Lovage (Levisticum officinale)

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Lovage likes rich, fertile soil and full sun, but it will tolerate some shade. Because it roots deeply, it doesn’t require frequent watering, which makes it a good choice for dry as well as cold climates. Just be sure to give it lots of room; it can grow as tall as 6 feet and as broad as 12 feet, depending how lusty its growth is in your climate. Its bushy form and deep green compound leaves make it an attractive ­foliage plant, but put it in the back of your garden or against a fence so it won’t overshadow shorter plants—­especially in early summer when it sends up tall stalks bearing compound umbels of tiny yellow flowers.

Lovage also makes an impressive centerpiece in a circular herb garden. Given space, it rewards you with an exuberant greeting, its long, slender stalks and vivid green leaves rippling in the summer breeze.

You can harvest lovage’s irregularly toothed, wedge-shaped leaflets all sum­mer and into fall, and this will help keep the plant attractive; older leaves tend to get yellow. The leaves lose much of their fragrance and color when dried; instead, blanch fresh leaves and young stems for about a minute and freeze them in ice cube trays for adding to soups and stews, or bring a plant indoors for the winter—it will be happiest near a sunny window but will tolerate less light. Its shiny leaves will cheer you on dark winter days as well as spicing up winter salads and soups. Potted in a graceful, deep terra-cotta container, lovage makes a lovely, though short-lived, house plant.

You can also dig the fragrant roots in autumn for delicious teas and soups after the plant has been established outdoors for several years. Just wash them, cut them into 1/2-inch-thick pieces, and dry them. A lovage tea made in the winter from the dried roots, which are also sometimes available in health food stores, seems to have the same cheering effect that the plant has in the garden.

Lovage as Food and Medicine

The roots, stems, and leaves of ­lovage have long been used for medicinal purposes, especially as a diuretic. Chewing the leaves was said to sweeten the breath, and the seeds were crushed and taken for improving digestion. American colonists chewed the roots as we chew gum to stay alert.

Lovage once also had cosmetic uses. A tincture of the leaves was made to clear up skin rashes and spots, and put in the bath for fragrance and cleansing. Lovage was the original air freshener—medieval ladies wore a bunch of it around their neck to ward off odors.

Lovage has an intriguing taste somewhere between those of parsley and celery, and most people familiar with lovage today know it as a flavorful culinary herb. Lovage leaves perk up the flavor of otherwise bland foods. Add them to soups or sauces to reduce the need for salt; they will enhance the flavors of other vegetables or fish. Lovage has a special affinity for potatoes in soup or salad. Its fragrance calls up images of the cloistered gardens of medieval monasteries in southern France or the ancient herb gardens in the Italian alps, where lovage was first cultivated.

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