Brushing up against the bright green leaves of the Lemon Verbena releases a subtle, lemon scent as I walk by. Picking a few of those leaves and gently crushing them in my hands releases, much more emphatically, its lemony perfume.
The lemon scented leaves of the Lemon Verbena.
My Lemon Verbena is a fairly recent addition to our garden. I have planted it in a sunny, well-drained but protected space and it's thriving there. It did get straggly at one stage, after flowering, but a light prune has resulted in a burst of new and thicker growth. More lemony leaves!
These leaves have many uses. You can steep them to make a revitalising herbal tea, like the one resulting from this recipe where its flavour is combined with mint. You can make a lemon-scented sugar or infuse syrups or vinegar with the lemon of the leaves too. With my abundant supply though, I am most looking forward to making Martha Stewart's Lemon Verbena Lemonade.
I can envisage pouring myself a glass of this icy, refreshing lemonade. I imagine that I'll cradle my glass sitting on the deck, gumboots still on, overlooking the garden where my Lemon Verbena grows. I think I'll have to do this at least once before this Summer ends, starting this weekend.
Meg
The vision of you drinking your lemonade made me smile. Enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteThe thought of it makes me smile too, Kim:) In fact, anytime I think of the garden, I smile. There is so much there that makes me happy! Meg
DeleteKick off your gumboots and leave them where they land....I dare you!
ReplyDeleteHi, Lucy! My preferred state, when wandering or working in the garden, is to be barefooted but, after standing on a snake down there a little while ago, I have been remembering what were my once neglected gumboots! (The snake was as shocked as I was.. fancy having a big human hoof tromping on you...and thankfully took off for cover). I will save you some lemonade, my friend! Meg:)
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