The Herb Garden
An essential element in the Victorian garden was the herb garden with its many faceted uses. Herbs were gathered for the kitchen, used to freshen the house and as a source of folk medicine for minor complaints.
I have tried to recreate a typical Victorian herb garden with herbs spilling out over plants and seedlings rooting in the gravel paths. A sort of organised chaos! As well as the more common herbs that are used by the kitchen for cooking, I've also included some more unusual herbs such as woad, which used to be used for dyeing policeman's uniforms right up until the 1930s and was of course used by the ancient Britons. A canny lot these ancient Britons! A lot of people thought that they used woad as a war paint to instill fear in the hearts of the enemy but actually, woad is a very potent antiseptic. Consequently, if they got grazed by a spear during skirmishes, it wouldn't go septic! I love the plant. Beautiful fragrant yellow flowers in the spring, followed by shiny black seeds in late summer that knock together. It used to be common in our roadside verges but like many old wild flowers has fallen foul of modern herbicides. Search this herb out. Once you've grown it, you'll be loath to ever get rid of it!
Other unusual herbs include hernaria, once used to treat... yes, you've guessed it - hernias! Alecost or costmary, once used to flavour beer, Elecampane , a splendid shaggy sunflower type of plant, whose roots were used in the treatment of bronchial complaints. Being particularly interested in herbs, I'm always searching obscure seed catalogues, from here and abroad , for something new. Consequently, the herb garden is always in a state of flux as I introduce new things and get rid of others. I mean, what's the point of growing a big patch of the Eau-de -cologne mint ? It's not that I dislike the herb, but just don't have time to make my own toilet water!
I also have to remember that the herb garden is accessible to both residents and the public, so I have to refrain from growing subjects such as henbane or hemlock!