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Herb Garden (photos)
This was begun in 1999, to display aromatic herbs and other plants typically used in cooking and medicine (see Definitions, below). Two volunteers - Tina Waghorn and Kevin Boyhan - have made looking after it their special project, aided by other volunteers. They do a tremendous job.
An important feature of the herb garden is the raised beds. These are two boxes, made of recycled wood and full of earth. They allow the herbs to be enjoyed by people who can't bend to see or smell plants growing at ground level.
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Grace and Peter Lancashire plant up one of the boxes. Grace, who is blind, grew the herbs herself. (Picture by Tina Waghorn.)
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What they have planted
Here is a partial list of the common names of the herbs and other plants in the garden: Alpine Lady's Mantle, Angelica, Basil, Bee Balm, Borage, Bugle, Chamomile, Chicory, Chives, Clove Pink, Columbine, Comfrey, Cowslip, Curry Plant, Delphinium, Elder, Evening Primrose, Fennel, Feverfew, Forget-me-not, Foxglove, Geranium, Great Mullein, Greater Periwinkle, Holly, Hollyhock, Honeysuckle, Hyssop, Jasmine, Lavender Cotton (Santolina), Lavender, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Lungwort, Marigold, Marjoram, Meadowsweet, Mint, Musk Mallow, Nasturtium, Nettle, Oregano, Parsley, Peony, Poppy, Primrose, Rosemary, Roseroot, Sage, Sea Holly, Soapwort, Sorrel, St John's Wort, Strawberry, Sunflower, Sweet Violet, Sweet Woodruff, Tansy, Thyme, Valerian, Wall Germander, Winter Savory, Yarrow.
Some of these plants prefer full sunlight, with others being tolerant of partial or full shade. To help her work out where to place the different species, Tina created a sun chart to show the fall of shadow at different times of day. She used computer-aided design (CAD) software to make the picture but had to do the research the old-fashioned way.
Here is a small version of the chart (© 2002, Tina Waghorn). Click on it to see it larger.
Definitions
On this page, we use herb in its everyday sense, to mean a plant whose leaves are flavoursome or aromatic and which are used, fresh or dried, in cooking, cosmetics or medicine. Elsewhere on the site we use the word in its botanical sense, to mean a seed-bearing plant without a woody and persistent stem and which dies down after flowering.
Thus, most of the herbs listed above (see What they have planted) are botanically herbs as well. On the other hand, some botanical herbs found on the reserves are seldom if ever used in cooking, say. Buttercups, Thistles and Ragwort are examples.
Spices, to complete the picture, usually come from warmer parts of the world and are typically sold dried. We use these plants' buds (cloves), bark (cinnamon), roots and rhizomes (ginger or turmeric), berries (peppercorns), seeds (cumin) and flower parts (saffron).
As with any attempt at a clear separation between categories, there are always exceptions. One of the best known is Coriander. Its fresh leaves form a fragrant addition to salads and cooked dishes. It is thus a herb. It is also a spice, since its dried seeds are used in cooking.