Among the many aromatic herbs that our cuisine is rich in, parsley is in the spotlight. A small tuft is enough to flavor any dish and make it special, giving it not only a special taste, but also many beneficial properties – including digestive, as we have seen. Parsley ( Petroselinum crispum ) is a biennial plant belonging to the Apiaceae family , which includes many other valuable ingredients such as cumin , carrot, celery, parsnip and fennel.
Native to Mediterranean regions , it grows spontaneously in woods and meadows: in appearance it has a robust root and triangular leaves with jagged edges, while the flowers are white or slightly bluish, grouped to form small umbrellas. Growing parsley is not particularly demanding, provided you take some precautions: for example, this plant is particularly afraid of both cold and too intense heat , and grows better where the climate is temperate (in Italy, generally , there are no problems).
The ideal place to plant it is therefore cool and sheltered from direct sunlight (at least during the summer season), possibly in regions where winters are quite short and never too harsh. When it starts to get colder, you may choose to place the plant indoors, perhaps on a windowsill to provide it with the light it needs. Alternatively, if you have to leave it on the balcony, mulch the ground with dry leaves or a little straw, to protect the roots from low temperatures.