HERB - question-looking ahead to spring(long)

[Christina]

Ligessac wrote:

> I'd like to start looking ahead to spring, my home is on a nice 10 acre lot,
> and we only tend about 2, so the rest mostly goes to weeds, and well,
> doesn't look that nice.  I was wondering if there was an herb or nice
> flowering plant that might take off and start filling in.

    Mint is my favorite yard herbage, because it tastes good and smells so nice
if you mow it.  If you are looking for invasive flowers, try four o'clocks.  If
lilies and irises grow at all in your area, they like moist soil w/ a hi clay
content.  Next spring, after a rain, or just before what promises to be light
rain, throw out a whole lot of wildflower seeds.  A field full of wildflowers is
gorgeous.
    Honestly, if it was my 8 acres, this is what I would do:
     I would set up a harvestable wild garden I didn't have to tend to every
year.  Depending on which part of the country you live in, I would plant the
local berries that grow best in whatever spot they'd thrive best in.  I know
blackberry varietals do well in clay/water, plus they can survive long hot dry
summers.  (Can you tell that I grew up in Texas?)  Check with your local nursery
to find out what grows best in your area.  Most berries take 2 years to
establish their canes, and then you will have a steady supply of enough berries
to make jam, jelly, syrup, wines, cordials, breakfast, etc.  In a good year my
mom gets between 20 and 30 gallons of fruit from her 5 feet of blackberry
covered fence.  If you choose to establish a patch, the limit is how much you
choose to pick.
    I would also plant fruit and nut trees.  Pecans grow very well in hi clay hi
water.  I imagine lots of others do too.  Ask at your local nursery.  Fruit and
nut trees are pretty in bloom, and the deadwood is nice to carve or burn.  Trees
do well if they are occasionally sprayed, but they'll be fine if you don't feel
like it.  Don't do apples, they need too much work.  Again, you'll have an
enormous supply of free fruit.  If you don't like to cook or vint, you could set
up a trade with your local brewers.
    Do you like fresh asparagus?  I love it.  It's an invasive plant that grows
wild all over the US.  Sage isn't invasive, but it grows wild quite well.
Oregano is invasive and will grow wild.  Let a stand of parsley go to seed and
it'll be everywhere.  Dandelion flowers make a wonderful wine.  So do
elderberries and elderflowers.  The right rose varietals do well untended and
unchecked.  My guess would be that both garlic and ginger (which have pretty
flowers) would grow well and spread.  Lemon balm, mint, and chamomile will
spread and smell nice.

    Seriously, ask your local nursery about what grows wild locally, and what
will grow well in your soil.  Locally growing plants have a better chance of
taking off and filling out your landscape.  If pretty is what you want, plant
for blooms in spring, blooms in summer, and blooms in fall, and ornamental
coloration.  Otherwise, you'll likely end up with pretty in spring and weeds
year-round.  If useful will suit you, then decide first what you are willing to
harvest, and then whether anyone around would be willing to trade for either
your excess or harvesting rights.

Hope this helps,
-Magdalena

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