Tusser’s List
Seeds and Herbs for the Kitchen.
1. Avens.
2. Betony.
3. Bleets or beets, white or yellow.
4. Bloodwort.
5. Bugloss.
6. Burnet.
7. Borrage.
8. Cabbages, remove in June.
9. Clary.
10. Coleworts.
11. Cresses.
12. Endive.
13. Fennel.
14. French Mallows.
15. French Saffron, set in August.
16. Lang de beef.
17. Leeks, remove in June.
18. Lettuce, remove in May.
19. Longwort (Lungwort).
20. Liverwort (probably Agrimonia Eupatoria).
21. Marigolds, often cut.
22. Mercury (Chenopodium Bonus Henricus).
23. Mints, at all times.
24. Nep (Nepeta Cataria).
25. Onions, from December to March.
26. Orache or arache, red and white (Atriplex hortensis).
27. Patience.
28. Parsley.
29. Penny-royal.
30. Primrose.
31. Poret (a leek or small onion according to some writers, Garlick).
32. Rosemary, in the spring time, to grow south or west.
33. Sage, red or white.
34. English Saffron, set in August.
35. Summer Savory.
36. Sorrell.
37. Spinage.
38. Succory.
39. Siethes (Chives).
40. Tansey.
41. Thyme.
42. Violets of all sorts.
Herbs and Roots for Salads and Sauce.
1. Alexanders at all times.
2. Artichokes.
3. Blessed Thistle, or Carduus Benedictus.
4. Cucumbers, in April and May.
5. Cresses, sow with lettuce in the spring.
6. Endive.
7. Mustard-seed, sow in the spring, and at Michaelmas.
8. Musk, Mellion, in April and May.
9. Mints.
10. Purslane.
11. Radish, and after remove them.
12. Rampions.
13. Rocket, in April.
14. Sage.
15. Sorrell.
16. Spinage, for the summer.
17. Sea-holy.
18. Sparage, let grow two years and then remove.
19. Skirrets, set these plants in March.
20. Succory.
21. Tarragon, set in slips in March.
22. Violets of all colours.
These buy with the penny
Or look not for any.
1. Capers.
2. Lemons.
3. Olives.
4. Oranges.
5. Rice.
6. Samphire.
Herbs and Roots, to Boil or to Butter.
1. Beans, set in winter.
2. Cabbages, sow in March and after remove.
3. Carrots.
4. Citrons, sow in May.
5. Gourds, in May.
6. Navews, sow in June (Brassica Napus).
7. Pompions, in May.
8. Parsnips, in winter.
9. Runcival Pease, set in winter.
10. Rapes, sow in June.
11. Turnips, in March and April.
Strewing Herbs of all Sorts.
1. Basil, fine and busht, sow in May.
2. Balm, set in March.
3. Camomile.
4. Costmary.
5. Cowslips and Paggles.
6. Daisies of all sorts.
7. Sweet Fennell.
8. Germander.
9. Hyssop, set in February.
10. Lavender (Lavendula vera).
11. Lavender Spike (L. spica).
12. Lavender Cotton.
13. Marjoram, knotted, sow or set in the spring.
14. Maudeline.
15. Pennyroyal.
16. Roses of all sorts, in January and September.
17. Red Mints.
18. Sage.
19. Tansy.
20. Violets.
21. Winter Savory.
Herbs, Branches, and Flowers for Windows.
1. Bays, sow or plant in January.
2. Bachelor’s Buttons.
3. Bottles, blue, red, and tawny.
4. Columbines.
5. Campions.
6. Cowslips (Tusser here meant Oxlips).
7. Daffodils or Daffodondillies.
8. Eglantine or Sweet-Brier.
9. Fetherfew.
10. Flower Amour, sow in May (Amaranthus).
11. Flower de Luce.
12. Flower-Gentle, white and red (Amaranthus).
13. Flower Nice.
14. Gillyflowers, red, white, and Carnations, set in spring and at harvest in pots, pails, or tubs, or for summer, in beds.
15. Holyoaks, red, white, and Carnations (Hollyhocks).
16. Indian Eye, sow in May, or set in slips in March (Dianthus Plumarius).
17. Lavender of all sorts.
18. Larksfoot (Larkspur).
19. Laus tibi (Narcissus Poeticus).
20. Lillium Convallium.
21. Lilies, red and white, sow or set in March and September.
22. Marigolds, double.
23. Nigella Romana.
24. Pansies, or Heartsease.
25. Paggles, green and yellow (Cowslips).
26. Pinks of all sorts.
27. Queen’s Gilliflowers (Hesperis Matronalis).
28. Rosemary.
29. Roses of all sorts.
30. Snapdragon.
31. Sops in wine (Pinks).
32. Sweet Williams.
33. Sweet Johns (Dianthus Barbatus).
34. Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum Umbellatum).
35. Star of Jerusalem (Tragopogon pratensis).
36. Stock Gilliflowers of all sorts.
37. Tuft Gilliflowers.
38. Velvet flowers, or French Marigolds (Tagetes patula).
39. Violets, yellow and white.
40. Wall Gilliflowers of all sorts.
Herbs to still in Summer.
1. Blessed Thistle.
2. Betony.
3. Dill.
4. Endive.
5. Eyebright.
6. Fennel.
7. Fumitory.
8. Hyssop.
9. Mints.
10. Plantane.
11. Roses, red and damask.
12. Respies (Rubus Idæus).
13. Saxifrage (Pimpinella saxifraga or Saxifraga granulata, or perhaps, Carum Carvi).
14. Strawberries.
15. Sorrel.
16. Succory.
17. Woodroffe, for sweet waters and cakes.
Necessary Herbs to grow in the Garden for Physic, not rehearsed before.
1. Anise.
2. Archangel (Angelica).
3. Betony.
4. Chervil.
5. Cinquefoil (Potentida reptans).
6. Cummin.
7. Dragons (Arum Maculatum).
8. Dittary or garden ginger (Lepidium Latifolium).
9. Gromwell seed (Lithospernum officinale).
10. Hart’s tongue.
11. Horehound.
12. Lovage.
13. Liquorice.
14. Mandrake.
15. Mugwort.
16. Peony.
17. Poppy.
18. Rue.
19. Rhubarb.
20. Smallage.
21. Saxifrage.
22. Savin.
23. Stitchwort.
24. Valerian.
25. Woodbine.
Thus ends in brief,
Of herbs the chief,
To get more skill,
Read whom ye will;
Such mo to have,
Of field go crave.