Gift It: Homegrown Herbal Bouquet

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

I was invited to an apartment warming at my brother’s newish place the other night and since I had already treated him to a whole new garden, hereby known as “The Gift That Covers Me Off for Gift Giving Until 2010,” I decided I wanted to bring something but that that something should be simple and not cost money. The great thing about gardening, beyond the thousands of other more important reasons, is that there is always something available last-minute to gift to friends. I can just step outside and find homegrown edibles or flowers in a pinch that just about anyone will appreciate.

After all, who doesn’t like homegrown food or flowers? Granted, I’m sure if we looked hard enough we could find one or two out there in America but still…

As I was saying, a gift was in order. A gift that says, “Congratulations on your new apartment! Here’s something nice and useful to commemorate a meaningful life step but, you know, you’re my brother and dude, until I get a higher paying job or miraculously unearth a winning scratch ticket buried in the street garden… enjoy some quality homegrown herbs and edible delights.” Of course, I’m saying that cynically because in truth a winning scratch ticket would not change my desire to share the homegrown goodness. I’d just wrap it all in fresh, crisp hundred dollar bills.

And that is what I did (minus the cash money). My brother has been speaking highly of his new herb garden and all of the delicious herbed omelets he has been enjoying however I knew his plants were still small and were probably strained by enthusiastic and vigorous picking. My plants on the other hand are all well-established. I am actually over-run this year with sage, oregano and marjoram. I have been making herbal bouquets for myself for some time now and it only made sense to harvest a selection of yummy herbs, tie it up like a floral bouquet and give it as a gift. Flowers are nice but this bouquet keeps on giving. What’s more my bouquet was literally free since the butcher paper and twine was recycled from the packaging used to wrap flowers bought at the market. Yes, I have become my grandmother, holding onto every last scrap of packaging in hope of a possible future use.

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

The bouquet I made for my brother is not the one depicted. That one included garlic scapes I had picked just that day, as well as a selection of assorted thyme varieties and large sprigs of fresh rosemary. The gift was a surprise hit with party goers wondering about that twisted oddity (garlic scapes) poking out of the bundle. I’m sure if my bouquet had included homegrown herbs of another sort I would have made a lot of new friends fast… however it did not and the love fest lasted a total of 10 minutes.

If you make your own, choose whatever you’ve got on hand or try for herbs that compliment one another. Help the recipient unwrap the package as soon as possible and get the herbs into water so that anything that has wilted can be revived. This is also your chance to talk about the herbs so your friend knows a garlic scape from a frightening alien life form and how they can use them in their next meal.

Gayla Trail
Gayla is a writer, photographer, and former graphic designer with a background in the Fine Arts, cultural criticism, and ecology. She is the author, photographer, and designer of best-selling books on gardening, cooking, and preserving.

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8 thoughts on “Gift It: Homegrown Herbal Bouquet

  1. What a great idea. I love the one you photographed. I wish I had an actual garden where I could pick stuff but I don’t have much to pick. Glad you got some praise at least for a little while.

  2. What a wonderful gift! There’s nothing like a homegrown gift from the garden. I love how you packaged your bouquet.

  3. I visited my friend’s garden the other day where I was a gleeful recipient of a bag of herbs and edible flowers. My friend also makes herbal tinctures and I asked if he’s ever thought about selling them (we work at a health food store together where we earn a pathetic wage). He said no! he only makes tinctures to give as gifts. My uterus is very flattered.

  4. I love the picture of your herbal bouquet. I have sometimes brought herbal bouquets to gatherings. On a couple occasions, I used old twist ties to create small herb bundles and then combined them into one vase or jar. This makes a quirky, festive bouquet for the event and allows everyone to take a little something home afterwards.

    Thanks for the lovely picture.

  5. I think these are the best types of gifts! For those who don’t grow herbs and have friends who do, don’t be shy to snag their scissors for a take home treat.

    That would be a cute idea for a party favor; everyone grabs a mason jar and fills it with what they like. It’s fun to watch to see what people are attracted to in the garden.

    thanks for the inspiration…

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