GARDENER'S READING ROOM
Edibles

Enliven with Lemon

We are not restricted to tropical trees for the fresh taste and aroma of lemon. Excite your senses with exotic citrus fragrance and flavor with lemon-scented herbs!

Most of these herbs grow best in fairly rich, well drained soil kept moderately moist (except lemon thyme, which prefers dry, light soil). They benefit from branch-tip pruning to encourage leaf production—in other words, harvesting some to indulge yourself is doing the plant a favor!

• Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis). A delightful asset in the garden, this hardy, herbaceous perennial grows 2-3’ tall in either sun or part shade. It tends to spread, making it a great container plant. The lemon scented leaves are oval and toothed. Harvest fresh leaves before the small clusters of white flowers appear for the peak of flavor. Cut off the flowers to prevent seed set. Thread leaves with vegetables on kebabs for a lemony mint flavor, add chopped as a finale to soups and stews, or brew a refreshing lemony tea.
  
  
• Lemon Thyme (Thymus x citriodorus). A spreading, low-mounding or erect sub-shrub growing 6-12” tall. Makes an excellent border plant for a sunny bed. Leaves vary depending on variety. Prune lightly after the lavender pink flowers appear to keep the plant compact. Strip the fresh leaves from the stems for a wonderful peppery-lemon flavor; sprinkle over corn on the cob or toss with potatoes before roasting.
  
  
• Lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla). The scent of this South American herb can transport you to another world! This semi-hardy deciduous shrub has rough-textured, narrow leaves and star-like pale purple or white flowers in August. It can grow 3-5’ tall and does well in containers. Consider planting it by a path or door where you can brush by it often and enjoy its fragrance. It may be slow to wake in spring from its long winter nap; prune back the main stems to 2-3 buds of old wood to encourage new growth. Leaves have the most intense flavor when gathered at bloom. Add to fruit salads, soft cheeses, and your favorite iced beverage. The Victorians used it to perfume finger bowls at banquets.
  
  
• Lemon Basil (Ocimum basilicum).This heat-loving annual can be grown from seeds or our starts. The best leaves are harvested before flowering starts; pinch out the flower spikes to encourage fresh growth. Use in fish dishes, or make a lemony pesto to die for!
  
  
• Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus). The Southeast Asian staple should be kept in a container and moved inside for the winter; it doesn’t appreciate our Northwest winters! Give it plenty of room and plenty of sun; clumps can reach 3’ wide if you let them, and the inch-wide leaves grow 3-4’ tall. A necessity in Thai and Vietnamese cooking, it’s also great in seafood soups and curries. Chop the leaves finely; the woody stalks and bulbs can be bruised and used to infuse their clean, lemony aroma in broths and stocks, but cannot be eaten.

So enliven your garden and your cuisine this summer. “… it causeth the mind and the heart to become merry…” Culpepper.

By Cheryl Gere
Skylights Spring/Summer 2006 Vol 21, No. 2

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