April 15: National Send-in-Your-Taxes Day.

April 16: National Eggs Benedict Day. You deserve something special, after getting your taxes finished yesterday (didn't you?)

April 17: Today is the birthday (1799) of early cookbook author, Eliza Acton

April 19: National Garlic Day

For many of us, spring hasn't begun until we've sown our first herb seeds outdoors. If your herb garden gets sun for most of the day, the soil is warming up. When the night-time temperatures are in the 50s and your last frost date is past, you're good to go. Here are some of the herbs easily grown from seed.

• Catmint (Nepeta mussinii). Try growing catmint rather than catnip—the blooms are prettier. Cats rarely bothers plants grown from seed. Sow 4 inches apart, thin to 12.
• Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus). You'll love the bright, cheerful colors. And did you know that you can pickle the seeds and use them like capers? 'Dwarf Jewel' is a favorite.
• Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum). Cilantro doesn't transplant well, so outdoor sowing is best. Plant 1-2" apart, thin to 4. Planting every two weeks will give you cilantro all summer long. The blossoms are nice in salads, the spicy leaves a must for salsa. A staple in Southwestern cuisine.
• Dill (Anethum graveolens). Fresh dill leaves are wonderful with grilled salmon, eggs, and salads, and the seeds are an essential ingredient in pickles. Try the shorter variety, 'Fernleaf,' as a pretty garden border, and the old-fashioned taller varieties for flavor.
• Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis). Great for bees, a necessity for herbal teas.
• Parsley (Petroselinum crispum). Try it as a border plant, and as close to the kitchen door as possible.
• Sage (Salvia officinalis). The gray-green leaves (or try the attractive tri-color sage) make it an attractive landscape plant. 'Berggarten' has larger leaves and a softer taste.

For all the help you'll need to grow, harvest, and use herbs, read The Herb Society of America's Essential Guide to Growing and Using Herbs

Celebrate Garlic Day with China Bayles at St. Theresa's, where the sisters grow garlic. A Rueful Death is "a page turner and soul to spare," says Publishers Weekly. (Check out the recipe for an easy garlic spread—scroll down to the bottom of the page)

Learn why Eliza Acton is famous and read her recipe for Bakewell Pudding. She wrote a small collection of poems, but it was her Modern Cookery (published in 1845) that brought her the widest attention. The book established the format for the modern recipe, with ingredients and method listed separately. She also wrote The English Bread Book, published in 1857.

Serve a delightful Eggs Benedict with herbs for brunch this weekend. You'll find a great recipe here.

Take a field trip to your backyard to study dandelions. For the full story of this ubiquitous herb, read The Teeth of the Lion, a lively, informative study of the plant everybody loves to hate—and hates to love. Have lots of dandelion leaves and flowers? Eat 'em! Go here for recipes.

Try the recipe for Ellie Hanson's Tomatillo Salsa Verde, featured in Chapter Seven of Nightshade, China Bayles' new mystery. And learn all about tomatillos—those zingy, trendy nightshade cousins—from the Gourmet Sleuth.

Bees are very fond of Horehound nectar, and the honey they make from the flowers where they are abundant has a high reputation, and used to be almost as popular as Horehound candy. —Maud Grieve, Culinary Herbs & Condiments, 1934

To find out what's going on in Susan Albert's life in the Texas Hill Country, read Susan's blog.