Rosemary and dill are still missing. Then the herb garden is full again. Fresh soil lies on the beds, wood chips on the paths between them. Liselotte freitag, erna muller and gisela bulling look after the herb garden in mannsgereuth. The playground, herb garden and cemetery stretch up the hill to the edge of the forest like a green ribbon. The three ladies are responsible for the edible part of this ribbon. In eight beds they cultivate normal herbs that would grow in any other garden. Nothing special. The order is special: the herbs are sorted by herbs for the herb bush, which is traditionally tied in the middle of august on the feast of the assumption of mary. For example with rain fern.
Bleeds and herbs in salad
another bed is full of edible flowers. While christine seemuller-kohles, chairwoman of the mannsgereuth fruit and horticulture association, prefers to eat the yellow or red flowers of the nasturtium, her deputy, liselotte freitag, prefers the sublime yellow flowers of the daylily, which blooms in september. Even borage, which has blue bleeds, grows in the herb garden.
Then there are cake herbs, herbs of the south, herbs for teas and medicinal plants, and edible wild herbs.
"Girsch, for example, I like to add to my salad", says gisela bulling. Among the medicinal herbs, the key flowers are in full bloom. She picks a blood and eats it.
"The beauty of our herb garden is that anyone can come by and pick up herbs.", says friday. Sometimes she gets some maggi herb (lovage) for cooking. But the big run on herbs fails to materialize. Many people in the village have their own herb beds "or simply don’t have the time".
From time to time, youth groups from other horticultural clubs visit the herb garden. The door is always open – and there’s a sign on every plant. Not only the name, but also the use or healing power is written on it. For example, the "real bedstraw, the use for herb bunches, teas and for juice to the clean application. It is diuretic and diaphoretic and helps with chronic skin conditions.
"We got the signs from the environmental station; district technical advisor michael stromer wrote them", says friday.
So everyone can create their own tour of the garden. "We simply don’t have the time for tours", says freitag. Finally, the three ladies have to organize a work detail every two weeks to take care of the flower beds. "But we must not forget our manner", says muller. There is also a trio as a solid core: horst wagner, max treusch, and robert muller are all powerfully involved without having to be reminded to work. "They have an eye for when the grass has to be cut or the benches painted", says friday.
On ascension day, for the first time, there was a service in the herb garden. July is the "currente balsen" of the schmolz trombone choir and on 7. September is this year’s "kaffeeplausch im krautergarten". Then there will be coffee and cake for all who stop by – and of course herb tastings for those who want them. This is possible because the herb garden was completely redesigned in 2007. Only two of the former monastery garden with four quarters remain. "The variety has remained, we just have less of each variety", says freitag. There is now space for a small garden shed and a meadow.
Councilman werner knoth also sees how the members of the horticultural society additionally cut the fruit trees in the field. "I have therefore proposed you for the environmental award of the municipality", says knoth. In the june meeting will be decided on it.