One common use of the ground leaves is in a bloody mary. It is possible to eat the leaves if they are finely ground. The leaf doesn’t soften as it cooks and has sharp edges, so it is commonly removed from the dish before serving. Commonly added to soups, stews and sauces that all cook a relatively long time, the bay leaf adds a subtle flavor and scent to the broth. Of course, we all know about bay leaves in the kitchen. The Olympics still use the laurel wreath as a symbol of superiority. Ancient Greeks and Romans “laureated” outstanding poets, athletes and rulers. Throughout history, bay laurel has been symbolic of excellence, great achievement and having close connections with the god Apollo. As a purely ornamental plant, it would be an excellent choice, but wait, there’s more. The leaves also are nice to cut and bring into the house by themselves or with flowers. It is drought-tolerant and doesn’t need fertilizing, bugs show no interest in it, and it is generally one of the truly independent plants in my garden. The leaves are dark green, glossy and dense on the bush. In addition to its flexibility of form, the bay is an evergreen that looks nice all year. Herbalists, on the other hand, extract essential oils from the berries and use them as scents in soap and aromatherapy and along with the leaves in alternative medicines. Many people grow bay for years without noticing the flowers. For the most part, these parts are ignored. Both have very small yellowish flowers, and the females produce tiny berries. A row of bays will make a nice dense hedge or screen to hide unsightly areas or create “rooms” in your garden.īay trees are either male or female. Mine is about 15 years old, and it is maybe 18 to 20 feet tall (maybe because I’ve forgotten geometry). It wants to be a bush, but if you continue to trim away the lower limbs and leaves, it will look like a tree. You can put it in the ground and it will become either a tree or a large bush. You can plant it in a small pot and it will stay small you can plant it in a large pot and trim it to look like a Christmas tree, volleyball or piglet, and it will grow happily to a slightly larger size. One of the nice things about the bay is that it is quite agreeable to be just about any size you want it to be. While there are many plants that call themselves “bay” or “laurel,” this is the real deal. The plant itself is ancient and beautiful. Everyone who has ever hung out in a kitchen is familiar with the crispy greenish-brown leaves that appear on a spice rack as bay leaf. While I freely admit that roses are my favorite bushes, my other favorite is the bay laurel (Laurus nobilis). These are not easy to find, but the original species Shantung is a very satisfying tree and one that works well in home gardens in Central Texas. The patented and named cultivars will give more vibrant colors - Fire Dragon, Mainstreet and Super Dragon. Mine is generally yellow rather than red or orange or purple, but it is still a spot of color in our otherwise not particularly inspiring fall display. The ones on the internet are very bright and showy. Color depends on whether you buy a named variety or just the regular Shantung maple, whether there is rain, what the temperature does, and so forth. The tree is pretty all summer with healthy green leaves. All in all, it is a well-behaved tree that demands very little from its people. While it does produce small yellow flowers in the spring, it doesn’t drip pollen, berries or other annoying debris. It grows to only 20-25 feet tall and 20 feet wide with a nice rounded shape and straight trunk. It is a perfect shade tree for small and medium yards and parkways. It tolerates drought, heat, alkaline soil, strong winds and just about anything else we enjoy around here. This maple is unusual in that it can stand up to Texas weather and soil. They like cooler temperatures, less intense sunshine, more reliable rain and acidic soil. The reason they created a state natural area and much ballyhoo about the Lost Maples in Texas is that maples don’t much like Texas. Shantung maple (Acer truncatum) was designated as a Texas Superstar plant by Texas A&M in 2001 (one of only six trees), and while it doesn’t have the fabulous color of Japanese maples, it is a very mannerly and pretty tree. These three are among my favorites because they are attractive, reliable, generally care-free and underused, in my opinion. Gardeners have no trouble picking favorites My favorite is the one blooming, fruiting, growing well and generally making me proud right now.
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