Our mission as Master Gardeners is to educate about sustainable gardening. And what could be more sustainable than growing your own food? Growing your own herbs is part of that. Growing herbs can save you money and save water and shipping resources. Plus, there is nothing more satisfying than walking outside with a pair of kitchen shears to collect the herbs you need for a recipe.
Many of the culinary herbs we use are woody perennials native to the dry Mediterranean region. As we have a Mediterranean climate here in the Rogue Valley, they are a perfect choice for our gardens and kitchens. Why spend good money on four sprigs of sage packaged in a plastic clamshell at the supermarket, when you can easily grow it in your yard?
The woody perennials herbs include: sage (Salvia officinalis), thyme (Thymus vulgaris), rosemary (Rosmarius officinalis), lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), and oregano (Oregano vulgaris). They are easy to grow and tend to thrive on neglect. A word of warning about oregano: it is now listed on the Oregon Invasive species list, as it escapes easily from gardens. I recommend an alternative, Oreganum syriaca, which has a similar flavor profile, and is used in the middle eastern spice Za’atar. And for those who like a licorice flavor profile, French tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) is well worth growing. It must be grown from cuttings, as the seeds are sterile. Other perennial herbs that are very easy to grow are chives (Allium schoenoprasum) and garlic chives (Allium tuberosum). Both are vigorous clumping bulbs with edible leaves and flowers. They spread readily by clumping and reseeding. Many kinds of mint (Mentha) can also be grown, but be sure to grow them in containers, as they will spread aggressively around the yard. They need more water than most other herbs.
Annual herbs I recommend for companion planting in your summer vegetable garden include basil (Ocimum basilicum), dill (Anethum graveolens), and coriander (Coriandrum sativum). Coriander seeds are ground for the spice coriander, while the leaves are what we know as cilantro. Mexican tarragon (Tagetes lucida), which is actually a marigold, is used as a replacement herb for French tarragon.
Biennials you should plant are parsley and fennel. As with oregano, fennel needs a warning. It is also on the invasive species list, so if you are growing it for seed, please encase those in a paper bag to dry for harvest, so they do not enter the environment. The stems and leaves of fennel may be harvested before the flowers develop. Both the biennials and the annuals have the added value of attracting pollinators and tiny beneficial predatory and parasitic wasps, which will protect your vegetables from pest insects. In fact, all the herbs mentioned here are terrific nectar plants for butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects. What is not to love?
All of these herbs can be found at local garden centers, and most will be available for sale in the JCMGA greenhouses at the Spring Garden Fair at the Extension on May 6th, this spring. Try growing some in your garden this year, and GARDEN FOR LIFE!
Native Plant Sale at SOREC. Our Native Plant Nursery was open for plant shopping, and the auditorium had holiday crafts and gifts for sale.
Our Native Plants Nursery is up and running at full capacity. And our recent Pop-up Sale in September proved to be enormously successful. Volunteers spent August potting nursery stock into gallon containers. Crews came the week of the sale on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and weeded paths, spread bark chips, weeded containers, put the nursery plants in common areas, erected sale canopies and put information and sales signs around the nursery.
Dearest Master Gardeners,
The Daylily Garden features more than 100 cultivars of the Hemerocallis genus. For more than a decade, volunteers in the garden have been crossbreeding different daylilies, including about a dozen new hybrids that will be registered with the American Hemerocallis Society. Marsha Waite is the GEM for this garden. 
The Lavender Garden includes 80 varieties of lavender and more than 250 plants. The garden is the only one in the Pacific Northwest registered with the Herb Society of America. Part of the Southern Oregon Lavender Trail, open from June to mid-August, our largest garden needs lots of TLC. Please come work with Irv Johnson 
Over 150 varieties of roses grace our gardens. These include hybrid tea roses, floribundas, grandifloras, miniature roses, climbing roses, and David Austin roses. Learn to care for and prune roses with Joanne Mitani, the Rose Garden GEM. 
The Water-wise Garden conserves water by using mostly drought-tolerant plants, by grouping plants together with similar needs and by mulching. Contact Monette Hoffmeister 
The Wanda Hauser Garden was the first Demonstration Garden at this site, established in 1994. The garden features a wide variety of common ornamental plants with less commonly known culinary, medicinal, and cosmetic uses. Most of the plants are perennials, while others are self-seeding annuals or shrubs. Marcie Katz is the GEM for this garden. 
The Vegetable Garden demonstrates various methods for small scale home vegetable gardening. Methods include growing vegetables in straw bales, growing potatoes in very small areas, and cool and warm season cover crops used in carbon sequestration, weed control and nitrogen fixing. It features pollinator plants and a bountiful harvest of vegetables. Sean Cawley is our GEM. 
The Demonstration Orchard boasts over 40 different apple trees. Many are of commonly known varieties such as Honeycrisp and Fuji. Less known are Bramley’s Seedling, Belle de Boskoop and Arkansas Black. Also present are varieties of peaches and pears. Sean Cawley is doing double duty as this garden’s GEM. 
mentors Becky Belau 
The Native Plant Garden showcases native plants found in this region that are suitable for the home garden. Native plants are adapted to local environmental conditions and provide food and shelter for native birds, butterflies, and other wildlife. The Native Plant Garden has expanded to incorporate a rain garden – a shallow depression designed to collect rainwater The rain garden captures water for a short period of time, allowing it to soak slowly into the landscape. The deep roots of the surrounding native plants assist in this water infiltration. Sherri Morgan is the GEM 
campus and to the community at large. We propagate our plants from cuttings and seeds, and grow a variety of annuals, perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees. Nursery work usually goes from mid-January to mid-November. If you are interested in learning how to stratify seed, propagate from cuttings, or just learn more about native plants and help with regular pop-up sales, contact Lynn Kunstman at 
Our Perennial/Shade Garden has a mixture of shade, dappled sunlight and even areas with hot afternoon sun. Perennial plants are the backbone of nearly every flower garden. The lifespan, bloom time, culture and form of perennial plants varies greatly. Shade gardens are those with little or no direct sunlight. Since few edible plants grow well under shady conditions, shade gardens are usually ornamental. Doug Kirby is the GEM. 
that can be eaten, used as spice, or for tea. We need a GEM for this garden! Talk to Marcie Katz if you are interested.
The Wildflower Garden features flowers, shrubs and grasses that are native to the Rogue Valley. Our area is part of the California Province of Wildflowers which is considered a hotspot for native plant biodiversity. The garden also includes non-native plants that are frequently found in our area. The Wildflower Garden was registered as a Monarch Way Station in 2015. Sue Koury is our GEM. 
Our Vineyard Garden is being replanted in wine grapes. This garden needs a GEM! Are you that person? You would work closely with our viticulturist, Dr. Alexander Levin, who, by the way, speaks both Spanish and Russian.
Tufted Hairgrass, Deschampsia cespitosa, is a native bunchgrass. It grows naturally in moist, high elevation sites; sandy or rocky shores; bogs & fens and requires medium water. It does best in part shade. The seeds are an important food for birds, and it is host to Skipper butterflies (Hesperiidae family). If you have an area that gets regular water, this is a grass you might consider.
Blue Wild Rye, Elymus glaucus, is a cool season, tufted perennial bunchgrass. The loose to dense tufts have erect to somewhat nodding seedheads. The foliage is blue-green in color. Growing 3-6 feet, this decorative grass likes part shade, and will tolerate dry sites. It is a desirable species for use in erosion control. The attractive, blue-green foliage adds value to commercial landscaping projects. It is host to nine species of butterfly and moth.
Yarrow, Achillea millefolium, is a tough, lacy gray-green evergreen perennial herb. It grows 2-3 feet tall, with white flowers. It fills spaces aggressively, to form a thick, weed- preventing mat. Bloom lasts from April into September. It does well in both full sun and part shade and is especially drought tolerant. Added benefits are that it is fire resistant, hosts 10 butterfly and moth species, and is of special value to native bees.
Self Heal, Prunella vulgaris, is a vigorously spreading member of the mint family. This tough little native grows 6 inches to 2 feet tall and forms a lush green mat. It is topped with lovely purple flower stalks from May through September. It can be grown most anywhere, with a little extra water in very dry conditions. In very hot areas, give it a spot that is protected from the hot afternoon sun. Self Heal is a favorite of bumblebees and butterflies, both as a nectar and a host plant.
It’s easy! Pick up a BLUE BAG or two (no more than two please) from the table in the lobby of the Extension office and fill it with clean, empty, beer, soda, water, tea, or juice container–ANY bottle or can that has the OR 10 cents redemption value listed on the label. Once your bag is full, you can drop it off at any of the following bottle redemption sites:
Oregon State University Extension
