Sweet herbs

Press, 20 October 1981, Page 18

Sweet herbs

Have you ever tried to grow some herbs? A lot of people are planting herb gardens today because so many of us enjoy the added taste that some herbs add to our food.

Herb teas, like sage and camomile, are also becoming increasingly popular.

But herbs have been valued by men and women for thousands of years. Before people learnt to hunt animals they depended on herbs for both food and medicine. One of the earliest known records of the use of herbs is in an Egyptian papyrus, which is a material used for writing on, made from strips of a special plant. The paprus, which was dated about 2000 ff.C., mentions the use of herb doctors.

Another herb, garlic, is known to have been used by the builders of the pyramids to keep them healthy. There are also references

to herbs in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

Herbs are pretty, aromatic, useful and above all, fun to grow. Some herbs, which are wild plants, are known as weeds. But even they are very useful. Yarrow leaves can be used fresh or dried to make a tea which is said to help rheumatism. Chickweed, found in almost all gardens, is said to be a cure for chilblains when made into an ointment.

People are beginning to grow herbs commercially, and now you can buy many dried herbs.

The fragrance of sweet smelling herbs, spices, and flowers, can be kept all year round in a pot pourri. It is lots of fun planning and planting a herb garden. You could plant some chives, parsley, rosemary, mint, thyme or sage in your garden. But remember they like lots of sun.