Pot Marigold  - 
 I love pot marigolds their yellow and orange flowers light up my  plot from early spring to the first frost, if the plants are dead head regurarly. They are very easy to grow from seed,   Germination takes about five to fourteen days they are a hardy annual and they will self seed  profusely. I usually sow the seeds directly into the ground in March some self  seed pot marigolds which have overwintered can be flowering by the end of  February. They grow in any  soil except waterlogged ground, They grow best in a  sunny position.  Late in the season they can developed powdery mildew but if the  affected leaves are destroyed it will not spread.

The  plant is a native of southern Europe but flourish in our climate.  The petals can  be used in fish
and meat soups. In rice dishes the petals cn be used instead of  saffron and add  a subtle flavour and colour. The petals added to  salads  are a very enjoyable  addition. The flower petals are used to make a natural  yellow food dye for cheese, butter and egg dishes.  A  teaspoon of petals tied in a muslin bag and  put into milk and left to soak for  ten minutes or more add a lovely flavour and
colour to scones and buns.

Accounts about the healing properties of pot marigolds have been found from the  twelve century. Their
lovely bright colours is said to brighten the heart and  dispel bad moods. The  plant contains salicylic acid which is used for many  commercial treatments for skin acne. It also has an ant-inflammatory and  antiseptic oils which improves  the appearance of acne and the discomfort. It can  help the appearance of old  scars and burns. It can be made into an oil or  ointment.  A tea made of pot  marigold petals is good for stomach upsets and helps vitamin A to be absorbed in  the body. The flowers also have a cosmetic uses for  example a tea made of pot  marigold, when cooled makes a lovely toner for the  skin and will keep in the  fridge for a week.

 
When I took down my bean frame, at the beginning of October,  tucked away inside  was a very large and healthy lemon balm plant.  It had self seeded itself. If  you do not want it to grow everywhere it is best to cut it
back after it  flowers.  Lemon Balm  can also be propagated by dividing established plants or be taking cutting in  early summer. Growing it from seed has some problems, it  only takes two weeks for the seed to germinate  but tthe seedlings are prone to  damping off. Lemon balm will grow in any soil except waterlogged soil.  It is not fully frost hardy but new plants will probably pop up in unexpected places  in early summer.

Lemon balm has a delicious lemon flavour as its name suggests it is can  be added to green and fruit salads. It  does not cook well, but it makes a refreshing country wine.  It will  gives a lovely zing when added  to mixed vegetable  juice.  A teaspoon of the leaves will  make a uplifting hot  tisane, but only infuse it for no more than five to six minutes. A few dried  leaves can be added to  indian tea to gives a boast to those of us who find the  dark Autumn and Winter mornings makes us sluggish first thing. Lemon balm tea  can also help with  insomnia as it is both rivitalising and relaxing it.  It can
soothe nervous tension  and helps prevent and heal cold sores. a dried leaf infusion is good for stomach upsets and can be given to children.

The  white flowers are attractive to bees.  Bee keepers would often clean the outside of hives with the crushed leaves.  A handful of leaves rubbed on your  arms will keep away midges and other blood sucking insects.  If your are bitten Lemon balm rubbed on the bite will soothe the irritation of the bite and help to  relax you.   An infusion made with of a handful of leaves make a soothing addition to a bath. It  is also a good herb to add to pot pourri.

Borage is  a beautiful herb to grow. It grows  easily from seed
and once planted will self seed. I have sown borage at my  allotment, on a sunny day it is full of bees, hoverflies& butterflies. I  still have borage
flowering on my plot in mid October, this supports  butterflies,moths and bees.   It is growing in my strawberry bed, but it is also  considered a good companion plant for tomatoes, and squash.

Borage is  also called starflower and the  young leaves and flowers can be used in drinks, it has a delightful lavour and  it is also reputed to have an abilitity to dispel depressed 
moods. The Greeks called it the herb of  gladness.

The leaves either fresh or dried make a makes a lovely herbal  tea either as a hot tisane or as an iced tea. It is an ingredient in Pims. You  can also add the flowers to a drink - indian tea, china tea, wine, lemonade,  fruit cup. The flowers look lovely frozen in ice cubes.

The young leaves and flowers are delicious when added to salads, or  in put into a sandwich with
cream cheese or uadded to yoghurt dressing to make a dressing.   Borage has a  cucumber flavour. It is better not to eat the older leaves as they grow tough  and hairy!   A word of caution if the leaves are eaten in excess they may damage the liver.

Borage  flowers  has been used for centuries used for inflammatory and rheumatic conditions and as a diuretic. It  is also used to treat depression.  The flowers made into oil , sometimes called starflower oil
in health food stores, is rich in (gla) omega 6 fatty acids and is being used to help with memory loss.

Myrtle is the herb of love, dedicated to the goddess Venu, brides often carry  myrtle in their bouquets, as it is the symbol of love  &  constancy.  My  myrtle plant is still flowering in November and is visited frequently by bumble  bees  storing food for the harsh months of  winter.

I grew my myrtle shrub  from a softwood cutting taken in  summer from a non flowering shoot.  After  potting on it was kept and grown in pot for two years before being planted in the garden. It is now a shrub 3ft high (1m) and 3ft (1m) wide. It can be grown  from the seed, but the seeds must be fresh and take two or more months to germinate, sometimes  even longer.

Myrtle  originated in the Mediterranean area but it is a  frost hardy evergreen shrub.   Its flowers are white with golden stamens they  have a lovely scent. The leaves  also have a wonderful fragrance.. The blue  black berries are said to have been one of the favourite fruits of Queen  Victoria.

The leaves and berries can  be used in stews and soups. The leaves can used instead of bay leaves and the berries can be used as an  alternative to juniper berries.  Both the flowers and fruit can be used
fresh in salads. The bark from  Mature Myrtle Wood was onced in the tanning of leather. Nowadays the wood and  leaves are used to give a delicious  flavour meat and vegetables on  barbeques.

In healing the oil from  the berries can be be used externally to help acne. An infusion of the leaves can be used to treat urinary infection.

The leaves make a wonderful fragrant Yule or Christmas wreath and  also posies.

A naturalised plant,  It  is an old  cottage garden favourite.   It used to be common in hedge rows but it is being  shaded out by other plants. Tansy is home to a  beautiful  beetle  which is a  wonderful shade of iridescent green   Unfortunately It has  become an endangered  species and can be found in England only along a  30 km  stretch of the banks of  the River Ouse around York.  The Natural England  website  has full information on attempts to protect this beetle.  
  
Tansy is a very aromatic herb with decorative  fern like leaves  and yellow  button flowers.   It can be grown from seed  but  I bought  a Tansy as a small  plant 4 years ago. I  planted it near my shed to act as a screen from  passers  by on the path  across the top of my plot.  It likes a sunny position and grows  to a metre high  and can grow quite large and has deep roots as I discovered  this Autumn.

Tansy  was once used, dried and crushed, as a flavouring spice in fruit pasties, cakes 
and  puddings.  It is effective as a fly and flea  repellent. and will also
deter mice 

 Sweet Mace  is one of the Mexican Tagetes,  the best known plants of the Tagetetes species, in  England, are African and  French Tagetes. They all orginated in Central  and South America and were used  in healing and ritual ceremonies. T. Lucida is  also known as Mexican Tarragon.

I will be  growing this plant for the first time next Spring.  It is a tender herbaceous perennial but I may treat it as a half hardy annual so I will pot the plants up  in winter and put them in a frost free cold  frame.

The seeds are sown in early spring in a  greenhouse or on a window  ledge.  They need a temperature of 20 degrees C and  the germination  takes  between two to three weeks.They can be sown outside  once the ground has warmed up in late Spring.  In Summer I must remember to pinch out  the growing tip to  get bushy plants.  Apparently  the plants need a long growing season.  French marigolds germinate really well a light sprinkling of seed in a pot or modules will produce hundreds of sturdy plantlets I do not know yet if sweet mace is as easy to grow.
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The aniseed  scented leaves of Sweet Mace are used as a  Tarragon substitute  for seasoning soups, sauces and herbal butters.  The dried  leaves and small yellow-orange  flowers can also be used to make an aniseed tea.  The strong root secretion repels wire worms and supresses weeds such as ground  elder and couch grass.  This herb is also reputed to  deter  many common insect pests  so it  will  makes an ideal companion plant for my tomato, squash  and potato crops.