MEETING REPORT: What Were The Five Herbs That Changed History That You Can Grow?

By Karen England, for Let's Talk Plants! March 2025. Unless otherwise stated all photos by Jim Booman, sourced from Facebook.

Screenshot of Jim Booman's Facebook post after the meeting about the five herbs. Thanks Jim, for posting!

For the February 2025 meeting, I gave a presentation on five herbs that changed history that we can grow in San Diego County, but in the lead up to the meeting I neglected to mention what the five herbs I would be talking about were. This wasn't some sort of clickbait on my part although I see now that it made folks very curious! Some people tried to guess; others tried to wheedle it out of me ahead of time like it was some sort of secret. It wasn't a secret, so I told everyone who asked, and some even said after I told them, that they'd keep my secret for me until the meeting. Thanks, but it wasn't a secret!

I was coy about the herbs on purpose but not to drum up curiosity. Simply, there are more than five herbs that have changed history that we can grow, and I wanted to be able to give the talk again with a different five herbs, so by not stating the herbs I was leaving myself open to repeating a boilerplate talk with differing herbs in season. (Anyone want to have me do a program on Five More Herbs That Changed History...? Send me an email info@sdhort.org and let me know. I'll be happy to tell you which herbs ahead of time.)

What is an herb? An herb is a useful plant - useful for cooking, crafting and medicine.

That said, what were the five history changing herbs you can grow? Aloe, Bay, Rose, Sage, and Yarrow.

How many are you growing? I hope them all!

Dried Yarrow tea. Add hot water, and tea is instantly yellow. Used not for drinking, but as a skin treatment (and a wreath for one's head). Yarrow is a California native plant.

Karen brought rose Turkish Delight for folks to taste. (She purchased it from Home | peachysgrill Peachy's Mediterranean Market and Grill in Encinitas.) According to atlasobscura.com "Turkish Delight, or lokum, is a popular dessert sweet throughout Europe, especially in Greece, the Balkans, and, of course, Turkey. But most Americans, if they have any association with the treat at all, know it only as the food for which Edmund Pevensie sells out his family in the classic children’s fantasy novel The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe."

Jim Booman posted on Facebook this picture of the sage treat Karen made for tasting- "Bacon wrapped goat cheese dates with sage. Our native California native sage, Salvia clevelandii, is perfect for its balance of flavor and aroma to use for cooking."

BACON WRAPPED DATES with SAGE

Recipe adapted from Recipes from the Herbalist’s Kitchen by Brittany Wood Nickerson, 2017 Storey Publishing.

Preheat oven to 350˚ F. on convection setting if you have a fan oven.

Ingredients:

• Soft goat cheese

• Fresh sage leaves, such as the leaves of Cleveland sage

• Whole dates, cut in half, pits removed, I like medjool.

• Bacon slices cut into 3” lengths

Directions:

• Cut pieces of goat cheese off the log and stuff into the date halves.

• Top the cheese and date halves with a sage leaf or leaves

• Wrap each stuffed half with bacon and set on a broiler pan (with the grill in place if you have one).

• Roast for 10 to 12 minutes (but start checking at 7 minutes for doneness). The bacon should be brown. Each oven is different. This recipe is great in an air fryer. Line the air fryer basket with parchment paper and start checking at 5 minutes for doneness.

Karen made and brought Susan Belsinger's delicious Chocolate Pudding with Bay for everyone to taste. The recipe is in the International Herb Association's Bay, Herb of the Year, book and has been published in Fine Gardening magazine Chocolate Pudding with Bay - Fine Gardening.

www.iherb.org is a great source for exclusive monographs on herbs. The current Herb of the Year is Chamomile. Karen is a frequent contributor to the books and brings them to sell when she speaks.

Photo source: Instacart.com

Karen brought Organic Aloe Vera Juice from Sprouts Market for those wanting to taste it, but mentioned that Debra Lee Baldwin, who was in the audience(!) has instructions for making your own aloe vera juice on her YouTube channel, if you don't want to buy it from a store.

Why You Should Grow Aloe Vera - Debra Lee Baldwin

Also, Karen has published the Aloe Blossom Taco recipe that she mentioned during her presentation in an earlier Let's Talk Plants! newsletter here:

COME INTO THE KITCHEN, GARDENER: Herbal Succulents - Aloe Vera Blossom Sauté

Photo credit: Karen England. Aloe blossom tacos with red onion and garlic.

Thanks again to Jim Booman for his comprehensive Facebook posts of the meeting.

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Karen England with her Berries and Cream climbing rose, 2019.

Karen England is on the board of the International Herb Association and a frequent contributor to the organization's Herb of the Year™ books and president of the San Diego Horticultural Society.

She can be reached at info@sdhort.org

San Diego Horticultural Society - Spring Garden Tour

San Diego Horticultural Society - Spring Garden Tour