Lovage: An Autumn Herb full of Memory and Magic

And a recipe for a “stuffing soup” — all the flavors of the season tucked into a steaming bowl.

Some herbs carry the brightness of summer, all green fire and quickening. Others belong to the deepening year, with roots that reach down, steadying us as the light wanes. Lovage is one of those. Though it’s harvested mostly in midsummer, its taste is pure autumn — rich, savory, and reminiscent of Thanksgiving tables and kitchen gardens that smell of sage and stock. I’ve always thought of it as an herb that slips ahead of its season, carrying the memory of autumn even while the sun is still high.

In folklore, lovage was carried as a charm for love and protection, and its fragrant leaves were once tucked into traveling satchels to guard against weariness. To me, its energy is strong, earthy, and grounding — a plant that belongs to soups simmering on the stove, to roots pulled from the soil, to evenings when the wind calls us inside.

Growing Lovage in the Garden

Lovage is a perennial — once you plant it, it will come back for years, often bigger and stronger each season. It rises tall, sometimes six feet, with hollow stems and frilly green leaves that look a bit like celery but taste bolder, more mysterious. Bees love its umbels of yellow-green flowers, and so do the beneficial insects who make their home in a well-loved garden.

It’s a plant of presence. You don’t need much of it, and in fact, too much can overpower a dish, but to have lovage standing watch in the garden feels like having an old friend — steadfast, generous, and quietly protective. I always dry some leaves in midsummer to keep through winter, though I find myself slipping out for a sprig in autumn, when its flavor feels most right.

It’s not a common herb, and perhaps that’s part of its charm. When you grow lovage, you join a long line of cooks and gardeners who’ve kept it alive for centuries, even as it fell out of fashion. To taste it is to taste something enduring, something that links your kitchen to the old ways.

The rest of this post, including my recipe for Stuffing Soup with Lovage & Turkey Meatballs and other ideas for using this autumn treasure, is for paid subscribers of Forage & Gather.

If you’d like to cook, sip, and season the year with me, I’d love for you to join me at the Seasonal Table.