According to my latest research (or a few minutes flicking through a gardening book) July is the time to cut back your Sage, before they flower. So, while Garden Dad dug over the final bed to be planted with edibles, Garden Girl and I made bunches of Sage to dry out in the garage. Our Sage had taken over the herb bed and was starting to stifle other plants, so I showed no mercy and hacked it back despite the gardening book telling me to prune it lightly.
There was so much Sage available for drying I was quite ruthless in discarding leaves that weren't at their best. I also made sure all signs of black fly were removed from any of the leaves I was keeping. Garden Girl gathered the chosen ones together and we tied then up in bunches which are now hanging upside down from the garage roof.
Maybe now the lovely varigated sage will have room to grow and spread and the lemon balm will start to flourish.
Don't forget the bed we're going to put between the greenhouse and the runner beans.
ReplyDeleteIt never ends...
ReplyDeleteWe only just found out that you're not supposed to let your herbs flower. We are such amateurs. (We is not really the right term for it, to be honest, as my responsibility extends no further than the morning slug and snail search.) But they look so pretty with the flowers.
ReplyDeletePruning is a true test on how cruel can a gardener be..... haha. I thought I can see garden girl eyes through the leaves...
ReplyDelete~ bangchik
Thanks for the timely reminder - I was just thinking the sage had grown a lot!
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed reading your blog
The "garden kids" are sweet :)
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