Savory herb (Satureja species)

Several years ago I was at a plant nursery looking over their various herbs. Among the usual collection of common herbs were ‘winter savory’ and ‘summer savory’. They both looked similar to one another, they smelled relatively similar. I tasted both (yeah, I am that guy) and I liked them. They were both relatively similar to thyme, I already had thyme and I had never eaten savory before so I didn’t get either of them.

Savory, both winter and summer, taste different enough from thyme that they are worth growing. Unlike thyme, savory plants are rarely offered for sale in Australia for some reason. It took me a few years to see either of them again and be able to grow them. I am glad that I did eventually find them again, they are great little herbs.

Overseas savory is often sold in bunches in supermarkets with other fresh herbs, and many people would not know how to cook without it. For some reason savory is relatively unknown in Australia and I have occasionally seen it for sale dried and never in fresh bunches.

Very few people in Australia have every tasted savory, and even fewer have been lucky enough to grow savory. Hopefully that will start to change and more people will be able to eat savory as it adds something special to a meal that thyme is missing.

Savory looks similar to thyme with slightly larger leaves

I find it interesting when I talk to anyone know knows what savory is, they all seem to love savory and most have strong opinions about which type is the best. Some prefer the bolder stronger flavour profile of winter savory, while others love the more subtle and sweeter summer savory. Savory isn’t like polarising herbs such as coriander leaf, it isn’t an acquired taste, and everyone who has eaten savory seems to like it.

Savory can be used fresh or dried in any meal where you would normally use any herbs. We tend to only use it fresh, but that is because I have it growing and it is easier to pick it and use it now rather than think ahead and dry some. I am a better gardener than I am a cook, so rather than try to tell you how to cook with savory I will tell you how I grow it.

Savory is a typical Mediterranean herb, by that I mean it likes full sun and doesn’t need much care. I don’t know if it suffers pests or diseases because mine never have. I grow everything organically, I don’t use the organic poisons, if something is hit by pests or something it may be for the best that I let it die off. Savory plants look and behave a lot like thyme plants. Mine never grows very tall, maybe a little over 20 cm, it slowly spreads but I can’t imagine it ever being invasive.

Like many herbs, regular harvesting seems to make these plants more productive by encouraging leaf growth and delaying flowering. I try not to harvest summer savory too late in the season as I want them to set seed for next year. Normally this isn’t an issue and there are a few plants I didn’t know I had that are flowering somewhere safe.

When harvesting savory you could somehow remove individual leaves, but that sounds like far too much effort. Just like thyme we just cut off sprigs and roughly strip the leaves from them. These sprigs usually have a few leaves still attached, the mostly leafless sprigs can then be planted in soil, or put in a cup of water, where they will act as cuttings and provide you with more plants. Both summer savory and winter savory can grow from cuttings in this way.

Savory flowers are similar to thyme flowers

The two most commonly found varieties are summer savory and winter savory, I grow them both as they are different enough from each other and both nice enough that they have earned a spot in my garden. I also grow the rarer and really delightful lemon savory.

Summer and winter savory are very similar species that to the best of my knowledge won’t hybridise. They both grow into small plants, they both have tiny fragrant edible leaves, and the little flowers are loved by bees and other insect pollinators.

Summer savory (Satureja hortensis) is an annual plant that will grow in spring, flower in summer and autumn, and die off completely before winter. While it is really simple to grow from seed, summer savory seeds are tiny and difficult to collect so I just leave it alone and it seems to self-sow happily. I love growing things that self-seed for me as it means I don’t have to think about them too much, it also means each year selective pressure is applied and they become better adapted to my garden. You can also grow summer savory by cuttings during the warmer months. Summer savory has a delicate and sweet aroma that some people simply adore.

Winter savory (Satureja montana) looks much the same as summer savory, but is a perennial. This grows all year, albeit slower in winter, and can grow from cuttings. They also produce tiny seeds that are difficult to collect, so I normally grow it from cuttings which is far easier. Winter savory has a stronger more peppery aroma that some people prefer. Even if you prefer summer savory it is worth growing this so you always have some form of fresh savory to use.

Lemon savory - my favourite savory

I also grow lemon savory. I am told that there are a few different types of lemon savory, the one I grow appears to be a lemon scented form of winter savory (Satureja montana citriodora). Lemon savory is by far my favourite type of savory! I told you everyone has strong preferences when it comes to savory. With its clear clean lemon taste I prefer this to lemon thyme. This herb looks like the other varieties of savory and is perennial. As they are the same species, lemon savory will cross with regular winter savory, so if saving seed you need to take care. If you propagate these from cuttings (as I recommend you do) then there is no need to worry about trying to keep these two varieties of winter savory apart.

Savory herb is very simple to grow and tastes great. At the moment savory plants are difficult to find in Australia. When I have extra plants I will probably sell a few different varieties of savory and list them on my for sale page.