The deliciously fresh, refined and intense lemon fragrance of lemon verbena, which is native to Peru and Argentina, has long been prized for use in tisanes, liqueurs and cooking.
It is a shrub with arching branches and pointed leaves arranged in whorls of three around the stems. In summer the bush produces large terminal panicles of tiny, four petalled, white or pale lavender flowers.
It requires full sun, and a free draining loam with neutral pH. Propagate by semi ripe tip cuttings. Lemon verbena is cut back by frost, so should be winter mulched in cool climates. In heavy frost areas grow in a pot and bring it under protection during winter dormancy. Trim to shape . Bushes often leaf out very late in spring; don’t discard them prematurely.
Leaves can be harvested at any time to use fresh or for air-drying. The leaves are best used fresh and young. Use sparingly, otherwise the flavour can overwhelm the food and be reminiscent of lemon scented soap. It is a common ingredient in many herbal teas, imparting a wonderfully fragrant flavour, and can be substituted for lemon grass in Asian recipes. The leaves are used to give a lemon flavour to fruit salads and other fruit dishes, desserts and drinks. Infuse them in custard based sauces for desserts or finely chop and add to Asian dishes, poultry and stuffings. Add whole leaves to apple jelly, and chopped young leaves to fruit salads. With its digestive and relaxant properties, the tea is ideal for drinking after dinner.
information sourced from The Complete Book of Herbs
My guess is that you’re getting pretty wet in Scotland. A change from SA:)
we did indeed get wet! and cold 🙂
Hope you’re having fun in Scotland, Tandy. xxx
thanks AD 🙂
Have a wonderful time in Scotland my friend 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
🙂
Wonder what you are up to today in Scotland…
🙂 Mandy
On the 27th we were in Edinburgh, eating the most amazing meal at The Kitchin 🙂
This is not something I have much experience with cooking… I need to change that! 🙂
let me know if you find it 🙂
Enjoy your holiday, Tandy!
thanks Pink 🙂
Can. Not. Wait. To see those Scotland pix.
I have a lot of editing to do, which if I can do so over the weekend will mean a whole blog to read for you next week 🙂
I cannot wait to hear about your explorations in Scotland. Take care and safe travels. BAM
thanks BAM! I will post more about how to see what we did when I have settled back in to my routine 🙂
Hope you are having a great time in scotland.:-)
thanks, we did!
It´s a beautiful herb – need to buy a pot!
hope you find some!
Just the name lemon verbena conjures up images for me.. have a wonderful trip!
thanks Smidge. it has such a lovely scent 🙂