Savory at the Shakespeare Garden
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Savory at the Shakespeare Garden *
Savory * Satureja hortensis
Highly aromatic, this hardy Mediterranean herb is included in Perdita’s list of “middle summer” flowers “given to men of middle age,” perhaps partly because its juice was thought to cure “dimness of the eyes.”
“Here’s to flowers for you:
Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram,
The marigold, that goes to bed wi’ th’ sun
And with him rises weeping. These are flowers
Of middle summer, and I think they are given
To men of middle age.”
— Peridita, Winter’s Tale (Act IV, Scene IV)
Savory was grown during Elizabethan times for culinary use.
It was introduce to Britain by Roman traders, and early Anglo-Saxon recipes used the spelling “savorie.”
Savory is often added to meat stuffing, puddings, and sauces.
Grown as an annual (summer savory) or perennial (winter savory). Depending on the climate of the area, savory should be planted in the springtime. Plants grow from six to 16 inches high, producing delicate white blooms that are similar to poppies. Savory likes full sun and needs a rich soil. Savory aides in repelling pests when planted near onions and beans.
Savory is from the mint family.
Learn more about our plants at the Shakespeare Garden
