The farmer's market was yesterday. That means two days of baking, snipping, chilling, wiping and preparing garden things, all for 2 hours of mass craziness.

Luckily, it seems that the word has gone out about the wacky herb gardener, and I was sold out of almost everything in 24 minutes! I like to bring a large cooler of homemade ice tea, to share with thirsty shoppers. It is nice when they don't even question what it is, just enjoy a cup.

I had people coming up from neighboring towns to buy my herb soaps and teas, too. The small bags of fresh cut herbs are doing much better than last year.

All of this new interest is due to herb gardens becoming cool again! If you are able to share some of your herbal knowledge this year, please do so. It is wonderful to see more people actually ask about, and use, herbs in their everyday lives. Let's spread the Green!!

My mints are trying to take over! I have 5 varieties of mint: Wild, chocolate, orange, spearmint and peppermint that are loving all the moisture we have been getting. Luckily, I planted them all in ice cream buckets, they are safely contained in a small area, so I can lift them out this fall and keep them from growing everywhere. Have you tried to grow any of the special mints this year? I would love to try some lime scented or cotton candy mint. There are dozens of varieties; all would taste great in teas. If you are planting mints, keep these things in mind:

• Contain the roots - Grow mint where you like, just keep the roots in a pot, so the plant can't take over your yard.
• Keep it moist - Mint loves water. From a pretty glass on a windowsill, to a spot next to your water feature in the garden, mint will love being moist and well watered on a regular basis.
• Separate varieties -If keeping mint pure is your goal, plant them at least 30 feet apart, or keep them vigorously pinched back. Don't let them go to flower, or the pollination will happen and your chocolate mint will no longer taste like chocolate.

Growing mint is so easy. It doesn't need much sun at all, loves to be overwatered, and will keep coming back again and again. Just be certain to make it behave, or you may find that you have mint cropping up forever, anywhere you have a place for it to take hold.

Add this sweet flower to your ice teas. Sugar the petals or add to salads. Love it!!

Not all of us have the perfect place to grow things. What happens if you have a shady yard, or you have no yard and only a shady windowsill, with little to no sun? You can still grow herbs! Some herbs do well their entire growing season in shade or dappled sunlight.

If you do plant a shade garden, be sure to trim back regularly to keep the plants from getting too leggy. If you plan on having a shady garden, here are some other considerations:

• Soil Quality - You may need to increase the organic matter in a shady area. Add composted manure and even topsoil to the area before planting.
• Watering - Shade may mean also protected from natural rainfall and may not be the easiest to reach by hose. Check carefully for adequate water in each location.
• Pruning - I keep mentioning this, but it is important. Your herbs are still plants, and will naturally reach for sunlight, even if they grow well in shade. You will find that pruning is very important for shade grown herbs. Keeping the plant pinched back will keep its attractive shape, and also keep stems from becoming long and weak.

Don't forget that if you want to grow more herbs and are running out of sunny locations, you can always keep them in pots and move them in and out of the sunny areas. Herbs will do very well for 4 or 5 days in the shade, before you have to move them. This also adds to the beauty of your garden, because you are able to change it every few days!