We choose and use all sorts of fragrant plants and plant flavours to add a rich layer to our celebrations, our food and the festive magic.
A garland of herbs across the Christmas table, a real festive fir adorned with oranges and cloves, a door wreath not to mention the sauces and flavours for the seasonal feast.
Herbs have an important role in our festive celebrations and are a wonderful way to connect our gardens with our family, friends and our lives. There’s something very grounding about gathering seasonal foliage and crafting it into a table centre piece, or using it to make delicious concoctions to wow your guests. Here are five fabulous festive herbs to add some richness to your Christmas.
Wise old Sage (Salvia officinalis)
Whether you are creating a homemade stuffing for a family feast of roast turkey or mixing a rich and delicious meat-free side dish for your vegan and vegetarian guests, sage has a vital role. Its soft, warm, evocative, but earthy flavour needs no co-star as it performs a perfect solo, but it also pairs so well with onion in the classic sage and onion kind of way. Up the ante and crisp up some leaves to garnish a baked squash recipe or combine with cheese to enrich a pasta sauce or gnocchi dish. Homegrown sage is a shrubby plant that holds some of its leaves through winter, offering up its powerful flavour to enhance you winter menus, soups, stews and even scones and savoury muffins. Keep the woody stems and older leaves, dry them and add to the winter fire for a cleansing smoke to banish negative energy.
Royal rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus)
If I could make one herb the king of herbs it would be rosemary. It is such a wonderful plant, such an invigorating herb and a wonderful ingredient for cooking. Add a sprig to the rice water, chop the leaves into soups and sauces and add rosemary and sea salt to your roasties. If you eat lamb, before you roast it poke short stems of rosemary with leaves into the lamb. It infuses it with the fabulous flavour of this amazing herb.
You can use sprigs of rosemary in your Christmas table centre, weave it into your festive door wreath or even decorate your Christmas cake with a flower rich stem.
Add dried stems to the woodburner or fire pit to infuse the air with its fragrance.
Rosemary is in my top five plants for pollinators because it often flowers in late winter and very early spring when the first queen bumblebees emerge from their winter rest and start to nest build. They need nectar rich flowers to sustain their activity and the soft, pale mauve flowers of the rosemary are a true winter food bar for winter active pollinators.
Bay watch
Possibly one of the most versatile herbs in the garden, bay is often overlooked as a herb. It has powers beyond its looks for not only is this herb rich in flavours, it also has banishing powers for pantry moths and clothes moths.
Bay was used in victory crowns and believed to represent success, wealth and protection. It’s magical properties include protection and manifestation and it is used to boost psychic abilities.
Bay leaves are the perfect choice for festive door wreaths and evergreen decorations, its fragrant leaves adding rich aromas to the room. Dried leaves can be added to pot pourri, kindling and the kitchen cupboards to impart the rich scent.
Stems of the fabulous leaves can be added to the table centrepiece or flower arrangements as a deep green foil for Christmas flowers.
Add bay leaves to mulled wine, ground in cakes and puddings and shortbread. Bake it with tomatoes in the oven and add it to custard for a rich and alternative flavour.
Marvellous Mint
There is no excuse not to grow mint, it is one of the easiest herbs to grow. You can even grow it on the kitchen windowsill. Mint is a marvellous plant. You can use the leaves to flavour potatoes, make a mint sauce for your roast lamb, or infuse them in boiling water to make a delicious mint tea. Add a few sprigs of mint to a table decoration so that it imparts its fragrance as it is brushed while passing plates of festive food. Use it as a garnish for sweet or savoury dishes. Crush the leaves into a salad so that its flavour adds a dramatic experience.
Time for Thyme
Another evergreen festive favourite herb is the humble thyme. It’s tiny leaves are a powerhouse of flavour adding a richness to roast veg especially carrots, potatoes and onions. Add thyme to pasta with mushrooms and tangy goats cheese or garnish breakfast poached eggs on Christmas morning with this zesty herb. Or make some thyme tea for boxing day morning to offset the excesses of the day before.
It’s a perfect pot herb for even the smallest garden and there are so many fabulous types to choose from. What’s more it’s a great plant for the short-tongued pollinators when it flowers in summer, the cushions of tiny flowers are efficient feeding for hoverflies and bees.
