Growing herbs for beauty and health at The Tropical Paradise

-
On an impulse this spring I purchased some mint and some thyme in tiny pots at Baker's Nursery in Phoenix. I just thought that they had a nice look to them and their small size seemed to be just right for the tiny scale of The Tropical Paradise. I've tried to grow mint before, and it failed, so this time I tried to nurture it along. It has made it through the summer - is it too early to say that? - and I have confidence that it will really start growing strong.

This area of The Tropical Paradise is where I have the deepest shade. As you can see, I have also planted begonia, and right behind the light fixture is a zamia cycad. The idea of the mint was for it to spread and cover up the unsightly "stilt" roots of the Phoenix roebellini (dwarf date palm). While those roots are perfectly normal and absolutely healthy, I just, well, don't like the looks of them. So hopefully the mint will spread and do the job this season!

I had been trimming the mint back regularly, to keep it full - all you have to do is pinch it with your fingers, and throwing away the leaves, but a friend of mine yesterday took some and ate it, telling me that it was also good for stomach aches. I had no idea!

But I have just had it confirmed today by a Master Gardener for the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension office in Maricopa County. So I am going to stop throwing away the trimmings and start eating them! And hopefully my stomach will be feeling better!

If you're interested in learning more about what I call "eating plants", find out about the Culinary Historians of Arizona (CHAZ). The email is culinaryhistorians.az@gmail.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Growing sunflowers from Pennsylvania in Arizona

-
Image
It's October 21st, and I just received some sunflower seeds from a friend in Pennsylvania. Their season is ending and the season for planting here in Arizona is just beginning, and I'm kinda wondering if the seeds are wondering what's going on? It's spring again already? If you're new to the Phoenix, Arizona area, and are from back east it must seem kinda strange that fall and winter is our flower season, but it is. By springtime it will start to get so hot here that the flowers will die, and of course back east the season is just beginning.  Sunflowers growing in Peoria, Arizona, about a mile from where I live I've seen sunflowers blooming around my neighborhood of Glendale, which is a suburb of Phoenix, in the winter, and although I've never grown them I understand that they're easy to grow. I guess I'll find out - I learn best by doing! The seeds arrived safely, and it's my understanding that they were still connected to the spent flower (I do
Read more

How to tell if your cycad (sago palm) is alive or dead

-
Image
Cycads are strange plants. They're beautiful, and look like small palm trees, or large ferns. They grow very slowly, and can be very expensive, even common ones like "sago palms". But sago palms, in spite of their common name, aren't palms at all. They belong to a group of plants called cycads. They are wonderfully weird, and grow in strange ways. And sometimes they lose all of their leaves. Of course, if it were a palm tree that lost all of its leaves, you would know that the plant was dead. But it's not true of cycads. So don't dig that cycad up and throw it away! Not yet. If you've recently transplanted a cycad, and the leaves have all faded away, hang on. Take a look at the top center of the plant, at what I call "the pucker". There you will see some stubby, soft fronds, no more than an half-inch or so. At least that's what you should see. That means that the plant is still alive, and has dropped its leaves to focus on building r
Read more

Rooting sago palm pups for more plants

-
Image
Once a sago palm ( cycas revoluta ) reaches a certain level of maturity, it starts to create pups. Like agaves, these are little plants that are exactly the same as the parent plant, only smaller. And yes, you can trim them off and grow them into new plants. This is how to do it. Cut them off from the parent plant with a sharp knife. If there are any roots at the bottom, try to save them, but chances are there won't be any. That's not a problem. The next step is rooting them. Douse the cut part and the bottom of the plant with some garden sulfur and some rooting hormone powder. Rooting hormone powder is pretty easy to find at your local Home Depot. I had to go to a real nursery to get garden sulfur. Anyway, the idea is to keep the little plant from rotting while giving it time to grow its own roots. Sago palm pups being rooted Bury them fairly deep in some free-draining mix. It should include volcanic pumice, if you can find it, and if not, you can use perlite. I
Read more