the Garden Rake

What is it that makes Italian dishes so tasteful and bursting with flavors? The right herbs make all the difference. Here are just a few of my favorites, and the ones you should consider when starting your own Italian herb garden.

Oregano, while flavorful and decorative, when it fully matures it will sprout beautiful little purple flowers. Oregano should be harvested after it has flowered because this is when the plant is the most flavorful. A bit of Oregano will make all the difference in your spaghetti sauce.

Basil is the best known Italian herb and is useful in many Italian recipes. Thinking of a nice Pesto sauce? Imagine pulling fresh Basil from your Italian herb garden and whipping a fresh Pesto. Quick and easy. Did you know that Basil has some health benefits as well?

Parsley can be a hard herb to grow, but well worth the effort. Useful in not only Italian dishes but many other types of dishes as well. Long ago, it was found that eating raw parsley after a meal freshened your breath, and a tradition was born. That was to serve parsley on a small dish after the meal. Now you know where the popular parsley garnish came from.

Sage can be also be found in a variety of Italian dishes including salads and meats. The dried leaves of the sage plant are also traditionally added to the stuffings of turkey and chicken. Sage can be harvested after it blooms. A perfect addition to to your Italian herb garden.

Fennel is famous for the seeds that enhance the flavors of your favorite Italian sausage. Fennel tends to loose its flavor as it matures, so be sure to use early and often. Since it’s a perennial plant, it should be divided, then replanted every few years to make sure you have those savory flavors on hand.

Rosemary is another commonly used Italian herb providing wonderfully aromatic flavors. Rosemary is a hardy plant that like it’s soil a bit on the dry side.

Garlic. No Italian herb garden would be complete without this wonderfully useful herb. Did you know that Garlic gloves can be directly planted and will thrive in any garden setting with very little attention? Garlic will also repel red spider mites in the garden, is an effective insecticide when steeped in water.

Italian herbs not only provide wonderful food flavorings, they can also make beautiful additions to landscaped designs.

Pete Malatesta has 1 articles online

For more great information on Italian herb garden, visit http://www.herbgardenforcooks.com.

You will notice a very big difference among herbs that do well indoors and ones that do well outdoors. Even though there are quite a few herbs that perform excellently both outside as well as inside, there are a few things to keep in mind when growing herbs inside. A container dries up very fast and thus you should continuously give the herb the moisture that it requires. You need to consider these factors when deciding how to plant a herb garden.

Herbs are not very high on maintenance. As long as you use the correct soil, they will flourish without much help. They may even enjoy conditions that other plants find harsh. Herbs do not require fertilizer, they have a high tolerance for droughts and keep growing back every year. Just watch the density of sunlight that they get. Ensure that they get ample sunlight irrespective of wherever you are growing them.

How to plant a herb garden indoors and which herbs should I use?

Since Bay Laurel is a native Mediterranean herb, it requires a lot of sunshine and dry conditions. You can sow it both inside as well as outside and if you are growing it in a pot then you must ensure that it has enough drainage. Place the pot in an area that receives a lot of sun. You should only use potting soil that is moistened prior when planting herbs in a pot so that the roots get space to grow. If you are using a small pot then the herb will be forced to be root bound. Also, you should ensure that they herb gets at least six hours of un-interrupted sunshine per day. This will ensure that the herb outgrows its container within a year.

Even though chives do well for themselves when they are potted, they simply out do themselves when they are planted in a garden. If they are planted in such a way that they can absorb heat, then they grow to sizes of about one foot and have distinctive purple blossoms. If you want chives to survive colder climates then you must group them together and this helps them get through cold winters. Instead of clipping leaves from the top of the plant you should consider the lower end of the plant for trimming.

A good example of a herb which you can grow inside your house is parsley. If you grow it outside, it will last you a season but if you grow it in a pot, it will stay for longer. It is not very difficult to take care of and they can be grown quite easily. They sprout from the middle and the peripherals should be chopped off in the beginning so that the plant maintains good health. These plants grow by absorbing heat and it is therefore suggested that they be kept on a south facing window.

There are many herbs that do extremely well irrespective of whether they are outdoors or indoors. Just ensure that you do not over water them and you can do this with the help of some granular loam and clay. So to sum up when deciding how to plant a herb garden, consider the position of your garden and the type of herbs to be used.

Carolyn Grant has 1 articles online

Carolyn Grant is a herb gardening expert. For great information on Herb Gardening, visit http://www.herbgardenofeden.com

Gargoyles have been a part of history and architecture since the early days of the ancient Greek and Egyptian empires and are most commonly associated with medieval lore. Though gargoyles often have a fearsome appearance, their use is thought to be far more altruistic. The power to ward off evil spirits is a significant part of the mythological explanation surrounding gargoyles. Many Greek gargoyles are very often seen as happy or jolly characters and are often seen mounted on the parapets of many public buildings or spewing water as part of a public fountain.

Garden Gargoyles are the ‘cutest’ ugly things you can put in your garden landscaping to add charm and beauty to your garden. Some of the earliest known forms of gargoyles have been found in ancient Roman and Greek ruins and were made of terracotta. As time passed on, these figures were carved of wood, with a complete shift to stone by the 13th century.

Gargoyles were created as waterspouts and drains to keep rain water from damaging the foundation of buildings. The term gargoyle, comes from the Latin gurgulio, and the Old French gargouille, not only meaning “throat” but also describing the “gurgling” sound made by water as it ran through the figure. Superstition held that gargoyles frightened away evil spirits while serving their practical function. In the sixteenth century, after the lead drainpipe was introduced, gargoyles primarily served a decorative function.

Although most have exaggerated and scary features, the term gargoyle has come to include all types of figures. Some gargoyles were depicted as monks, gnomes, dragons and combinations of real animals and people, many of which were humorous.
Unusual animal mixtures, or chimeras, did not act as waterspouts and are more properly called grotesques. They serve more as ornamentation, but are now synonymous with gargoyles.

Many gargoyles take the shape of animals, especially reptiles. Often dragon like in appearance, their gaze was usually facing down from the structure. In mythology and lore, dragons were thought to be the guardians of sacred places or great treasure troves, greatly contrasting with the more popular view of dragons as fierce and fire breathing creatures. Other animals such as birds of prey or the mythical Roc were the inspiration for many gargoyle figures.

The history and lore of garden gargoyle figures takes many forms. Garden gargoyles may represent combinations of human and animal forms sometimes taking on the appearance of hooded monks and friars. Just as they may be used to ward off evil, they were thought to have other uses, such as avoiding the wages of sin as well as be a powerful force used to keep people from straying into a life of eternal damnation. It is thought by some historians that garden gargoyles may have been placed in prominent view to remind people that Satan, or other supposed forces of evil, were all about and these areas should be avoided.

Since many gargoyles appear with wings, they may very well have been the inspiration for the flying monkey characters seen in the movie the Wizard of Oz. Many dragons of myth were often depicted with wings and were though to be capable of flight, reflecting the myth of flying gargoyles. From the funny to the frightening, many other modern day film and cartoon monsters have been patterned from these legendary winged figures.

Whether collectors of garden gargoyles are seeking redemption is certainly open to debate. Gargoyles do appear in many pieces of medieval artwork. They can often be quite scary in appearance and could be used to frighten away superstitious people. Given the wide variety of garden gargoyle shapes, many collectors may have more of an artistic motivation to maintaining their collections.

Today, garden gargoyle figures stand vigil as yard ornaments, water fountains and various types of outdoor statuary. Even though warding off evil spirits may not be in your garden decorating plans, some interior design schemes can also benefit from the addition of gargoyles. Garden gargoyles make the perfect the perfect gift for fans of medieval mythology and religious history.

ToddD Smith has 1 articles online

ToddD is the garden landscaping design guru. For great deals on all things gardening, visit Garden Gargoyles.