Herb Harvest Wreath by Tina Ligon

Wreath of Herbs

It is late summer; as a matter of fact it is the last day of summer, fall officially starts in a few hours. Here at 8000’ in the Front Range of Colorado, we have already had a small snow and temperatures down to 29F. As usual, after the freeze, it has warmed back up quite nicely. The tender plants died with the cold but the herbs are doing great. Some of the herbs still growing here unprotected are – parsley, thyme, culinary sage, winter savory and mints. The more tender herbs such as basil are still alive but in the protection of a greenhouse. There are some years that sage and thyme can be harvested for Thanksgiving dinner but not always.

This is a great time to harvest some of those late summer herbs. There are several ways to save them for later use but one of my favorites is to make an edible wreath. The herbs can be attached to a metal wreath form with florist wire. Add a hanger, I used raffia, and hang in a convenient place in the kitchen. You now have your home grown herbs right at your fingertips for cooking. Just think how great it will be to clip some off for a nice pot of soup on a cold winter day. You can have a nice memory of your herb garden as well as great soup.