Summer savory

Satureja hortensis

Lamiaceae

The bean herb — a peppery summer mint that German and Balkan kitchens still put in the pot with pulses.

Culinary annual. Winter savory (S. montana) is a tougher, woodier perennial cousin.

Parts used: Aerial parts
Traditional notes: Kitchen bean pot · After a pulse meal · Traditional digestive
Grow · USDA 6b: Warm-season annual Direct-sow after frost, or start indoors. Thin for air. In work: May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep
Harvest: As it flowers, the flavor peak. Hang-dry.

Sow it next to the beans. That is the old pairing.
Winter savory is a different, woodier plant.

Safety

Mint-family allergy

Companions

Plant with Corn, Green bean, Rosemary.

Lookalikes

Winter savory — Satureja hortensis is the annual bean herb. S. montana is the harsher perennial. A packet that only says ‘savory’ is a guess.

Lore

The Romans called it satureia and thought it a satyr’s herb, which is how you get a bean garnish with a reputation. Charlemagne ordered it planted. In German it is Bohnenkraut — bean-herb — which is the most honest name a mint ever received. A dash in lentils is older than the digestive-tea aisle.

The Herbarium — a teaching catalog, not a clinic. Traditional use is history, not a prescription. USDA 6b dates are a week either way, not a promise. Do not eat, drink, or harvest a plant you cannot name.