|
|
|
August 18, 2005
Making a herb garden
Creating a herb garden is not very difficult as there are literally thousands of plants, both indigenous and imported, which can be planted irrespective of climate and soil conditions, writes Zahrah Nasir
Everyone can have a herb garden no matter which region of the country they reside in. If you live in cities such as Karachi and Lahore, chances are that you will be able to grow a wider variety of tender herbs during the cooler winter months than in the hot summer ones. But no matter where you are, there are quite a number of perennial herbs which can take both extremes of hot and cold weather.
The first thing to consider here is people’s general conception of exactly what type of plant constitutes a herb. I have found that, in this respect, the word herb tends to conjure up images of imported varieties such as parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme etc. when this is certainly not the case. Neither is it correct to limit the description of a herb to plants with soft, sappy stems. For example, both rosemary and sage develop woody ones.
I already hear some of you objecting to my hypothesis, but according to The New Encyclopedia of Herbs, written by Deni Brown and published by that august body, The Royal Horticultural Society; herbs also include pine trees, pomegranate and citrus trees along with certain grasses and a wide variety of shrubs scattered around the globe.
In fact, just about any plant, no matter how big or small, falls into the category of herbs, as long as it has medicinal uses. This view, (I personally agree with it), means that creating a herb garden in hot areas of the country can be totally revolutionized as there are literally thousands of plants, both indigenous and imported, which can be planted in a herb garden, irrespective of the climate and soil conditions. Great news, isn’t it!
In Karachi, where growing conditions can be pretty cruel at times, you can create a herb garden which yields fruit on a year round basis by including citrus trees, mangoes, bananas, papaya, date palms and guava, planted either directly in the ground or in large plant pots. If you live in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad or Peshawar districts, you can also grow chico, loquat and lychees which can be under-planted with the ever-useful hibiscus, abutilon, roses and jasmine –– all of which have their medicinal uses.
Yet again, in the shade of the above mentioned herbs, you can literally grow all sorts of things, perennials such as aloe vera, ginger, turmeric, plecanthrus, indigenous varieties of sage and permanent basil.
You can also cultivate the delightful and rather tall-growing plant, anchusia, which was widely cultivated in the Khandahar region of Afghanistan for red dye. Prior to the introduction of chemicals, the red dye extracted from anchusia roots, was used in the hand woven carpet industry.
As anchusia thrives in the harsh climate of Khandahar, which is hot in the summer followed by crisp, cold winters, then there is no reason at all why it should not thrive in the plains of Pakistan. It grows exceptionally well in Bhurban, by the way, and also, so I believe, in Quetta.
There are literally thousands more medicinal, herbal plants which thrive here if given the chance and, come early autumn in hot areas you can start planting the full range of chrysanthemums, pansies, wallflowers, hollyhocks, echinacea, sunflowers, carnations, achillea and amaranthus, all of which are herbs in their own right.
The more conventionally accepted culinary and medicinal herbs such as thyme, parsley, oregano, chives, borage, rocket, marjoram, dill, coriander et al. are also sown from September onwards and should all be treated as winter annuals in hot locations. Although, having said that, thyme grows throughout the year in the Islamabad area as long as it is given a decent amount of shade and adequate water.
And, as if this isn’t enough of a variety from which to create a herb garden to suit your personal specifications, then please note that the following are also classified as herbs too: spinach, pumpkins, green beans, melons and water-melons, radish, carrots, cucumbers, beetroot and okra. The latter is very high in calcium just as karella or bitter gourd and is a member of the onion family.
Creating a herb garden has never been so easy, if you look at it from this new point of view. The only problem appears to be what to leave out.
Traditional European style herb gardens obviously have their own role to play and this I neither deny nor denigrate. These are often meticulously laid out in knot or grid designs. You can always create your own, with each section or segment outlined with either a shrubby line of lavender, well clipped privet or rosemary and then the inside of each separate bed filled in with orderly rows of the herbs of your choice.
Such herb gardens are very pleasing to both the eye and the senses but are not always at home in our tricky climate. Rosemary grows very well from Lahore northwards but does not appear to enjoy life in highly humid Karachi, whilst lavender is even more tricky. Lavender germinates rapidly all over the country if the seeds are sown at the correct time, but it does not tolerate the humidity of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and it absolutely hates the summer monsoon season in the hills.
I have found that during the rainy season lavender plants in the ground tend to die off and the only way to keep the plants going is to put them in plant pots in a location where they will not get rained on. However, it does grow exceedingly well in the hilly areas outside Quetta where humidity and rainfall are low. In Afghanistan, I saw mountains full of lavender plants, which was an incredible experience in itself, given the overpowering perfume, but then again, considering the region’s dry climate it makes one wonder why it thrives in rainy U.K.!
Of course, if you want a herb garden based on the European style, then there is nothing to stop you from doing this but using Pakistani plants.
I strongly suggest two things here. Number one, get hold of informative books on both local and global medicinal herbs to help you in selecting plants to meet your own requirements. Secondly, do not attempt to make your own herbal medicines unless you are absolutely certain of what you are doing. We can’t have you poisoning yourself, can we!
Please send your gardening questions at zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. The writer cannot reply personally but the answers will appear in a future issue of ‘The Review’
|
|
|
|
