Secrets of the Italian Herb Garden
Growing your own fresh herbs is a rewarding endeavor. Those rewards can be greatly enhanced by choosing to specialize and focus on developing an Italian herb garden. Italian herbs are not only some of the most famous and best tasting in the world, they have a rich heritage of being an integral part of the culture of the Roman Empire. As the Romans built an empire and spread their influence throughout Europe, herbs from Asia and Africa were an integral part of their society. Wherever they ventured, they took their herbs with them. When they invaded the British Isles in AD 43, they brought with them over 200 different types of herbs. To this day, many of those herbs are still enjoyed there.
Italian cuisine is universally popular. It would be hard to find a city in the world that doesn’t abound in Italian restaurants. The very thought of sitting down to a wonderful dinner of Italian specialties like spaghetti with succulent meatballs or a rich lasagna or any number of dreamy pasta dishes will make your mouth water. A primary factor in the creation of these culinary delights is the propitious and masterful use of herbs. The Romans not only excelled in literature, architecture, engineering, and empire building, but they were also great fans of the use of herbs in the creation of fine foods. Italian herbs have such a rich pedigree and traditional heritage that growing them would add a lot of extra interest to the effort. Imagine the kinship you would feel with the mighty Romans by producing herbs that contribute to fine Italian or any other cuisine.
The first challenge the gardener will face when establishing an Italian herb garden is selecting which herbs to grow. There are many different types of herbs included in the Italian herb family. And do not think that they only serve to flavor the food. There are many other types of Italian herbs, such as ornamental plants, that can create beautiful landscape designs and flower arrangements with their exotic flowers, leaves, and foliage. Italian aromatic herbs are used to create all kinds of sweet scented items. Adding Italian aromatic herbs to a garden will give you pleasant aromas straight from Italy and will make you feel like you are walking through the Italian countryside every time you visit your garden.
A good way to start an Italian herb garden is to start with the most popular herbs used in cooking and then expand from there as your level of experience grows. Here are some to consider; garlic, basil, oregano, rosemary, sage and fennel. Garlic you say! Is it an Italian herb? Yes sir it is! Garlic is ubiquitous today, but every time you use a clove of garlic in a dish, thank an unknown but creative Roman chef from two thousand years ago for making himself available to you today.
If you like Italian sausage then you are an appreciator of fennel. Basil not only adds great flavor to many Italian dishes, but when planted alongside other vegetables like tomatoes, it enhances the flavor of the tomato and repels harmful insects. Oregano provides beautiful purple flowers along with its delicious flavors. Rosemary is a perennial plant that in addition to its wonderful flavor produces beautiful blue flowers that attract bees to the garden. Start an herb garden today with an Italian influence and you’ll reap many wonderful benefits.