Diane Green to share herb expertise at workshop

Diane Green of "Herbs by Diane" is really into herbs. She grows and dries them, prepares food and makes fruit garlands with them, sage smudge sticks, catnip toys, herbal bath blends and skin facials.

Green is putting on a workshop on preserving herbs at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd. Call 822-7786 to reserve your seat. If you come to her workshop, you will make a fresh bouquet of herbs, an assortment of dried herbal teas and seasoning for pastas to take home.

Green came from California in 1968 to Boulder City, where she says there is plenty of sunshine and clean air. She soon started growing herbs by taking out a 4-foot-by-4-foot plot of lawn to the side of her yard. The next year and every year since she expanded it until her garden consumed her entire front yard, bar the path to her door. She also has taken over her father's yard, now totaling more than 3,500 square feet of herbs, and is planning to enlarge her herb-growing space. This is a year-round venture for her.

Note all that Green grows: basil (five kinds), bay leaves, catnip, chervil, cilantro, chive, garlic, onion, curry, fever few, lavender, marjoram, mint (seven kinds), oregano (three kinds), parsley (two kinds), rosemary, sage (four kinds), thyme (three kinds), lemon balm, grass and verbena along with flower petals from calendula, chamomile, nasturtium and rose.

The herb expert mixes beans, cucumbers, greens, peas, pecans, peppers, pomegranates and sunflower greens in with her herbs, depending on the season, to add to her fun. There are hardly any weeds in sight and if there are, I know she will most likely turn them into beneficial herbs.

Of all the herbs she grows, she has to corral only mint and yarrow to keep them from consuming the yard. All other herbs enlarge, so she divides them occasionally. She pops clumps out of the ground, cuts them into softball-size chunks and replants those she needs. She then trades up for other herbs or gives them away.

Every time she has an open spot in the garden, she "fluffs" (digs) her soil, mixing in her own compost before replanting. To Green, fluffing and incorporating compost are the secrets to her success.

Green's neighbors on both sides provide giant mulberry trees to shade her garden. She knows she helps water those trees because every time she fluffs her soil, she also removes tree roots.

Green plants closer together than recommended.

"I find closer plantings reduces weed problems, increases humidity around plants and conserves water. It seems to take the sting out of the summer heat, produces a much higher quality product and gives the garden a very full look," she said.

Green mulches everything. She covers beds with alfalfa and herbs grow up through the hay. Under that mulch is an active bunch of microorganisms digesting hay and taking it down into the soil, creating an ideal working environment for her plants. She pulled back the rich black soil to show why her edibles were so happy with their growing conditions.

Pesticides and chemical fertilizers are not used on her herbs and vegetables. If she does have an invasion of bugs, she vacuums them off.

She does apply fish emulsion every three weeks to keep her herbs happy. She then washes the emulsion off to avoid staining the edible parts. Green feels that her organic herbs and vegetables are more flavorful and healthier than those sold in stores and are preferred by both home and restaurants chefs. She is developing a large clientele of chefs at the farmers markets she frequents to substantiate her findings.

Harvesting is her fun time. She is constantly nipping and snipping at plants and has the "green thumbs" to prove it.

You can't miss her garden. Her gigantic geraniums stop all who pass by. One passer-by said, "Diane's garden is the best in town." You'll find Green at the Molto Vegas Farmer's Market each Thursday and Boulder City Senior Center each Friday proudly displaying the fruits of her labor.

"If people want to grow a few herbs, all they need to do is put a few containers near the kitchen door and crowd a few herbs in, then you're in the herb business," she said.

Linn Mills writes a garden column each Sunday. You can reach him at linn.mills@ springspreserve.org or call him at 822-7754.