<p>After three or four years, I am finally successful in getting some herbs growing. I guess neglect is what I needed to do. I planted oregano-a couple of types, a couple of types of thyme, sage, basil, borage, lavender. I know which is basil, borage and lavender. My ID sticks for the thyme, sage, and oregano no longer help my mess. Can someone direct me to a good site so that I can ID my mess? I thought I could tell by sight/taste but I got confused. I thought I had an oregano but maybe it was a thyme. I thought I had a sage but maybe it was something else. </p>
<p>Also, ants love to travel through the garden to the artichokes. I read once mint is good to ward away ants, my ants did not read the same article. Any non toxic suggestions? Any good way to rinse the ants out of the artichokes before eating?
Thanks</p>
<p>watch out for your borage it is a rampant self sower and please do not plant mint in the ground cause it will come up everyplace.
Can’t help you with artichokes, haven’t grown any, I have read they are trouble-
You could also go to a nursery and make note of what the larger herbs look like, but sages often have fuzzy leaves, thyme is smaller-
I have many thymes- not so much oregano, but like golden oregano, very distinctive.
this is a good general site
[Indoor</a> Herb Garden - UBC Botanical Garden Forums](<a href=“Indoor Herb Garden | UBC Botanical Garden Forums”>Indoor Herb Garden | UBC Botanical Garden Forums)
also this one
[Oregon</a> State Univ., LANDSCAPE PLANTS](<a href=“Oregon State University”>Oregon State University)
and
<a href=“Herbs Forum - GardenWeb”>Herbs Forum - GardenWeb;
<p>Lavender has spikes with purple flowers. Sage has large leaves with a seam down the middle; it also has a large flower spike above the leaves. Thyme has small oval leaves (about the size of your baby toenail) with a subtle seam. Oregano has medium-size leaves. </p>
<p>My mother used to soak artichokes in water with a bit of vinegar to flush out the ants.</p>
<p>Mint is known far and wide for its invasiveness. Only plant it in a pot if you don’t want it everywhere. Oregano is also invasive. I would only plant it in pot, after fighting the invasion of my entire herb garden (and beyond) for two summers.</p>
<p>Thyme spreads nicely but is not invasive, so is often used as ground cover, as well as for herbal purposes, including between stepping stones, etc.</p>
<p>There are many many varieties of thyme and several varieties of sage. All thyme has very small leaves - many even smaller, imo, than what dmd77 describes. Sage comes in various shades of gray-green and also variegated with a purplish element.</p>
<p>Pretty much any book on herb/vegetable gardens would give you photos to help identify.</p>
<p>If you are in LA, I would surely recommend the Sunset Garden book. I have had mine for - oh - 30 years, and it is still my bible.</p>
<p>IMO, sage, when broken or crushed, smells like nothing else, so I think you can figure that one out.</p>
<p>I completely concur with the advice about planting mint and other invasive herbs in pots. I sink those pots in the ground with about 1/2 of the rim showing. Keeps those invaders in their places!</p>
<p>In addition to the picture guides suggested, scents might help you differentiate your plants. Oregano has a distinctive smell. You can try crushing some leaves of a plant in your hands, and compare the scent with that from a jar of the dried herb from your spice rack. Same with sage, as **mafool **suggested above.</p>
<p>I’ve got my mint in a bed by itself, occasionally it selfseeds elsewhere, but it’s easy to pull up. My oregano is not invasive at all, I don’t think it gets enough sun. In fact it died in one window box, but is growing in the cracks of the terrace underneath it instead. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help so far. Fortunately my garden is a feeble attempt at a raised garden. I used bricks to section and raise the garden. The bricks seem to keep the mint under some control. </p>
<p>Why didn’t I think, will compare purchased dry oregano to stuff in garden. The little leaf and bigger leaf stuff both have bite. Hope the smell test will work. </p>
<p>I posted a thread about my problem with slugs (with all the rain we’re getting in the Northeast, it’s starting to look like Invasion of the Slime Creatures). I am determined to stay organic, so tried everything. Wonderful experienced gardeners on cc endorsed the use of diatomaceous earth.</p>
<p>So I sprinkled the diatomaceous earth (DE) just about everywhere on my gardens, and am watching them fiercely. Two days later, I don’t see any slugs, even though it’s still raining and damp. </p>
<p>The bag of DE says to use it for ants, roaches, and other creepy-crawlies. DE is organic, it’s the glassy exoskeleton of diatoms. I bought mine at a garden store, but the internet says you can get it cheaper at pool-supply stores; it is used in pool filters.</p>
<p>I figured out the oregano and sage with your help. Found a bit of thyme. Had some lavender once I pulled back some mint. Didn’t realize I had sweet majoran(found the tag, didn’t remember I had it) It had me really stumped. I also have basil, borage, rosemary. I hope my tomatoes produce this year- I have lots of green ones now. The artichokes just kinda grow by themselves every year:) have some pumpkins but last time I carved a home grown one the kid ( grad student) was about 10.</p>
<p>When possible, I control isolated ant hills through the use of a pot of boiling water poured down the ant hill. It works for a while and is absolutely nontoxic.</p>