Garden sage – that beloved woody herb that brings back memories of Thanksgiving – is a hardy herb that grows well in most gardens. And in my garden, the sage was in need of some serious pruning.
My garden sage is planted in a small garden bed between a fence and stone walkway. It’s been happily growing in this space for a few years now, providing me with an abundance of sage leaves.
The lanky woody stems top-heavy with leaves and blooms was spilling over the walkway in a big way — I literally had to step over it to get by. Which I happily did as I really enjoy the purple blossoms of a sage in bloom 🙂
So, as soon as the plant was finished blooming, it was time for a trim.
I cut back all the woody stems that were hanging over the stone path, along with some old branches within the new growth.
The plant is looking better along the fence now and the walkway is clear – no more stepping over long falling-over sage branches along the pathway 🙂
Now, with the sage tamed in the garden, it was time to deal with this abundance of sage leaves.
Garden sage leaves retain good flavour, even after blooming – so no compost bin for these leaves! I decided this batch was headed for the freezer.
I lay the stripped leaves on parchment lined trays, layering the leaves between layers of parchment.
As I freeze herbs for the winter, I re-use the parchment from one batch to the next.
Once the leaves are frozen, I put them in a freezer bag or container, ready to be used throughout the winter.
Happy Gardening 🙂
Barb
P.S. Check out Baked Sausage and Potato with Sage for a quick and easy dinner 🙂
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I grow feverfew all over my yards, they self sow intensely. I used to dig them and throw them away, but they are so pretty and fragrant that I keep on gifting them to friends! I would like to know if you can dry the flowers and then use it to brew tea, straight from picking them in the garden.
I agree, the feverfew blooms are pretty, and I keep them in my garden for the blooms 🙂
Yes, you can definitely dry the feverfew flowers to use for brewing tea – I snip off the flowers and lay them out on parchment paper to dry. If you want, you can give the plants a gently wash with the garden hose in advance to clean them – and once the plants have completely dried, harvest the flowers.
The feverfew leaves can also be harvested and dried in the same way.
Or, you can snip off feverfew stems (leaves and flowers intact), tie them together, and hang upside down to dry.
Enjoy 🙂