Greens & herbs
Thyme, oregano, chives & sage
Perennial here.
- Outside
- Plant once in spring
- Where
- In ground, a lean dry corner
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Dry side; flavor concentrates when they live hard
- Harvest
- May to Oct, cut as needed
Thyme, oregano, chives, and sage are the garden's permanent staff, hardy through Beacon winters and cut from May to October. Planted once, they ask only sun, drainage, and a haircut.
Growing
Give all four full sun and lean, sharp-draining soil, and hold the fertilizer; pampering grows big soft leaves with nothing in them, and the oils arrive when the plant has to work. Shear thyme and oregano after bloom to keep them dense, cut sage back by half in spring rather than fall, and divide chives every third year when the clumps go thin in the middle. A dry corner suits them better than the rich ground everything else gets.
Varieties
German Winter thyme, Greek oregano, and Berggarten sage are worth requesting by name; common chives are common because they won.
Pests
Chives are alliums, so the leaf miner that gets netted off the leeks can find them during the same April and September flights; either share the netting or cut affected clumps to the ground and let clean growth replace them. The other three go unbothered.
In the kitchen
Oregano bundles dry in a week in July and out-cook anything sold in a jar. Sage waits all year for November and earns it.