Culinary Herbs

Goose Creek Gardens’ selection of three dozen culinary herbs—available potted for your garden or fresh cut and ready to use when you get home (after a quick rinse)—infuse any meal with fresh, summery, bright flavor.  

Be bold with your herbs. Substitute and experiment. Recipes are great…but fun with herbs starts when you step away from the cookbook. Cilantro isn’t just for salsa; rosemary gets along with much more than lamb. A trio of mints with spring peas? Simple syrup infused with lime basil for a fragrant summer cocktail? Steep stevia in your tea. Chop chives—standard or garlic—and sprinkle over, well, anything really. The possibilities are truly endless.

Check out the "Goose Creek Gardens on Your Table" photo album on Facebook for some herbal inspiration!

Basil’s not just a classic spaghetti sauce—though our Sweet/Genovese or Spicy Bush basils are just what you need to make your sauces sing of summer. Lemon, Lime, and Cinnamon basils take pesto in fascinating, fragrant new directions for pasta salads or spreads for crusty bread. Try your hand at Vietnamese pho after you pick up a bag of Thai basil from one of our four markets.  Purple basil—Ruffled or not—pops with color on a grilled pizza.

Don’t store basil in the refrigerator: it’ll turn dark and blotchy. Instead, place in a glass with the bottom of the stems in water and cover loosely with a plastic bag.

Most people think of mint as a breath freshener or a mere garnish on fancy desserts. We think of it as a versatile herb that has a place on the table from breakfast through late-night snacking. Drop a few leaves of Chocolate mint in the filter along with your ground coffee for a farm-fresh minty mocha. Spearmint brings a refreshing kick to yogurt-based dressings like Greek tzatziki and cold salads like taboulleh. And bringing summer flavor to your table is really as easy as adding Peppermint leaves to cool beverages--lemonade, iced tea...mint juleps.

A word of caution if you are planting mint in your garden: it will spread and you’ll never regain control over it. Place plants in a pot in the ground, or grow in containers on your deck.

Bold and Hearty Herbs

If you are looking for something to really punch up your meals, a bag of one of Goose Creek Gardens' bold and hearty herbs will get you there quickly. Fronds of Dill and Fennel brighten up fish--from white fish to salmon--while Marjoram, Rosemary, Oregano, and Thyme stand up to crispy roasted veggies. Brown butter, toss in a few leaves of Sage (regular or gold variegated), and you've got the quickest, easiest sauce possible for pasta, ravioli, or gnocchi.

Tender and Fragrant Herbs

You know an herb is great when its scent hits you as soon as you open the bag. These super-frangrant herbs are more tender than the bold herbs listed above and don't hold up well when cooked. Toss these in after cooking, in cold summer salads--pasta, potato, or orzo--or sprinkle them over uncooked produce straight from the farmers market.

Chives over scrambled eggs. Garlic Chives on a baked potato. French Tarragon is classic with mayo; think about putting some on your next BLT. Lavender (Provence) is a key flavor in the famous herb blend, Herbs de Provence...toss chopped lavender (or our summery Savory) with grilled vegetables for a taste of France right in your backyard. Forgo the wedge of lemon in your next glass of tea and drop in a few leaves of Lemon Verbena instead.

Cilantro, of course, is an integral part of one of summer's great joys: fresh tomato salsa. Chop fresh tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro then squeeze in lime juice to taste. Season with salt and you're set.

And Parsley...the go-to herb in an foodie's kitchen. Flatleaf Italian or Curly, with either one you can't go wrong for adding brightness to any savory dish that comes out of your kitchen.

Catnip for the cats...

French Sorrel for some soup...

Lemongrass (West Indian) for a Thai curry...

Stevia for your morning tea...