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: French Tarragon

FRENCH TARRAGON, perennial culinary herb, fresh is best, one plant

This is a pre-spring order. I live in upstate NY and plants will be dug and shipped whenever the snow is off the ground and not frozen. May be April or May. Offered is 1 plant.

French Tarragon (Artemesia dracunculus var. sativa ) Perennial. Z3-9. This is one of my favorite culinary herbs. It's flavor melds well with fish and eggs. This is one herb, like chives, that does not dry well so should be made into herb vinegar or used fresh. It prefers well drained soil, full sun, water when dry. It should be divided every 3 years as the roots grow in on themselves and eventually it will stunt the plant. This is the true French variety. It will not propagate from seed. Any seed sold as tarragon would be the inferior Russian tarragon.

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Featured plant; tansy

TANSY, live plant, perennial, tall growing

Tansy(Tanacetum vulgare). Zone4-9 Traditionally, it was used to flavor tansy pudding in the spring, but it does contain compounds that can damage the liver so perhaps that's not a good idea. Tansy is supposed to repel ants and cockroaches from around baseboards, counters, etc. In the garden, I always see it covered with ants. You decide whether or not it works. Keep in mind when you plant this, that it does spread alot. Not only do the clumps get larger every year, it profusely seeds as well. Keep it from getting into pastures or hay fields because it causes abortion in pregnant livestock. Tansy will do ok in most soils and it prefers full sun and water when dry. Will grow to 5' tall.

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Featured plant: coltsfoot

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) Perennial. Coltsfoot is an introduction from Europe. It is related to dandelion and can spread just as rampantly. Coltsfoot is one of the earliest plants to bloom in the spring and you can often see them blossoming along road cuts (shows it can tolerate poor soil). It's flower stalks appear before the large, almost circular leaves do. These leaves are where the plant gets it's common name because it somewhat resembles a colt's hoof print. Medicinally, the leaves are smoked to relieve lung ailments. Caution should be used because it contains compounds that can damage the liver. I've seen coltsfoot growing in full sun and part sun, in moist soil and dry. It seems very tolerant of conditions.

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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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