Featured plant: pennyroyal

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Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium). Perennial. Zones 6-9. This member of the mint family has a very pleasant aroma. It was used in the past to flavor desserts and was recommended as a tea to help relieve headache. The herb itself is relativly safe, but the concentrated essential oil, which is used in mixtures to repell insects, is not. It mustn't be used on pregnant animals or used by pregnant women as it causes abortion. It definitely should NOT be used for the purpose of intentionally causing abortion because it does liver damage. I did see one reference to the tea may have caused a miscarriage in a pregnant woman, but I only saw one reference to that. The tea shouldn't have concentrated essential oil in it but it probably would be a good idea to avoid drinking it if one is pregnant. Handling the plant causes no problems that I have seen reference to. The plant sometimes wintered through my Zone 5 garden, but it should be considered a tender perennial in Zone 5. It prefers full to part sun, moist, fertile soil. Can tolerate wet soil as long as it is not permanently wet. Stays low to the ground except when it flowers.

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Featured plant: Rue

Rue(Ruta graveolens) Perennial Zone 5-9. This perennial herb is very attractive in any type of garden. It's bright yellow flowers are contrasted nicely by the bluish foliage. This small woody shrub gives interest in the garden because it is so different from other colors of green leaves. Rue is an evil smelling herb that is said to be very bitter. Sprigs of this were carried by the judge and court people to repel the fleas the prisoners brought into court. One word of caution, some people get a nasty rash from handling this plant, mostly if they are pruning it or somehow cause juice to get on their skin. I've seen references that state that it is a simple dermatitis and others that say that it causes hypersensitivity to the sun and causes nasty sun burn type blisters. I've never had a problem with it. If you have sensitive skin, you might want to wear long sleeves and gloves when pruning this plant. This plant needs well drained soil, full sun, and can withstand some drought after it gets established. I've never had it grow more than 3' and it can be kept in bounds by pruning.

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Featured plant: germander

Germander (Teucrium chamaedrys) Perennial. Zones 5-9. This is a small woody shrub that grows 6-18". It forms a woody base. Germander needs well drained soil, can tolerate a little bit of dryness but does best with regular water. It flowers in midsummer with purple/pink blooms. It is often used in formal herb gardens as edging. It prefers full sun but can tolerate part sun though it will tend to be leggy.

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Featured plant: Canterbury Bells

Canterbury bells(Campanula medium) Biennial. Zones 4-10. This is one of the showiest garden flower. Huge bells about the diameter of a hot dog in pastel shades of pink, blue and white. It grows to about 3' tall in very good soil with adequate water and sun. It spends it's first year as a low to the ground rosete. The second year, it begins sending up the flower stalk. After it sets seed, it will die. Prefers full sun.

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