Happy Thanksgiving! Lecture Sunday - how to decorate your house with plants for holiday season

tel: 512 280-1192 wednesday, nov 26, 2014

Nursery Notes: Happy Thanksgiving everyone! See below for

an article celebrating the role of garden sage in the Thanksgiving

feast. / Please join us this Sunday, at 2 p.m. for a free lecture by

AmandaMoon: 'How to Decorate your House with Living Plants

for the Holiday Season.'

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Cranberry Salsa muy picante Apologies for the cancellation of

Sgt. Pepper's class last Sunday. One of the recipes promised was

cranberry salsa. We found this one at a fascinating website where

artists illustrate their own culinary creations. A bag of cranberries,

and some cilantro, jalapenos, scallions, limes and sugar is all it

takes. They Draw They Cook

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Staghorn Fern Party: 'With leaves shaped like deer antlers, the stag-

horn fern is one part plant, one part trophy art,' writes the Horticult.

Follow this link for a celebration of this amazing and strange plant,

and learn how to mount one against a structure. Platycerium

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Central Texas Gardener: Last Child in the Woods author Richard

Louv explains the importance of connecting kids to nature in our

digital world, and how to save them from 'nature deficit disorder.'

Sat., 4 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m. www.klru

Ancient herbs sage, rosemary, and thyme are the backbone of Thanksgiving flavors

Garden Sage, Thanksgiving Herb

by Chris Winslow

Although during Thanksgiving the spotlight tends to focus on the

cooks of the house, it should also be a time for gardeners to receive

some acclaim.

So, gardeners of Buda, Kyle and Austin, if you grew any of the veg-

etables that are part of your Thanksgiving feast tomorrow, then speak

up at the dinner table, and be sure to take a bow, along with the cook!

For its contribution to our enjoyment of the Thanksgiving dinner,

no culinary herb comes to mind more than garden sage

Known in the botanical world as Salvia officinalis, this amazing

herb originated in the Mediterranean basin and has a long history

of culinary and medicinal uses in Europe and China.

Its genus name is salvia, which is derived from the Latin salvere,

meaning to be saved. On the medical front it has been used as a

stimulant and a tonic. One of its most valued uses is as a mouthwash,

to help heal sores in the mouth and as a gargle for sore throats.

Garden sage is easy to grow and stays evergreen throughout the win-

ter months. It likes good drainage and a sunny location for at least

the first half of the day.

Although it’s a perennial, it only lasts for 2 - 3 years and needs to

be replaced as the old plants begin to get woody and deteriorate.

Sage flowers are blue to purple and bees love them. Pure sage honey

is said to be some of the most valuable in the world.

And not only does sage have a role in the kitchen and the medicine

cabinet… but it looks beautiful in the garden as well.

There are about a half a dozen forms of sage that can be planted.

All have the same culinary and medicinal uses. Here are a few to

look for:

Common Garden sage will have the characteristic gray leaves with

the purple-blue flowers.

Purple garden sage has a purple-ish cast to the new growth. The

leaves then turn gray with age.

Tricolor sage is a variegated cultivar, which has green, cream, and

pink colors in the leaves. This variety will loose its pink color if

planted in too much shade.

Biergarden sage is a gray leaf cultivar that has broad leaves and

stays slightly shorter than its common cousin.

All of these cultivars are readily available and add great color to the

garden. A tip for using fresh garden sage leaves in a cornbread-

dressing recipe: use 6 fresh leaves for each dried sage teaspoon.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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