Herb: Lovage - A New Addition to The Rusted Garden

Lovage: Gary Pilarchik

Lovage is a perennial herb in zones 3 through 9. It is a new herb to The Rusted Garden and I decided to grow it because all of the plant can used. It comes from Europe to Afghanistan. There is no exact agreement on it's origin but it has been around a long time and is considered naturalized to many areas.

The leaves can be used in salads and soups. The seeds are used as a spice similar to fennel and the root is used as a vegetable. It grows 4 to 6 feet tall and enjoys the sun to some shade. It sounds like it is a great herb for anyone's garden.

Lovage resembles flat leaf parsley and celery in it's leaf structure. It's fragrance and taste is similar to celery and angelica. It will produce small yellow flowers in midsummer. The fact that the leaves, seeds and root can be used is a plus but the yellow flower will also attract beneficial insects to the garden. Seeds can be planted now in the early Spring or in the Fall.  It appears to be an easy herb to grow that will come back year after year.

Pictures will be coming as it grows. I just started it in some seed tray and put them in my grow closet.