I bought a curry seedling at the Tree Hugger’s Ball on Saturday because I love anything to do with curry. Right now, it’s a scrawny little thing, looks like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree for gnomes. Actually, it looks like a cross between lavender and rosemary with soft, gray-green foliage. Upon Googling the curry plant, I found out that it does well in crappy soil, is a good sport about water, doesn’t require mulching and bugs avoid it. Truly my kind of plant. Oh, and it grows to a height of about 30 inches or so. Hmm? In my little yard?

But here’s the bad part. It doesn’t taste curry-like at all. Its name derives from its scent, which can smell like curry. Mine doesn’t. Maybe later. But as I learned from The Herb Gardener, there are a lot of uses for the curry plant: chopped fine it complements mild dishes and ingredients like eggs, yogurt, mild cheeses and even fish. It enhances vinegar blends and makes a nice garnish, too. Oh, and if my little plant survives and takes over my yard I can make herb wreaths and potpourri and maybe sell them along Laguna Canyon Road. Can’t you just see it?