1. Anise Hyssop ( Agastache foeniculum ) Family: Lamiaceae (mint family) Other common names: Anise mint, blue giant hyssop, licorice mint Location in Denver Botanic Gardens: Herb & Knot Garden Appearance: The plant’s purple, unscented flowers grow in “false whorls,” the sturdy stems growing to two to four feet tall. The sturdy stems and spiky seed heads provide great winter interest. Origin: North America, especially the Great Plains. Known history: The Cree Indians included the magic herb in medicine bundles. The Chippewa made protective charms out of it. And the Cheyenne drank a tea made of this herb to relieve a “dispirited heart.” (See recipe below.) How to grow: USDA Zone 6 is the coldest zone where the plant is hardy. Anise hyssop is tolerant of a range of soils, even clay-rich soils. It prefers full sun but will tolerate part shade. Anise Hyssop grows in the second year. Culinary and Other Uses: The leaves and flowers are edible and can be used to sweeten tea or flavor sugar and quickbreads. Anise Hyssop honey can be made by putting several dried leaves in a jar, pouring warm honey over them, and allowing it to steep for a month. The plant is also attractive in cut-flower or dried-flower arrangements. Recipe: Steep 2 tsp. of fresh or 1 tsp. dried herb in a mug of hot water for seven to 10 minutes. Other Notes: The flowers are attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies due to plentiful nectar. It has some chemicals in common with licorice (e.g., anise), but the scent also has notes of lemon, pine, sage, black pepper, and camphor foliage. Anise hyssop is good for cut flowers and in potpourri, and the flowers dry nicely to navy blue. Prepared by: Alan Flanigan and Jan MacKenzie 2. Dill ( Anethum graveolens ) Family: Apiaceae (carrot family) Location in Denver Botanic Gardens: Herb & Knot Garden Appearance: The “fern leaf” variety of this herb grows to 18 inches tall, with dense, green, feathery leaves, and yellow flowers. Origin: Eastern Mediterranean and western Asia 1 Known history: Dill, whose name derives from the Norse word “dilla” (to lull), has been highly prized for centuries as a flavoring and medicine. It was mentioned in Egyptian medical texts as far back as 3000 B.C., and remnants of dill were found in Swiss neolithic settlements dating back to 400 B.C. Romans considered dill good luck, and the herb was mentioned as payment in the Bible. Charlemagne placed dill on banquet tables so guests who ate too much could chew it to settle their stomachs. Dill was brought to America by early settlers, and children were given dill or fennel seed in church to keep them quiet (so both were known as “meetin’ seeds”). How to grow: An annual plant that is easy to grow, dill prefers full sun and cool weather. Plant it close to lettuce and cabbage to encourage their growth. Do not plant near carrots, caraway, or fennel, as they may cross-pollinate. Pest control: Dill attracts butterflies and predatory wasps. Sprinkle dill leaves on plants susceptible to squash bugs. To save dill, you can hang it with a paper bag over the flowers to collect seeds; you can also freeze leaves and seeds. (Do not leave the seeds in the garden; they are toxic to some birds.) Culinary and Other Uses: The flower, leaf, and seeds of dill can all be eaten raw. Often the leaves are chopped and added to salads, potatoes, meats and fish (the Scandinavians love it with fish). The flower heads are also used in pickling (as in dill pickles). Dill seeds have a sharper flavor than the leaves and can be used ground or whole; they can also be used as a salt substitute for those who need to limit salt intake. Medicinally: A folk remedy to soothe colicky babies, dill is also used in tea to soothe upset stomachs, flatulence, hiccups, insomnia, liver ailments and gallbladder complaints. Further, it is used for urinary tract disorders, including kidney disease and painful urination, as well as treatment of fevers and colds, coughs and sore throats, bronchitis, hemorrhoids, infections, spasms, nerve pain, genital ulcers, and menstrual cramps. It is a great source of manganese, iron, and calcium (in fact, 1 tablespoon of dill contains more calcium than a cup of milk). Sources: Denver Botanic Gardens Navigator; webMD; The Herb Gardener; the savoryshop.com; What Can I Do With My Herbs , by Victor Martin. Prepared by: Marsha Hennessy, Pat MacMillan, Cathy Mandel 3. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare ) Family: Apiaceae (carrot family) Location in Denver Botanic Gardens: Herb & Knot Garden (west side); the ornamental bronze fennel (Foeniculum vulgare “Purpureum”) can be found on the east side of the Perennial Walk 2 Appearance: Fennel grows up to five feet tall; it has small yellow flowers in a compound umbel and leaves that are pinnately divided into feathery segments. It makes an excellent border plant, attracting bees and Ichneumond wasps, which are parasites of larval pests. Origin: Shores of the Mediterranean; widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially in dry soils near seacoasts and on riverbanks History: In Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from the demigods by carrying burning coal inside a fennel stalk from Mount Olympus. The Egyptians used fennel as a spice, and the Romans used it as a vegetable, naming it Foeniculum , from the Latin foenum , meaning “hay.” (Today, Florence fennel is still the most popular vegetable in Italy.) Anglo- Saxon recipes from before the Norman Conquest show that fennel was already being used for medicinal and culinary purposes. As Old English finule , fennel is one of the nine plants invoked in the pagan Anglo-Saxon Nine Herbs Charm, recorded in the 10 th century: On Midsummer’s Eve, bunches of fennel were hung over doors of country cottages to prevent witchcraft. When Portuguese explorers landed on Madeira in 1418, they found the air fragrant with wild fennel, so the city of Funchal was named after funcho, the Portuguese name for the plant. Finally, in the 17th century, Nicholas Culpeper wrote that all parts of the fennel plant should be used in drink or broth to make fat people lean. Fennel seeds, thought to be an appetite suppressant, were nibbled on during long church services and on fast days. How to grow: Fennel is easily grown from seed. It prefers a slightly acidic, well-drained soil and full sun. The blooming time is from July through October. Fennel can damage its neighbors in the garden, including bush beans, caraway, tomatoes, and kohlrabi; it can be harmed itself if planted close to certain herbs like coriander (in that case no seed is formed) or wormwood (which reduces seed germination and stunts growth). To avoid unwanted self-seeding, spent flowers should be removed before seed production. Culinary and Other Uses: In addition to the ornamental bronze variety, two main varieties are grown for culinary or medicinal use: The wild fennel (Foeniculum vulgare ) and the Florence fennel (F. vulgare dulce ), also known as sweet Fennel, or finocchio. Wild fennel is a semi-hardy perennial, grown for leaves, fruits (or “seeds”), and stems. Sweet fennel is an annual grown for its white bulbous leaf bases. All parts of the fennel plant are considered fit for human consumption. Fennel tastes like a softer, nuttier version of anise. The leaves and tender stems are used in salads, as garnishes, as well as in soups, stews, and meat dishes. The seeds are used in desserts, cookies, breads, soups, and beverages as well as in many recipes from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Middle East. Two simple recipe ideas: Add ground fennel seed to tomato soup and the minced bulb of a Florence fennel to a salad of avocado and grapefruit. Fennel leaves are rich in minerals (especially potassium) and vitamins A, B, C, and E. Fennel oil—steam distilled from the seeds—contains a little over 50 percent anethole, the chief component of anise oil, which is used as a flavoring agent in the cosmetic and 3 liquor industries, including in the production of absinthe and ouzo. However, the volatile oil can be irritating or dangerous to those with allergies. As for medicinal purposes, Greek physicians Hippocrates and Dioscorides recommended fennel to increase milk flow in nursing mothers. The plant has also been used to treat menstrual problems and to facilitate birth, with the anethole acting as a phytoestrogen. Syrups from the fruit are used for chronic coughs, and teas for soothing the stomach and treating colic in infants. Because serpents were believed to eat the plant to restore their sight after shedding their skins, fennel also came to be regarded as a remedy for visual ailments and is still researched for that purpose. Sources: Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs , Claire Kwalchik & William H. Hylton (eds.), Rodale Press, Emmaus 1998, pp.188-190; Medicinal Plants of the World , Ben-Erik van Wyk & Michael Wink, Timber Press, Portland 2004, p.145; Food Plants of the World , Ben-Erik van Wyk, Timber Press, Portland 2005, p.196; Vegetables, Herbs & Fruit , an illustrated encyclopedia, Matthew Biggs, Jekka McVicar and Bob Flowerdew, Firefly books, Buffalo 2006, p.106; Nature's Medicine—Plants That Heal , Joel L. Swerdlow, National Geographic, Washington D.C. 2000, p.357; Economic Botany , plants in Our World 3 rd ed. Beryl Brintnall Simpson and Molly Conner Ogorzaly, McGraw-Hill, Boston, 2001; Herbs of the Bible , Allan A Swenson, Citadel Press, New York, 2003, p.86; Albert-Puleo M (1980). “Fennel and anise as estrogenic agents,” J. Ethnopharmacology 2 (4), pp.337–44 Prepared by: Mariska Hamstra, Shawn McQuerry, and Irène Shepard 4.