distinct, spicy curry-like flavour and odour.
Basil Sweet
Regularly, the more you harvest the more it will produce. If kept warm and harvested often you may even get 10 months worth of Basil leaves. Choose a sunny site with well-drained soil, amend with well-rotted manure or compost. Basil Sweet, originally from India, is best known as a culinary herb prominently featured in Italian cuisine, and also plays a major role in the Northeast Asian cuisine of Taiwan and the Southeast Asian cuisines of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Depending on the species and cultivar, the leaves may taste somewhat like anise, with a strong, pungent, often sweet smell.
Lemon Grass
This herb makes a delicious herbal tea, is often used in cooking, as an effective pest repellent and an almost impenetrable weed barrier. Tie the outer leaves in a loop and cook with food to impart flavour. Remove prior to serving.
Dwarf Coffee - Catui
A dwarf coffee selection suitable for handpicking. Makes an ideal selection for growing in a pot as an ornamental. Prolific cropper of quality roasting beans.
Comfrey
This well-known showy plant is a member of the Borage and Forget-me-not tribe, Boraginaceae. A useful plant it can be used with great success as a liquid manure, activator for compost heaps, a weed barrier or attractive understory plant.
Sage
A small, perennial, evergreen with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. Native to the Mediterranean region. It has a long history of medicinal and culinary use, and in modern times as an ornamental garden plant. As a kitchen herb, sage has a slight peppery flavor.
Coffee arabica
Easy to process and relatively problem free the arabica thrives in frost free climates. In as little as three years the plant will be covered with white jasmine-scented flower clusters and cherry red berries.
Lemon VerbenaA deciduous shrub native to South America. It is an attractive plant with beautiful lemon scented leaves that can be used to flavour sweet and savoury dishes as well as making a refreshing herbal tea.
Rosemary
A woody perennial herb with aromatic fragrant needle like leaves, native to the Mediterranean region. Rosemary is a member of the mint family.
Turmeric
In the ginger family, this leafy tropical looking plant produces a spectacular flower in the summer. The Root can be harvested when the foliage dies back in the winter. Used to add a brilliant yellow colour and earthy flavour to Indian dishes.
Aloe Vera
The healing powers of this plant have been known throughout the civilised world for centuries. While considered by many to be a member of the cactus family it is actually a member of the lily family along with onions and asparagus.
Chilli - Birds Eye
The fruits are red, yellow, purple or black. Pungent, hot and spicy. The flowers are greenish white or yellowish white.
GalangalGalangal is a fantastic member of the ginger family. The plant has striking orchid-like blooms and is often found in subtropical and tropical gardens. The knobby root has a delicious exotic taste with a touch of pepper and ginger.
Oregano
This popular herb is particularly used widely in Greek and Italian cuisines. Its leaves have characteristic aromatic, warm and slightly bitter taste. The intensity varies; however, good quality oregano is so strong that it almost numbs the tongue. Oregano is a wonderful perennial culinary as well as medicinal herb
Achiote - Bixa
Source of annato. Small tree produces spiky fruit containing dark red seeds that are used as a commercial dye. Tree is extremely beautiful in full flowering and fruiting. Can be grown in a container, prefers a frost free climate
Chinese KeysKunci (Indo), Kra chaai (Thai) - Formerly listed as Boesenbergia panduratum. A tropical perennial growing to 50 - 70cm high. Leaves die back in frost. It is the fat swollen roots that are sought after in this species and not the rhizome. The succulent roots are used to flavour many kinds of food either added raw or cooked. They are also sold in a pickled form in Indonesia & Thailand. Young leaves & shoots are also eaten.
Vanilla
The fermented pod of this climbing orchid is harvested for vanilin, an aromatic sweet scents used to flavour cakes, and perfumes. The only insect capable of pollinating the blossom is the Melipona, a bee, native only to Mexico so all plants must be hand pollinated within 12 hours of the flower opening. The pods take nine month to develop.
Myoga Ginger
a native of Japan where it is grown commercially for its delicious spring shoots and young flower buds produced in autumn. Myoga flower buds are used in soups, tempura, pickled and as a spice. Like most gingers it is an understory of forests and so grows best under some shade. It can get sunburned leaves which will reduce its vigor if grown in full sun. In winter the top growth dies back and it regenerates in spring from the underground rhizomes.
Tea Plant
Makes an attractive hedge with the added bonus of providing your own tea if you wish to dry the new leaf tips. The fragrant white flowers are an added bonus to this compact glossy leaved bush.
Parsley Italian
Flat-leaved parsley is preferred by some as it easier to cultivate, being more tolerant of both rain and sunshine and has a stronger flavor. Freshly chopped green parsley is used as a topping for soups, salads and as a flavouring for many dishes. In the garden parsley is attractive to beneficial insects. Forestry Tube | $1.95 AU | In Production | |
