Garden herbs: in a seaside dinner

Published in MapleLine Magazine: May 5, 2010

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by Mary P. Brooke

Growing herbs intently and passionately is a hobby, an art and sometimes a profession. In the Sooke area we have many herb gardeners who delight in their garden-to-table expertise with herbs.

Many people know of Byron Cook, head gardener at Sooke Harbour House. He maintains a garden of herbs year-round that are destined for the restaurant menu at that world-renowned boutique hotel. His garden design focuses on producing healthy, fresh and delicious food both beautiful and functional including edible flowers. Each plant in the garden has an edible part, be it leaf, flowers, root, tuber, stem, fruit or bulb. [Interview April 2010 with master gardener Byron Cook. | Container Gardening - workshop information]

“If you don’t cook with fresh herbs you’re really not cooking,” says Mary Alice Johnson at ALM Organics where they “live on the land lightly”. She gets excited about chervil, a herb that can grow in the winter, in the shade: “It has a slight taste of anise and it’s wonderful with fish!” Johnson is excited about the Sooke Food CHI’s program to help support 10 new local farmers whose crops may reach the weekly Sooke Country Market this year, or perhaps next.

Donald C. Mills began exploring herbs for daily salads about 10 years ago. He maintains a garden with the basics of Simon and Garfunkel fame ~ parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme ~ but also fosters a plethora of chives, garlic, lovage and (in the warmer months) a crop of basil.

Wormwood – a herb that is the focus of intense research by Bill Gates for its medicinal properties (active ingredient is artemisinin and its derivatives) to cure malaria and other ills – finds a place in the Mills garden too. His 2006 book Master Your Health reviews tips for herb gardening including advanced composting techniques.

In our Sooke area there is always the risk of gardens being nibbled at by deer or drying out in the hot summer months. Karen Longland at Double D Gardens says that deer-resilient and drought-resistant herbs include thyme, rosemary, lemon verbena, tarragon, oregano and lavender. MM

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This article was published on page 27 in the print edition of MapleLine Magazine (Summer 2010 issue ~ May-July 2010).