Amanda Montgomery, garden education coordinator at the Weinstein JCC, started Hummingbird Garden in her backyard in 2015. Though she had grown mostly vegetables before, she began to grow herbs to complement what other farmers were growing in the area.
Montgomery began to sell her herbs in a subscription-based service to restaurants such as East Coast Provisions last year. After getting positive feedback, she decided to expand to offer a home garden share this year.
Subscribers will receive 12 shares from May through October, with each share including a local floral arrangement, two culinary herbs and an extra local item. “You get to experience the whole season,” Montgomery says. “I grow really funky herbs that you might not be able to get in the store.”
This year she plans to grown seven types of basil, different varieties of mint including chocolate mint and orange mint, and many other herbs. “It challenges people to try something kind of outside of what they know already,” she says.
Each share will include recipes and suggestions for using the herbs. “I’m not going to give them herbs and say to just go for it,” Montgomery explains.
Subscribers can pick up their share every other Thursday at Perk! Bon Air or Little House Green Grocery in Bellevue. The six-month subscription is $300, paid in three installments. Visit the Hummingbird Garden website for details.
