Flâneur Gardening

>A herb garden. Surely that’s a must, right?

As the title sort of implies, my choice of herbs will be quite conservative. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme are the most important ones, and they will probably live in pots in the courtyard between the house and the annex, scattered in between pots with flowers and other ornamental plants.

However, as I was seed shopping online I think I realised that there are two more herbs that I want. Proper, oldschool, monastery-style medicinal herbs.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelica

I’ve been in love with angelica since I saw it growing rampant in the little gardens of Nuuk, Greenland, and tasted it used in surprising combination at Nipisa, one of the best restaurants in Greenland. (Why yes, gourmet dining is definitely possible even in that rather harsh part of the world, with the Nuuk restaurants Nipisa and Sarfalik definitely being worth a visit.) It’s pretty, it tastes good and it’s very versatile and can be used for both savoury and sweet dishes, so I think it’s obvious why I want this. I will need to be rough with it, though, as I don’t want it to spread all over the place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamomile

And speaking of spreading… The other herb is chamomile, which in Denmark mainly grows in the ditches along country roads and as weeds in fields. It’s main use is – of course – chamomile infusions – but I also like the look of the plant and I’m thinking it might be possible to think of new uses for this distinctively flavoured herb.

As this plant is quite vigorous, I think I will need to assign a plot of land to it. Perhaps the bare patch where the hedge meets the stream in the Southern corner of the garden.

I’m quite excited about this little project, especially because it has the potential to bring a lot of pleasure over years to come and with very little effort. That’s the sort of gardening I really like, I think; quick-wins… At least it’s very nice to have these miniature projects where you get a good result with little work, when we also have the large projects of draining the garden, creating the Ambitious Border and so on.