Herbal Houseplants

Susan Betz has been actively involved in growing and using herbs to educate the public about gardening and the natural world for over 35 years. She is an Honorary Master Gardener, a member of the International Herb Association, Garden Communicators, and the Ecological Landscape Alliance. Susan is a life member of the Herb Society of America and received the Helen D. Conway Little Medal of Honor in 2018. She is a charter member of HSA’s Native Herb Conservation committee, the Society’s sustainable garden initiative. Susan currently serves on HSA’s Notable Native Herb program and is a contributing author to HSA’s native herb fact sheets published annually.   Susan worked as Education and Outreach Coordinator for Slayton Arboretum at Hillsdale College. Before going to work at Hillsdale, she owned and managed The Little Farm Herb Shop in Allen, Michigan, a garden store with display gardens featuring herbal themes.

• Introduction1 An Herbal PrimerPart 1: Success with Herbs IndoorsPart 2: Caring for Your HerbsPart 3: Keeping Your Herbal Houseplants Healthy2 Herbs for the Kitchen and Beyond3 Herbs for Fun and Fragrance4 Scented-Leaf Geraniums (Pelargonium species)5 Temporary House Guests and Herbal Topiaries6 Preserving Your Herbal HarvestPart 1: Guidelines for Harvesting and Preserving Indoor HerbsPart 2: Herb Recipes for Use and DelightResources and SuppliersAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorIndex

Most homes have the odd houseplant. Whether a poinsettia at Christmas or as a centrepiece for windowsill or table, houseplants have an enlivening effect on indoor space simply by being alive, natural and beautiful. As a bonus, they improve air quality in our homes. Until recently they might have seemed like part of the furniture but now, with urban living and increasingly busy lives, it is no exaggeration to say that they can be a lifeline.Over the past decade, sales of houseplants have boomed along with increasing concerns for health, both personal and environmental. This trend grew exponentially at the start of the pandemic when so many of us were obliged to stay home, becoming more concerned than ever about our health and longing for fresh air and contact with nature. As if addressing this shift in priorities, Susan Betz’s latest book Herbal Houseplants encourages us to take a new look at our indoor spaces and try growing herbs as houseplants. It is topical, practical and very appealing. Instead of a poinsettia, we could buy a strawberry-scented geranium and pomegranates and make a ruby-red sorbet for winter cheer. Or perhaps collect mints or sow a pot of cilantro in the kitchen? Why didn’t we think of this before?Alongside the factual information on how and where to grow herbs indoors – “Thymely Tips and Sage Advice” - are enticing quotes that make you want to read on: “let’s go to that house, for the linen looks white, and smells of lavender, and I love to lie in a pair of sheets that smell so.” (The Compleat Angler, Isaak Walton, 1653). Who could resist?Susan’s “up close and personal” style is bound to win friends and influence readers. She writes reassuringly about herbs as “good friends” that you can trust to make life better. Just give them a try and see what works best for you and your space. In addition to simple recipes for tempting things you can eat and drink, there is no end of other ways to use your herbal houseplants, from creating potpourri and herbal parchment paper to topiaries and ‘talking bouquets’. Some are easy enough for youngsters. Making a mint bubble bath could bring some light relief from home-schooling. And it might, come to think of it, add one or two useful skills.But growing herbs as houseplants is not all about “how to”. All the herbs that Susan suggests are so intensely fragrant and have such interesting textures – silky eucalyptus, spiky rosemary, velvety horehound, - that you will not be able to resist stroking them and breathing deeply. “Gardens do not have to be measured in feet, yards or acres, they can be measured in inches just as successfully” (Kitchen Gardens, Mary Mason Campbell). What better way to relax than with herbs at your fingertips!Deni Bown © 2021Author Royal Horticultural Society/Herb Society of America Encyclopedia of Herbs & Their Uses.  Dorling Kindersley 1995, 2001