11 Spices You Can Grow Yourself

To prepare the allspice for cooking, you pick the fruit before it matures and then dry it. They can be used whole or ground into a powder. The flavor will usually be better if the fruits are kept whole and ground up right before use. The name allspice refers to the fact that it smells like a combination of several different spices including cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, and nutmeg. Several different kinds of peppercorns are produced on the black pepper liana. The familiar black peppercorns are produced by cooking and drying the immature drupe fruit. You get green peppercorns if you dry the unripened fruit. Once they dry after ripening, they are considered to be white peppercorns. You can also place the red fruit in brine to produce orange or red pepper. As the species name suggests, these shrubs feature spines. There are varieties available that are spineless for easier picking. Peruvian Pepper:

Latin Name: Schinus molleFamily: AnacardiaceaeOther Common Names: False pepper, California pepper, American pepper, Peruvian mastic, escobilla, mastic tree, Peruvian peppertree, molle del Peru, peppercorn tree, pirul, and pepper treeNative to: South AmericaUSDA Zones: 9-11Height: 25-40’ tallExposure: Full sun

Brazilian Pepper:

Latin Name: Schinus terebinthifoliusFamily: AnacardiaceaeOther Common Names: Christmasberry, rose pepper, wilelaiki, Florida holly, aroeira, Brazilian peppertreeNative to: South AmericaUSDA Zones: 9-11Height: 10-45’ tallExposure: Full sun

Baies Rose Plant:

Latin Name: Euonymus phellomanusFamily: CelastraceaeOther Common Names: Spindle tree, cork tree, winged spindlebushNative to: ChinaUSDA Zones: 5-9Height: 8-15’ tallExposure: Full sun to part shade