Herbs In Containers - Five Herbs To Consider

Growing herbs in containers is an excellent way of saving space. They are transportable so can be brought inside for winter and easily maintained. You will also have much more control over their growth and boundaries. Container herbs are available for use for cooking if they are situated close to your kitchen door. Not all herbs take to containers, but many will absolutely thrive. Some herbs, like mint, it actually make more sense to use them.

The best herbs to use are probably the one you use most often so I have taken five different herbs that would be ideal in containers.

• Thyme just loves a container environment and will absolutely when planted in one. It needs hardly any watering and a very small amount of maintenance.

• Sage needs to be pinched and cut to keep it from turning woody too soon and replanted after 3-4 years as the quantity and quality of the leaves will not be as good.

• Rosemary doesn't like too much water and occasionally likes to 'dry out' a little, again ideal when in a container controlled environment. I personally have been growing rosemary successfully in containers for years.

• Mint needs its growth to be controlled so this is the biggest advantage for growing mint in containers. It can be used more often if it is handy. It has to be the first choice for container systems.

• Basil likes lots of water to feed its stems and tender leaves, but can be infected with mildew it too much is given. In a container, you can avoid mildew by giving it an airy position.

There are many other herbs you can grow in containers, in fact some people I know love this way of gardening and have all their herbs in containers. I can clearly see the appeal, but I still like to see a mix of 'free range herbs' in borders and on the main vegetable growing areas.

Growing herb in containers is ideal for kids to start off their lifetime of gardening. Being so manageable is it a great way to educate and on top of this, the containers can be decorated to the children’s own personal design including giving the plant a name, like ‘Sammy the Sage’ or ‘Mandy the Mint’. What a fantastic pastime you will be giving them.

Whatever methods you use to grow herbs, they will benefit your health, your environment and your cooking efforts with fresh and home dried herbs all year round.

The Hibiscus - Beautiful and More Than Useful

There are well over 200 species of the herb hibiscus plant, which is native to warm, temperate, subtropical and tropical climates throughout the world. The herb comes is both annual and perennial herbaceous plants as well has some varieties forming woody shrubs and small trees.

The leaves range from a simple ovate to lance like quite often with a toothed margin. The flowers are impressive, big and confident with five or more trumpet-shaped petals. The colours range from pure white to pink, red, purple, yellow measuring 4 cm to 15 cm wide. The fruits are dry five capsule pods containing several seeds in each set. These are released as the capsule splits open at maturity.

The uses of hibiscus are quite amazing. As well as garden show attractions the flowers are also a main ingredient in many herbal teas.

Having so many varieties each different strain has different uses from paper making to an eating vegetable and from making herbal teas to jam making. The versatility of this herb is quite astounding.

In Mexico, there is a drink called Jamaican water it has a tanginess and mild flavour and when sugar is added it tastes like cranberry juice. People on diets of that have kidney problems often take this without the sugar as a natural diuretic. Simply place dehydrated hibiscus flowers into some boiling water let it cool and then serve with ice. In Egypt a similar tea is made from the petals called karkade.

The bark of the hibiscus has fibres renown for its toughness. The stripped bark is put in the sea to rot to break the fibres down. In Polynesia these fibres are then used for making grass skirts and wigs.

The white hibiscus has medicinal properties used in Indian traditional medicine. The roots make various remedies believed to cure various illnesses.

In southern India the Red hibiscus is used for hair care purposes, the flower and leaves extracts are put into the hair to combat hair-fall and dandruff on the scalp. The oils from the herb are also used to protect hair. This involves soaking the leaves and flowers in water then grinding it into a thick paste and applied as a natural shampoo.

Travelling onto the Philippines where the hibiscus is processed and used as bubble gum by children. The flowers and leaves are crushed until the sticky. Then hollow papaya stalks are dipped into the sticky hibiscus and blown up using the straws as bubble blowers.

Moving back to Mexico, dried hibiscus is eaten in fact quite delicacy there as the herb is quite edible.

Now to Hawaii and probably the most famous uses of the hibiscus flower, which is traditionally worn by Hawaiian women. Tucked behind the ear of a Hawaiian maiden shows that she looking for marriage, now you know.

Growing hibiscus flowers need to be done in warm temperatures, namely from 15 C to 30 C degrees. The roots mustn't be over watered and plenty of drainage is needed, only water the plant if it looks dry. Plant feed is needed to ensure a good flowering alongside an insect and pest free environment. A little tricky to grow, but well worth it with the beauty you get as a result.