HERB - herbs of the week

[RAISYA@aol.com]

Basil's an annual, as far as I know.  Once it begins blooming, the flavor
drops off.  I suspect even if it is a very tender perennial, it's going to be
a lot of work to dig up a plant from the garden and pot it (they develop a
very deep root system).  If you want fresh basil during the winter, I would
suggest just starting new plants in pots a couple of months before the first
frost, either from seed or cuttings.  Basil does self-seed quite well, letting
one plant go to seed in the garden should produce a few "volunteers" the next
year.

Clare,

I've found several varieties of basil described or illustrated in period
sources.  In the TACUINUM SANITATIS, both the small bush basil and a larger
Genovese type is shown, as well as something called Basil Ocymum - "...with
smaller leaves and branches, whose perfume recalls the citron,..."  There were
probably more than these, of course, but it's hard to identify varieties from
an illumination.

I've never heard the legend of "Isabella and the Pot of Basil" before.
Curious <G>.

Raisya
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