The Scented Garden

In our scented garden, we have herbs that are useful for drying and making moth chaser sachets and potpourri.

The colonists used to use these herbs to tuck into their clothes to keep moths away. This technique really does work because the moths can't smell the wool in order to lay their eggs. Moths can actually smell animal fibers and seek it out in order to have a food supply for the larvae The larvae is actually what eats your clothing.

Herbs such as thyme, chamomile, and tansy are grown here. Tansy is considered a strewing herb because the colonists used to strew it around the doorway and window seals in order to keep the ants out.

Other herbs such as sliver mound artemisia, lemon grass, green santolina, marigolds, white iris which is used for orris root, annise hyssop, russian sage, pinapple sage, pennyroyal, southernwood artemisia, and pinks. Also included although not used in sachets or potpourri is sorrel, chives and a hybiscus tree. These are more for a formal design element than for potpourri.

Drying herbs Santolina-harvest by pinching off the tips and drying them on a screen, or by cutting long sprigs to hang in paper bags.

Pennyroyal-a strong and penetrating scent. Best to screen dry.

The tea garden includes lemon grass, mint, bee balm, lavender, chamomile, sweet woodruff, lemon verbena, lemon balm, scented geraniums. All of these can be hung upside down to dry.

The medicinal garden has santolina, yarrow, feverfew, sage, echinachia, blueberries, strawberries, hellebores, rosemary, parsley, horehound. Hang in bunches upside down to dry

The culinary garden has thyme, french marigaolds, lime, sweet, cinnamom basil, marjorum, peppers, hyssop, roses, bay, purple basil.