Many years ago I brought home some lovage from a neighbor’s garden, and I planted it along the eastern side of our house, under a screened-in porch. For a long time now it has grown there in abundance every spring, and there is always more than enough to share. This year I’ve been feeding some of it to the chickens, who love greens, especially the lemon balm that grows all over our property. Lovage tastes something like celery, but it grows up to five feet high on thick multi-branched stalks. It’s impossible to use it up. It’s quite beautiful, and would make a great addition to any herb or flower garden. It self-seeds every year, and my patch is easily 20 years old, if not more.

Here’s a lovely soup you can make with lovage. If you don’t happen to have access to any, you can make this soup with celery instead. Continue reading →