Love looking at the pictures.
Thanks everyone for taking the time to post them.

How is rue used?

SpookyShoe wrote: ↑Sat May 30, 2020 7:30 pm How is rue used?

Snake and cat repellent not good in my opinion for human consumption.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... mzk6jamKVj

Spooky, it’s actually part of my butterfly garden. Host plant to the black swallowtail, but looks like the Greeks use to cook with it. Suppose to have a bitter taste.

I bought the seeds primarily to attract the Giant Swallowtail, but I’ve never seen one.

I took a couple of photos today, showing some of the new growth on the plants I put back out on the deck. They love that sun!
The curry tree, showing the areas of new growth, 6-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

All those areas of new growth on the bay laurel, 6-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[mention]roper2008[/mention] I have 2 rue plants in my butterfly garden that have survived my winter. Mine has yet to bloom, but yours look lovely. How big do these plants grow?

Here's today's photo of the curry tree, showing how much it grew, since being put outside. The Rooter-pot, which was up top, and totally visible, is totally hidden by all the new growth! The flowers are starting to open now - something that the bees love, and are attracted by the sickeningly sweet smell!
Curry tree 6-27 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Cluster of flower buds on curry tree, starting to open up, 6-27 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

MissS wrote: ↑Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:17 pm @roper2008 I have 2 rue plants in my butterfly garden that have survived my winter. Mine has yet to bloom, but yours look lovely. How big do these plants grow?

Thank you, they grow to about 3-4 feet. No Black Swallowtails this summer, very strange. So far, only seen 1 cabbage moth, my
winter kale usually would be eaten into lace by now.

I have 2 species of Origanum that are getting really large in their second years! One - the marjoram - is in my herb bed, while the other - the Syrian oregano - I planted behind my shed, in case it becomes invasive, like regular oregano tends to. Both are covered with flowers now - normally, I'd snip these of, if I was trying to get maximum leaves, but I decided to just leave them on, to attract the bees, which love these blossoms.
Flowering marjoram, 6-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I also grow garlic chives behind my shed, since they can be invasive. I think there are at least 6 clusters back there, and 3 others, scattered around the yard. I never have a shortage of garlic chives!
Weeds growing behind the shed - Syrian Oregano and Garlic Chives, 6-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The patchouli grew and grew this year. I had to pot up. And yes, it smells like patchouli. It requires lots of water.

Curry plant. It is not the curry tree. I bought this just for the scent, as it smells just like the spice. Will have to up pot periodically as it can grow to 4 feet.


A small pineapple sage plant in a pot just starting to bloom. This came inside during the historic cold last month; if not it would have been dead. As the name suggests, the leaves smell just like the fruit.

I don't even grow garlic chives in my herb section, since they are like mint, and oregano, becoming sort of invasive. So I put a clump behind my shed years ago, now every spring I have even more - up to 8 clumps back there, and several more elsewhere - I think I'm up to 12. Unless they are somewhere that I really don't want them, I leave them - twice a year they flower, and the bees love them, almost as much as I do.
The reason I never have to try to grow garlic chives. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here's that patch of spearmint that I have, which, as you can see, has choked out almost all of the weeds. On the bottom those ones with the larger leaves are peppermint - a few come up every year, which is good, as I can take a cutting for the hydroponics, come fall, since I can't grow the spearmint indoors. Not as good as spearmint, but it's something in the off-season.

I wish there were more people I could share it with! Only one lady I know that uses a lot of it - probably more than I do.
A little bit of mint, 6-10 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Blooming rosemary.

I noticed yesterday that mine is blooming now too. Lots of buds on it.

Scullcap Dwarf hummingbird mint
Hishtil Perigord rosemary. I will have to keep potting it up as it becomes a small shrub.
Pineapple sage

Mexican mint marigold, used as a substitute for French tarragon.

The small Mexican mint marigold put out in the spring has grown into a small shrub. The leaves are very fragrant. Used as a substitute for French tarragon.

The Basil is getting tired. Nights have been a little too cool for basil. Still, I’m able to scrounge enough good leaves for whatever.

My basil is getting raggedy also. The plants have been out there for many months and just went through a blazing hot summer. Most of the bloomstalks are now seed pods. Today I cut off the seed pods in hopes that this will spur some new growth before they are damaged by cold weather.

A cinnamon basil and a lemon basil: Lots of seed pods:

The small shrub Pineapple Sage has come back to life in the last few weeks due to the milder sun and cooler (less hot) temperatures and is flowering again.
It does not bloom for me during the hottest summer months. The leaves smell wonderful.