Mother’s Herb Garden: The Lovage Plant

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The lovage plant has dark green leaves that look and smell like celery, and yellow flowers that bloom in June or July.
The lovage plant has dark green leaves that look and smell like celery, and yellow flowers that bloom in June or July.
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A mature lovage plant may reach six feet in height or more.
A mature lovage plant may reach six feet in height or more.
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Medieval monks prized lovage for its medicinal and culinary uses.
Medieval monks prized lovage for its medicinal and culinary uses.

Lately, more and more people have begun to understand just how limited in both variety and nutritional value our “modern” diets have become. This realization has sparked a new and wide spread interest in the culinary and therapeutic uses of herbs–those plants which, although not well-known today–were honored “guests” on the dinner tables and in the medicine chests of our grandparents’ homes just one short generation ago. In this regular feature, MOTHER EARTH NEWS will examine the availability, cultivation, and benefits of our “forgotten” vegetable foods and remedies … and–we hope–help prevent the loss of still another bit of ancestral lore.


If you find celery hard to grow–and the cost of buying it prohibitive–then lovage (Levisticum officinale) may be just what you’re looking for! The lovage plant is an easy-to-cultivate perennial herb that tastes like the “real thing” and can be used whenever celery is desired: in soups, salads. casseroles, and stuffings. And given the proper soil and growing conditions, the pretty plant will mature to a height of sex feet or more!

Many people have never heard of this fine herb, but it’s been around for centuries. The Romans thought enough of the tall, aromatic plant to take it with them to England, and lovage was grown in medieval monastery gardens for medicinal, as well as culinary, uses. Dr. Samuel Johnson recommended the long-lasting perennial for rheumatism, while the American colonists brought it with them to make a favorite tea they hoped would help ward off the New World’s aches and pains.

Stalk It to Me!

  • Published on May 1, 1979
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