Mulberry Creek Herb Farm

Agastache, Apricot Sprite

Agastache aurantiaca
Try this for your next salad: mixed greens, ripe nectarines (or mandarin oranges), toasted walnuts, “Purple Ruffles Basil” and these subtle citrus/anise, bright orange and yellow flowers. Dress with a fruity viniagrette. Not only tasty, there’s the silver foliage and stocky 18” height to admire. Add extra color to the herb garden or even large mixed containers.

Agastache, Mexican Giant

Agastache mexicana


Guilt free candy straight from the garden. The ladies helping us could not resist popping pink petals of sweet, lemon-mint into their mouths. Imagine pink confetti over cantaloupe or the lemony leaves in your child’s tea - a great start for an afternoon tea party.

Agastache, Sunset or Rootbeer Hyssop

Agastache rupestris
We first saw this delicate, cool summer beauty in Seattle labeled ""Root Beer Plant. This caught our attention, as we have the same common name on a different plant. While not as strongly scented as our Root Beer Plant (Piper auritum), it's fragrance lingers all summer from apricot-pink flowers hovering above finely cut gray foliage. Has definite tea possibilities.

Agastache- Anise Hyssop

Agastache foeniculum


Lavender purple spikes, July through September, are cut fresh or dried for flower arrangements, while anise flavored leaves & flowers make a nice summer tea. Easily grown hardy perennial, but, reseeds if flowers are not removed quickly, which isn't always bad.

Angelica

Angelica archangelica


If you desire the largest, boldest herb that you can grow in the shade or a 6 foot tropical for a wet area, consider Angelica. Seeds add a sweet, delicate flavor to soups and stews. Stems are easily candied or add several slivers to your favorite rhubarb recipe. Creamy yellow flowers produce long lasting seed heads followed by the death to the mother plant shortly thereafter.

Angelica, Korean

Angelica gigas


Unassertive, small leaves scream for this bold, dramatic foliaged neighbor for any shade area. Baseball sized purple clusters on 3' stalks form in 2-3 years, which I suggest you remove during their glory to prevent this herb's demise or the birth of 100 more. Leaf stalks can be candied. This ""Dong Quai herb"" makes a cozy Chinese tea and is a premiere female medicinal.

Bee Balm, Coral Reef

Monarda didyma 'Coral Reef'


Neon, coral pink flowers crescendo on top 2-1/2 to 3 feet tall stems, usually in July. Coming out of Morden Research Station, it's no surprise that it is also mildew resistant as are most new 'Monarda offerings.

Bee Balm, Jacob Cline

Monarda didyma

Improvements in bee balms always include an emphasis on ""Powdery Mildew,""a disease that's relatively harmless or at least controllable, but definitely unsightly. Siting ""Bee Balms"" in part sun but away from a North exposure, where the dew takes hours to dry in the morning, helps. So does choosing this very mildew resistant herb with huge red flowers and vigorous growth.

Bee Balm, Marshall Delight

Monarda didyma

You may wonder with all the fuss over mildew resistance, why even choose a ""Bee Balm."" One look at these rich pink, confetti flowers that just happen to add a sweetness, found in no other herb, and your next Summer fruit salad will seem naked without it. Don't panic that it's also resistant to ""Rust."" I'm telling you, it's well worth a try.

Bee Balm, Pink Petite Delight

Monarda x 'Petite Delight' PP#10784


You could stop at the dwarf (12 to 15 inch height) and be satisfied but this new lavender/pink 'Monarda' boasts mildew resistance as well. Shiny, deep green foliage offsets lavender pink summer explosions. I like to site these in morning sun but they could tolerate full sun in most areas of the U.S.

Butterflyweed \ Pleurisy Root

Asclepias tuberosa
One of the most important plants you can buy to help save the Monarch Butterfly and give yourself a beautiful, bright orange, hardy perennial simultaneously. The dried powdered roots can be decocted to make a powerful expectorant and when combined with Angelica archangelica was used to treat Pleurisy. Once established, it will not transplant well.

Calamint, Alpine

Calamintha nepeta var. nepeta


The ideal perennial! Low maintenance,(i.e. no dead heading) with a perfect mound of delicate, sweet tasting, lilac-blue flowers that spoil us from June until after a fall freeze. It's true! Foliage has sweet minty fragrance, but it does not trespass like a mint. Essential as a faery garden plant.

Catmint, Creeping

Nepeta mussini (faassenii)


Our #1 recommended hardy perennial to plant under and in between roses. Small white-gray, fine toothed leaves form a 2 feet wide by 12"" high PERFECT mound, covered with blue flowers in June and occasionally in the fall. Although stronger and more pleasantly fragrant than common catnip, it doesn't attract any of our neighborhood cats, so it remains untouched. Plant several together in rock gardens, to take advantage of the relaxing, swaying ocean of rare, soft blue color.

Catmint, Six Hills Giant

Nepeta x 'Six Hills Giant'


This is ""Creeping Catmint"" on steroids! 2 1/2' mounds of sky blue flowers, make a dramatic show planted between delphiniums, foxgloves, and other spikes.

Catnip

Nepeta cataria
Since this is the original ""6-Pack of beer"" for cats, protect new plantings until established. For humans, a medicinal tea is made from 2 tsp. dried catnip per 1 cup of water to aid in sleeping, colds and fevers. Flavor with honey or stevia. Remove flower heads before they mature to prevent self-sowing, unless you desire it for the entire neighborhood.

Chamomile, Double Roman

Chamaemelum nobile `Flore Pleno'


The vaguely ""Granny Smith"" apple scented foliage forms a low growing groundcover which spreads slowly. Double daisy like flowers emerge, the groundwork for an almost maintenance free herb lawn, once established. Perfect for cracks between stepping stones. It has been consistently hardy for us. Has all the same uses as regular “Roman Chamomile” but is shorter and will not re-seed everywhere.

Chives, Curly

Allium senescens var. `Glaucum'



You have to see this quirky, miniature, curly, blue-leaved ""Allium"" for yourself. It is too sweet for rock gardens or small pockets. 2"" baby pink blossoms flirt with bees on top of 3-4"" stalks in June or July. Should be sprinkled sparingly due to a strong onion flavor.

Chives, Garlic

Allium tuberosa


Imagine: pristine, tall, white, 2"" globe, flower clusters in August. Also called ""Flat leaf Chives"" for their wider leaves; Add a mild garlic flavor, by simply sprinkling bits of flowers over chicken, Caesar salad, omelets and bread. I mean what doesn't need a dash of garlic?

Chives, Onion/Garden, Seed-free

Allium schoenoprasum
Carefree, seed-free, just not free. Looks and tastes exactly like Garden Chives"", but will not form any viable seed. Wake Up! That means it will not take over the yard, while you're on vacation, if you forget to remove seed heads. It also blooms about 6 weeks longer since it's not ""worried about the kids"".