Make way for anise, hyssop and absinthe in the garden

URBAN FARMER:It's all go in the walled garden as preparations for Bloom 2010 get underway and a nesting mallard is taken under the gardeners' wing, writes FIONNUALA FALLON

IT WAS Meeda’s and Brian’s fellow OPW gardener, Paul Whyte, who discovered her first. As he was busy weeding in a corner of the walled garden, he noticed the small patch of flattened earth and a stray feather snagged on a leaf.

Down on his hunkers, he peered through the leaves for a better look only to discover a duck (a mallard hen) hidden snuggly beneath the foliage. Well out of sight of any passers-by, she perched peacefully on her nest waiting for her eggs to hatch.

It’s a process that usually takes about four weeks or so, which means that the mallard hen’s brood should be making their appearance some time around late May, and will (just about) dodge the hustle and bustle of the Bloom garden show. But if not, and if last year’s visitor numbers are anything to go by, then the ducklings will be arriving to quite an audience.

“We think that it’s probably the same duck that nested in the herbaceous border last summer,” grins Brian. “She looks very comfortable for now, but I’m worried that a fox might get at her. We’ll keep a quiet eye on her over the next few weeks and see what happens.”

While the wild duck waits for her ducklings to arrive, the OPW gardeners are up to their eyes in preparations for Bloom, as they race to get this year’s crops sown and planted in time.

“Busy, busy, busy,” is how Meeda expects the next four to five weeks to be, as she and Brian juggle a “to do” list that gets longer by the day. For along with sowing, hoeing, planting, pruning, pricking off and potting on, they now also have to repair the damage done by the coldest winter in almost 50 years. Which is why this week’s column (tagged last week as covering spring onions and turnips) is instead about herbs.

“All of our rosemary plants are dead,” explains Brian. “And the sage,” adds Meeda. “Last winter was just too cold for them and so they’ll have to be replaced, along with the plants we lost in the herbaceous border. But we need to get any replacements into the ground as quickly as possible, to give them the chance to get established. After that, we need to think about planting out all the annual or tender herbs – such as borage, chervil, basil or coriander – which don’t ever overwinter and need to be grown from seed every spring.”

These, however, will only be planted in the walled garden after any risk of frost has passed, with sun lovers like coriander and basil further protected from the cold and wet with cloches fashioned from empty plastic bottles.

The gardeners are also experimenting with some unusual perennial herbs this year, including garlic chives, anise hyssop and absinthe. All of these were raised from seed sown in the glasshouse earlier this spring and are (since late last week), already in their permanent positions outdoors in the walled garden. But as it’s already too late to raise sizeable rosemary or sage plants in time for Bloom, those shrubby perennial herbs will be bought-in instead.

Of course the OPW gardeners are not the only ones who are glumly taking stock of plant losses. Many fellow urban farmers’ plots have suffered a similar fate after the icy winter, with the gaps only now becoming painfully obvious. Inevitably, it’s the Mediterranean, evergreen, sun-loving herbs such as rosemary, sage and bay laurel that are among the worst casualties of the big freeze and which will almost definitely need to replaced.

These, and many other herbs, can be sourced from Cork-based organic herb nursery, Peppermint Farm and Gardens (peppermintfarm.com), which has a mail-order service. Alternatively, visit its stand at the upcoming Rare and Special Plant Fair this Sunday in Castletown House, Celbridge, Co Kildare.

Yet another great source of organic herbs and herb seed is the tiny organic nursery, the Herb Garden, in north Co Dublin (theherbgarden.ie), which is owned and run by Denise Dunne.

There’s also time to sow seed of many other culinary herbs, including bronze fennel, winter savoury, sweet and pot marjoram, parsley, coriander and basil. A heated propagator is ideal for this as it will hurry along germination but, if that isn’t possible, then cover seed trays with cling film and place them somewhere warm.

Germination can be slow for certain herbs – parsley seed, for example, needs a temperature of 18-21ºC and can take four to six weeks – so be patient. Don’t, for once, worry too much about over-sowing when it comes to often-used herbs such as parsley or basil, and instead be careful to grow enough.

If needs must, a half-dozen young basil seedlings can be squeezed into a two-litre pot, with several of these pots lined up indoors along a sunny windowsill. Even with this amount, keen cooks probably won’t have enough, so it’s best to do the same again. In fact, the only problem, as basil lovers soon discover, is not a surplus of basil seedlings but rather a scarcity of sunny windowsills.

If this sounds like a familiar problem – and/or if you are a fan of the vertical garden as popularised by the pioneering French botanist Patrick Blanc – then you’ll definitely like the idea of Woolly Wally Pockets (WWP). Invented by LA-based artist/designer Miguel Nelson and launched in the US last year, the WWP are described by their manufacturers as “flexible, breathable and modular gardening containers”.

Made out of lightweight, recycled materials, they can be hung on walls and, best of all, can be used both outdoors and indoors, as they have built-in moisture barriers to help protect furniture.

According to woollypocket.com “they’re perfect for creating urban gardens where you have space to garden but no land to garden in”. The innovative planters – it’s just a pity about the silly name – are already going down a storm in the US, and are soon to be showcased at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. They’re also available through the UK website, gardenbeet.com (e-mail ask@gardenbeet.com).

So if you think that a living wall of basil sounds like an appetising idea, you should consider giving it a try. And if you’re so space-challenged that even a WWP is out of the question, then consider instead the Wee Woolly. Yes, really, there is such a thing.

The Organic Centre, Co Leitrim (theorganiccentre.ie) has courses on herbs, including: Discover Wild Herbs – with herbalist and tea-blender, Joerg Mueller (May 15th); and Growing Herbs for Health and Beauty with herbalist and naturopath Gaby Wieland (May 29th).

The OPW’s Victorian walled kitchen garden is in the grounds of the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre, beside the Phoenix Park Café and Ashtown Castle. The gardens are open daily from 10am to 4.30pm

Next week Urban Farmer in Property will cover sowing swedes and spring onions outdoors

Fionnuala Fallon is a garden designer and writer

WHAT TO: Sow, plant and do now

Sow under cover with heat (minimum 20ºC):tomatoes; aubergines; peppers; celeriac; cucumbers; pumpkins; sweet corn; sunflowers; courgettes

Sow under cover (13-16ºC):Brussels sprouts; hybrid broccoli; dwarf, French and runner beans; mini, summer and autumn cauliflowers; summer and autumn cabbage; calabrese; celery; cut-and-come-again crops; kohl rabi; leeks; lettuce; endive; Swiss chard; lettuce

Sow outdoors: broad beans; beetroot (early, bolt-resistant variety); autumn and winter cabbage; calabrese; carrots; radish; summer and autumn cauliflowers; parsnip; peas (including mangetout and sugar snap); rocket; spinach; swedes; turnips

Plant:onion and shallot sets; lettuce; maincrop potatoes; asparagus (module-raised)

Do:weed and dig beds; prepare seed beds; continue sowing seed and pricking out seedlings; organise seed or seedling swaps; harden off established plants; finish planning crop rotations