Borage exudes a lovely cucumber flavour that’ll make you forget all about its hairy leaves—they look scary, but don’t worry, they soften in your mouth. If you haven’t yet made a few pitchers of Pimm’s, it’s hard to consider the summer legitimately begun. And to really channel Martha Stewart, freeze some borage flowers in an ice cube tray with water and throw those pretty purple cubes in your cup.

Hyssop is minty and sharp and, when planted, rumoured to induce bigger grape yields and better cabbages; try pickled cherries with hyssop, or if you’re at the Brooklyn Flea on a lucky Sunday, the watermelon, cucumber and hyssop popsicles at the People’s Popsicle stand (disclaimer: I’m involved). 

Sweet cicely, with its high sugar content and anise-y flavour, is an excellent way to cut down on sugar use when cooking down tart fruit, like in this rhubarb and sweet cicely strudel recipe—maybe we’ll try it in popsicles sometime. 

Lovage, despite its funky celery flavour, is a great, if incongruous, addition to fruit salad (surprisingly, so is tarragon), as well as continuing to steward its more conventional post as a bass flavour underlying soups and stews. A little goes a long way, so be careful. 

Lemon verbena makes wonderful sorbet, and its subtle flavour adds immeasurable appeal to hot water, not to mention lemonade and cocktails.

Finally, there’s chervil, a personal favorite, which you can chuck in salads and broths and omelettes.  It looks delicate, but the licorice-y flavour punches through.

To find these herbs, check your farmer’s market and maybe you’ll get lucky, or locate a nursery and see if they have some young plants. Use the summer to experiment, and who knows, the fall might see you perusing seed catalogues in anticipation of next year….