TRYING DIFFERENTLY
The way I did it.
I added fresh herbs to my recipes—without growing them myself.
Fresh herbs make any recipe taste better. I believe it! And this week, I added fresh dill to my cucumber and bean salad, and fresh oregano and parsley to my tortellini pasta.
How I got to this point is a bit of a roundabout adventure.
For years, I’ve wanted a fresh herb garden of my own. In my imagination, I have matching gardening gloves, sun hat, and apron. I happily snip herbs and place them gently into a rustic wicker basket to the tune of “That’s Amore.” Let’s just call it my interpretation of that wonderful film, Under the Tuscan Sun.
The real-life version is more of a tale of insanity.
My first plan was to build aboveground planter boxes for my backyard. I diagrammed the boxes—size, shape, and height—and then made a list of the lumber and the other materials I would need. The idea was to build them the next weekend. The next weekend never came.
I hatched my next plan at the garden center, where I found a huge round blue terracotta pot and snagged it for an incredibly low price. With the help of the garden center staff, I wrestled it into the back of my truck, and my husband helped unload it when I got home. I placed it on a stand and filled it with starter plants … basil, oregano, and mint. Two weeks later, the plants were dead.
Not to be discouraged, I rotated the pot slightly, and once again filled it with my favorite herbs of basil, oregano, and mint. And they died again. And again. And yet again. No amount of pot rotation, watering schedules, or adjusting for the sun changed their fate.
Isn’t that the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing and expecting different results?
Then there’s one of my mantras … To do something right, you must do it from scratch. I may be paraphrasing a bit, but the idea of making things from scratch has always been important to me. Unfortunately, in this case, it means that I don’t have any fresh herbs!
Until now.
Last week, a friend gave me a dish garden filled with beautiful fresh herbs. The dill, oregano, and parsley were beautiful shades of deep leafy green and ready to harvest. I didn’t have to re-pot them. I didn’t have to wait for them to grow. And, most importantly, I didn’t have to start from scratch. I didn’t have to do anything but clip, wash, and chop to finally have fresh herbs in my recipes.
The dish garden was the perfect size for my kitchen counter, which may have also contributed to my success. Rather than a pot in the backyard—which was out of sight and out of mind—the container was within easy reach. It felt like it was calling to me!
For years, I’ve been trying to become someone who grows herbs. It turns out that I just needed to become someone who uses them.
The way I did it. Trying differently.
This is part of what I’m calling Expeditionvision—my quest to find what a meaningful life looks like. One experiment per week, possible strategies for a happier life. Trying things on purpose and paying attention to what happens. I’m not offering advice or giving instructions. I’m just sharing the way I did it. If there’s something that you’ve been wanting to try—but haven’t—I’d love to hear about it. I’m open to reader suggestions for future experiments.
Field Notes: For Paid Subscribers
Paid subscribers, I’ve added a short field notes section below with what surprised me the most, what I didn’t expect, what I might do next time, and the things I’m still working on.