A couple of decades ago, I built by hand a special, small garden within the boundaries of my herbal teaching garden–a tiny round garden with a stone statue of a mama-and-baby in the center. I ringed the garden with rocks and planted perennials including sage, lemon balm, echinacea, and rosemary–those heat-loving herbs that snuggled up against the stone statue and thrived in the mounded, sun-warmed soil.

One day I discovered a snail hiding in the curves of the statue, just underneath the mother’s chin. It seemed appropriate for this little spiral being to be in the circle-within-a-circle.

The sage I planted took a while to establish itself and I feared it would not make it after the first winter, but by years 2 and 3 it was vibrant with two-foot tall purple flower clusters and fragrant, wide green-grey leaves. 

Today, unfortunately, that little garden and the whole teaching garden have been bulldozed away, and I fear the statue was thrown in a dumpster. Though I’m not living there anymore, this little circle-within always captured my fancy and reminds me of summer buzzing insects, hot rocks, and feminine beauty.

Growing Sage

If you're thinking of creating a little sage garden, ring it with round stones that will complement the square stems of the sage, and pair it with something whimsical like a statue. Keep the soil free-draining, meaning there's no clay in it. In fact, it likes a lot of sand. Sage likes to grow in clusters with others of its kind, so planting it in dense patches of 3 or 5 keeps it happy.

When the flowers have bloomed and the plant is looking leggy, trim the spent stalks down to just above some of the healthier lower leaves and it will grow back for the fall. You'll be able to get two harvests out of sage if you live in temperate areas.

Using Sage in the Kitchen

I like to use the late fall sage leaves in brown butter recipes for holiday homemade ravioli (especially delicious with butternut squash). Snip the florets to use in savory soups and dishes or to sprinkle on salads or rice and lentils; use the leaves raw or sauteed with fish, chicken or pork cutlets.

#sage #apothecary #garden #astringent