The heat is unlikely to kill your herbs - my garden here in the fierce heat of the subtropics attests to that! If you're using your herbs enough, you don't need to do much more trimming. But you can do it at any time. Rule of thumb is to take off no more than one-third of total growth at any one time. My mints are happier in partial shade. Just make sure you keep the soil consistently moist (which doesn't mean soggy). You coriander will bolt to seed once the heat hits it. It's too hot for it even in winter where I live. Let it go to seed, because that way, you'll ensure a constant supply of the leaves, once the patch becomes well established. I don't know of any herb that you can't freeze. However, some, like parsley, and dill, will be limp on thawing, so no good for garnishing. You can freeze herbs in an ice-cube container, but I prefer to put them into a plastic bag and make a thin, flat pancake of it which can be easily broken off in required amounts. No talent, no special skills required. Plenty of pesto recipes have been posted here before. Mix up your leftovers into some sour cream or yoghurt or cream cheese to make a dip or spread. Or put a spoonful onto baked jacket potatoes. Stir some into your veges, meatballs or meatloaf, or use it as a sauce for them. Here is a link that might be useful: pesto

You can use fruit/herb jellies on bread, scones or English muffins. Use them to fill cakes. Add some to a trifle (chopped, it's a pretty decoration on top of the custard) and also on top of Pavlova. You can also serve vegetables with a herb or fruit jelly as a sort of melting glaze. Mint goes with a lot of veges (carrots and peas especially), a lemon jelly would be nice on just about any vege, too. Don't be afraid to experiment with combinations - you are only limited by your imagination and personal taste! Savoury Herb Jelly 2kg tart cooking apples or crab apples, roughly chopped 900ml water 300ml wine vinegar good handful of fresh herbs 360g sugar per 600ml juice Boil the apples with the water and vinegar. Add the herbs and simmer. Cook until the apples are soft. Strain through muslin overnight. Measure the juice, return to the saucepan and add the sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then boil until setting point is reached, taking care not to let it boil over. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Pour into sterilized jars and add a few leaves as decoration if desired. Store in a cool, dark cupboard. Suitable herbs are Basil, Mint, Rosemary, Sage, Savory, Thyme. A sweet jelly may be made in the same way, but instead of vinegar, substitute 1 litre of water. Suitable herbs for sweet jellies are Bergamot, Calendula, Lavender flowers, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Scented Geranium leaves (Rose, Apple, Peppermint, Lemon, Lime), Violet. Apple Jelly 3kg apples, cut into quarters 1 lemon, cut up sugar Place apples in a heavy saucepan with the lemon, cover with water. Boil to a pulp. Place a piece of muslin into a colander, pour in apple mixture and leave overnight to drain into a basin. Return liquid to a saucepan, add 500g sugar for each 600ml of liquid. Boil for about 45 minutes or until the jelly will set. Pour into clean, dry, warm jars and seal. Add any of the following in the final stage of simmering; lavender flowers, rose petals, scented geranium leaves, rosemary leaves, lemon or lime leaves, lemongrass stems, a few dried cloves, slices of ginger root. Use the sweet jellies on scones or bread, and the savoury jellies with cold meats. Or replace half the apples with blackberries, mulberries, raspberries, lillipillies etc. Blackberry Jelly 4 cups blackberry juice (takes about 5 cups blackberries and 3/4 cup water) 3 cups sugar To prepare juice. Select about 1/4 under-ripe and 3/4 ripe berries. Sort and wash; remove any stems or caps. Crush the berries; add water; cover; and bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Extract juice. To make jelly. Measure juice into a saucepan. Add sugar and stir well. Boil over high heat until jelly mixture sheets from a spoon. Remove from heat; skim off foam quickly. Pour jelly immediately into hot containers and seal. Elderberry Jelly As it is a juicy fruit, it will not need the addition of any more liquid than, perhaps, a squeeze of lemon. Equal quantities of Elderberry juice and apple juice, and apple juice from peeling, will require 750g of sugar to 500ml. Lavender Cake with Lavender Jelly 2 eggs, separated 1/4 cup hot water 1 teaspoon vanilla 3/4 cup brown sugar pinch salt 1 cup wholemeal pastry flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 3 tablespoons lavender jelly lavender flowers for garnish Preheat oven to 170C. Grease a 20cm round cake tin. Beat together the egg yolks, water and vanilla until pale. Slowly beat in 1/2 cup sugar. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy, add salt, then beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Stir 1/4 cup of the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Spoon remaining whites into the yolk mixture and sift the flour and baking powder over. Carefully fold in the flour. Spoon into prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes until done. Invert pan onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely before removing the tin. Split the cake into layers and sandwich together with lavender jelly. Decorate with lavender flowers. Lavender Jelly 4 tablespoons dried lavender flowers 4 tablespoons powdered pectin 3 cups apple juice 2 tablespoon lemon juice 3 cups brown sugar Line a sieve with a double thickness of cheesecloth. Cut a circle of cheesecloth, put lavender flowers in the centre and tie up to form a small bag. In a large saucepan, combine the pectin and apple juice, stirring until the pectin is dissolved. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Stir in lemon juice and sugar and add the lavender bag. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove bag. Strain through cheesecloth into sterilised jars and seal. You might like to check out the following link, too. Here is a link that might be useful: unusual jellies

I've been fighting them for years and have used everything under the sun. Last fall I did see some improvement, but I can't say which treatment gets the credit. Too bad I didn't use a different treatment on each hosta bed and keep a journal on the progress. I don't even remember who/where I heard to use neem oil....I believe it was a company that had refused to sell me Zerotol and told me to use the neem oil instead. My mother, who has lived with us for the past 3 yrs is now on hospice and I've really been laxed this yr with the soon dreaded nematode problem. I've only used the Bayer stuff so far. I'll spray the neem oil tomorrow..can't hurt them. Wish I had ordered some Merit granules..Cheap and easy to use. I still have some Zerotol left, but I don't know if it's still good from a few years ago. I hate using that stuff! I doubt if I'll be doing the heat treatment this fall...I'm just too busy, too old and too fat for all that work.

Happiness Tea 2 parts chamomile 2 parts lemon balm 2 parts rose petals and hips 1/4 part lavendar blossoms Mix herbs together. Use one tablespoon per cup of hot water, steep, and enjoy an uplifting cup of herbal tea! Source: http://www.wic.net/waltzark/herbrecipe.htm