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Visitors welcome at garden of herbal delights

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BY YVETTE C. HAMMETT

yhammett@tampatrib.com

Published: July 1, 2009

VALRICO - Perched on the end of a short lane, away from the traffic and suburban hubbub, a humble herb nursery sits in the shadows of giant oaks. A wispy breeze blows through, working to fend off the heavy summer air.

Willow La Monte sits at a table near a pitcher of freshly brewed lemon grass tea recounting her years as a folk herbalist and organic gardener.

It was her mother, Avis La Monte, who got the "back-to-the-land bug" just after La Monte graduated high school in 1970. She bought a generations-old organic farm in Massachusetts and set out to teach her girls the ins and outs of herbs, native plants and such.

La Monte recalls the scent from her mother's kitchen, as she ground a potpourri with her mortar and pestle to use in one dish or another.

Today, La Monte is the teacher. She started her own business on her 1-acre lot about three years ago and now shares her knowledge with others.

On July 26, she'll host Tropical Delight Plant Faire at her nursery from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., where visitors can learn about tropical edibles they can easily grow in their Central Florida gardens.

"Here, people have lawn-care service," La Monte said. "In Massachusetts, they have gardeners." Bringing that way of thinking to Central Florida is one of her goals, she said.

Her day-long plant exposition will feature lessons on growing organics, permaculture, which is planting self-sustaining beds, and growing tropical and subtropical edible plants. "They can purchase them, see how they grow and taste them."

She has organics that can be used as salad greens, she has edible flowers and an abundance of fragrant and tasty herbs dotting her garden and growing in her greenhouse.

"She really knows how to clarify what true organic gardening is," said Cathleen Miller, of Belleair, who has taken an organic gardening class from La Monte and is now in her six-week-long herbal healing series.

"I've learned more about composting and companion planting," Miller said. "It's fun and she helps you to not be so intimidated by organic gardening."

La Monte is big on companion planting, or planting various plants close together that can be beneficial to each other. She'll grow parsley, for example, in a vegetable garden. The tiny wasps attracted to the parsley lay their eggs inside the caterpillars that pillage the vegetables.

And as someone disabled, she has plenty of tips on how to garden while dealing with physical limitations, such as raised beds and sunken paths.

"Working with plants in various ways is part of my lifestyle, she said.

TROPICAL DELIGHT PLANT FAIRE

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 26, with a rain date of Aug. 2

WHERE: Willow Herbal Delight Gardens in Valrico. For directions and registration, call (813) 643-7285.

WHAT: Learn from gardening expert Monica Moran Brandies, taste edibles from the garden, purchase plants and books on organic gardening, purchase organic cotton clothing and hear speakers on various gardening topics and listen to Caribbean music by Key of Life

BRING: Canned goods to be distributed to area food banks

ADMISSION: Free

To view a photo gallery from the herb garden, go to tbo.com and enter keyword: Willow. Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 627-4763.

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