Drought-adapted herbs perfect for your Marin garden
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Anne-Marie Walker
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Clary Sage, a low-water herb, steals the show in The Herb Garden at UC Berkeley Botanical Garden. Photo: Anne-Marie Walker
To Marin gardens, I would also add these drought-adapted herbs: pelargoniums, nasturtiums, Mrs. Burns’ Lemon Basil, chamomile, anise hyssop, lavender, lemon balm, lemongrass, lemon verbena, chervil, calendula, and oregano. These low-water herbs afford biodiverse benefits to gardens. To appreciate the restorative powers of herbs, rub the leaves and inhale deeply to capture scent in your olfactory receptors. Then, take a nibble of an herb leaf and allow the taste and texture to roll around your taste buds. You are rewarded with flavors not just sweet and salty but bitter and sour, pungent and cool, and even umami – the Japanese word meaning a pleasant, savory taste or deliciousness.
Much work has been invested in determining the water needs of various garden plants. In addition to observation, you can now look up online how much water a plant needs in the Water Use Classification of Landscape Species, commonly called WUCOLS. With full reservoirs, concerns about drought may be lessening. However, long-term climate change models favor continuing moderate water usage because droughts of the past will recur. To maintain a healthy garden and help plants develop the ability to deal with drought, water where roots are found: for herbs that is about 6 inches deep.
Chamomile planted with Oregano and Borage. Photo: Anne-Marie WalkerMexican tarragon, scientific name Tagetes lucida, is native to Central and South America. It blooms in the summer and fall when other herbs are waning. Its cheery, yellow flowers attract bees and butterflies. The glossy leaves of Mexican tarragon are licorice scented and flavored, much like French tarragon, a bloomless cross dating back to the Middle Ages. It succeeds in Marin, where French tarragon often fails. The Aztecs cultivated this herb mainly for tea. It prefers full sun.
Mexican tarragon often succeeds in gardens where French tarragon fails. Photo: Anne-Marie WalkerI hope these plant stories inspire you to plant more drought-adapted herbs in your garden this spring. More data on herbs can be found at www.marinmg.ucanr.edu