Unusual Vegetable Plants

Lemon Verbena- Aloysia Triphylla - Lippia Citriodora

.
Lemon Verbena is not very hardy and must be placed under cover to protect it from the Winter frosts after cutting back in the Autumn to shape up the plant. Needing a warm, well drained and moist spot it should be pruned again in the Spring to remove any dead tips and encourage new growth otherwise the new growth will appear at the top of the old woody stems making it straggly. Being very tender it can be late sprouting new leaves and can be as late as mid-May before producing the tender new growth that is best suited for the kitchen.

The leaves are best finely chopped, as they are quite coarse, before being used in the kitchen as an infusion in, oil, vinegar or water to flavour sauces. In France Lemon Verbena is often used to make lemon flavoured tea called "Tisane de vervain." It is said that drying the leaves can concentrate the flavour.

Lemon Verbena does not grow very large so will happily grow in a tub and this will enable the plant to be placed in a cool greenhouse over Winter for protection from the worst of the cold nights. Plants can readily be bought from garden centres, but root fairly easily, from softwood cuttings, or more mature growth later in the season.