Anita Day, who is opening her garden Vue at Jindivick as part of Creative Harvest 2025, shares her 'Heavenly Herb' experience at Penny Woodward’s 2024 workshop with the bonus of a lovely mint-packed recipe!
If a herby workshop is your thing, see details at the end of this article on Caroline Parker's Medicinal Herb Workshop running as part of Creative Harvest in 2025.
When I read on the website that Penny Woodward was presenting two workshops for Creative Harvest 2024, I jumped online immediately and bought a ticket. I attended Penny’s talk on Herbs, Culinary, Medicinal and Beauty. Arriving early, I pounced on a front-row seat with pen and notepad in hand.
Penny Woodward is a Botanist and Zoologist and the author of 8 published books and has written countless articles for Organic Gardener Magazine.
Her book on Garlic was a complete game changer for us, not only in terms of growing beautiful, healthy fat bulbs but also of being able to supply our kitchen with a yearlong supply.
An hour just flew by as Penny spoke of the culinary use of some of our well-known herbs and some fascinating history on these plants.
Penny also shared some interesting facts.
Did you know:
Drinking sage tea has marvellous medicinal properties that can improve memory.
Chamomile is known as the ‘plant doctor”, as it is believed if you grow it near a sick plant, it will help restore it to health.
The English believed that the herb Catmint would turn a gentle person into a quarrelsome one …. note to self, must pull out Catmint.
Making tea with thyme leaves will help ease a sore throat and cough.
Over the years, I’ve added more herbs to the garden out of pure necessity.
When you live in the sticks, you can’t just “pop to the shops” if you run out of something. We always grow a good supply of parsley, coriander and mint to have on hand, as you always use these herbs in larger quantities. Just a cautionary word on mint. Probably best to grow it in a pot …. it’s an absolute thug if allowed to free range.
Here’s a little recipe to use up some of that mint that’s become a bit of a bully.
A lovely Greek Salad with Mint
For the dressing
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano, more for sprinkling
½ teaspoon Dijon Mustard
½ teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
For the salad
1 or 2 cucumbers, cut lengthwise, seeded, and sliced 5mm thick
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
200g feta cheese, broken into chunks
½ cup thinly sliced red onion
½ cup or more pitted kalamata olives
⅓ cup or more if liked of fresh mint leaves
Instructions
Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, mustard, salt, and several grinds of pepper.
On a large platter, arrange the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, red onions, and olives. Drizzle with the dressing and very gently toss. Sprinkle with a few generous pinches of oregano and top with the mint leaves. Season to taste and serve.
There were so many tempting books to buy after the talk. That book on Garlic I mentioned is a must, and I can highly recommend Penny’s Growing Easy Herbs for beauty, fragrance, and flavour. It’s a bargain at $10 and filled with the most exquisite illustrations by Fran Gilbert. Both are available through her website. These would make an excellent gift for someone getting into gardening.
I came away from the workshop with a greater appreciation for herbs and with plans to add more medicinal plants to my collection.
Now I best get on with making a pot of sage tea, … just before I forget.
Anita xx
If you like the sound of this workshop you may like: From Garden to Healer: Cultivating Your Own Medicinal Oasis, with Caroline Parker.
Caroline is an Author, Herbalist, Gardener, Forager and owner of The Cottage Herbalist. This interactive workshop, inspired by her recently published book "The Medicinal Garden," will guide you on a journey of creating your own personal haven of health and wellbeing. This workshop will include a fun and interactive experience where you will get to make your own gardener's herbal balm to take home with ample time for questions along the way.
Get your tickets: From Garden to Healer: Cultivating Your Own Medicinal Oasis, 25 Jan 2025, 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm, Yarragon.
