Australian herb grower keeps busy

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32700, 1 September 1971, Page 7

Australian herb grower keeps busy

Many letters arriving at the post office in the New South Wales town of Cootamundra are addressed simply: “The Herb Lady.”

The woman known by this slightly bewitching title is Mrs Elaine Hope, a vivacious mother of four. During the last 10 years she has used her energy, enterprise and expertise to build up an extensive herb-growing centre. In 1971 she had, she said, in her gardens every known culinary, fragrant and old fashioned herb in the world.

Herbs from her nursery are found in kitchens and gardens all over Australia, and in New Zealand, Papua-New Guinea, Fiji and New Caledonia. Inquiries have come from Japan. Herb farms are rare in Australia, but interest in cooking with herbs is growing, particularly among young people. This is the result partly of the influence of Asia and Europe. Mrs Hope’s farm is established on her husband’s sheep property at Beaufort, five miles from Cootamundra in southern New South Wales. TOURIST DRAWCARD

Among the town’s tourist attractions is Mrs Hope’s farm. Thousands of visitors call each year. “I’ve tried to make the gardens a happy, relaxed place. There are thyme lawns, scented leaved geraniums, and walks designed to show people all the varieties of herbs, about 180 odd, growing under different conditions,” Mrs Hope said. “We like our visitors to picnic, use the barbecue and have a pleasant few hours on a country property.” Mrs Hope likes to keep active. As well as running the herb farm and looking after her family, each year she travels about 40,000 miles by car in the eastern states of Australia talking about the growing, cultivation, cooking and history of herbs to women’s groups, service clubs, agricultural meetings, garden clubs, appearing on television, giving radio talks. In 1970 with her eldest daughter Suzanne, 22, she visited England, France, and Japan. PEOPLE “PLANT LIKE” Her two great interests are people and plants. “In some ways the two are similar,” Mrs Hope says. “Both have to be cultivated and encouraged. When I am lecturing what I talk about depends very much on the feeling of the group that I

get as I walk into a room. Generally, I try to keep it light-hearted and chatty, not too serious.”

In this, Mrs Hope succeeds very well. She is lively, amusing, and a fascinating source of herbal legend. She delights her audiences with tales about the myth-laden herbs she grows and their use in mediaeval times.

At public libraries she has delved into the history of herbs and read every book on the subject that she could lay her hands on. From friends in England and France she has obtained ancient tales to add to her .extensive collection.

Her interest in herbs began as a child. Her mother is French, her father Australian and she went to school in Paris. “With a French mother and growing up in France, it was natural I should leant to cook the French way, using herbs,” she said, “I’ve always loved the soil and the country and growing things. So when I married and came to Beaufort, I began growing a few herbs in among the vegetables.” She started the herb centre in 1962. At first it was a hobby with culinary herbs her major interest. Her herbs come from all around the world, but particularly from the Netherlands, France, England and America. USE AS PESTICIDE In recent years an important part of the farm’s activities has been experimentation with herbs grown in conjunction with other plants to keep crops pest-free. Considerable success has been achieved in using the herbs as a pest repellant. Her catalogue contains a comprehensively tested combination of herbs with vegetables and fruits for the benefit of organic farmers. She also provides advice on planting requirements in areas with climatic difficulties, herbs that attract bees, which benefit other plants, dried herbs to keep moths from clothes and silverfish from books, and other practical uses.

Mrs Hope is helped by her family and friends. Each week they pack and send live plants all around Australia. The plants come packed in sphagnum moss and wrapped in polythene, and if neces-

sary, gift-wrapped. There is also a big demand for dried herbs. These are dried in summer on large trays in a shed, and are packed in small bottles. In addition to mail inquiries, Mrs Hope has retail outlets in Sydney and Canberra. COOKING, SMILING

Not only an expert on herbs, Mrs Hope is also an expert cook. Her specialty is French cuisine, and as recipes are very much a part of local folk culture, last year in .the south of France she collected several from relatives and friends. “I also went out in the fields, talked with the workers, and quite often ended up in farm kitchens helping with the preparation of meals and finding out how various dishes are cooked. If you’ve got a smile you can get anywhere,” she says.— Australian News and Information Bureau.

In the photograph above, Mrs Hope arranges a display of poted herbs in one of her retail stores in Canberra.