I bought a nice lovage plant today and rue and chickory seeds. Any ideas on what I should do with them? I know lovage and rue are good companions and I need to look up with what. Chickory has cute blue flowers and was cheap.

Have you done any reading up on them yet? SERIOUSLY recommended - especially for the Rue (perennial), which is used these days purely as an ornamental or curiousity in an old-time medicinal herb garden. When I had my herbal landscaping business I strongly cautioned folks beforehand who wanted to include it in their gardens (medicinal gardens, Shakespearean, Biblical gardens, etc.). Just brushing against this plant can leave long red marks &/or a rash on your skin that can take months to disappear. Do not ingest it or sell preparations from it, please. Do not add it to any "potpourris", or any other dried preparation you might be selling. Many, many people (myself included) are very allergic to it - & it's not pleasant. I'm assuming that you're talking about Ruta graveolens, & not Meadow Rue, which is a completely different plant.

As for Lovage, it's a HUGE perennial plant (can reach 4'-5') best suited to the back of the herb border. Has an intense celery scent/flavor & thus is used sparingly in soups & stews. The stems are hollow, & smaller ones make unique "straws" for Bloody Marys.

As for the Chicory, it could be an annual, biennial, or a perennial depending on what type you bought. Regardless of what you do with it, at least it's safe.

I grow lovage and dry it for winter herb blends.
I cut and dry lovage sometime in early June.
New leaves will come up from roots over the summer(thus,the plant is never 5feet for me in Z4)...and the plant will be quite robust come fall.
This is a long lived plant that winters over well in Z4.

I still haven't chosen a spot for my lovage plant. As for the rue and chicory I will save the seeds til next year. I gotta find a spot for that lovage...

Minnie, I just found this about lovage as a companion plant:

Lovage is considered a "magic bullet" companion plant; much as borage helps protect almost all plants from pests, so lovage is thought to improve the health of almost all plants.

The root of lovage, which contains a heavy, volatile oil, is used as a mild aquaretic. Lovage root contains furanocoumarins which can lead to photosensitivity.

So sounds like we shouldn't have much of it to eat.

Breezy, how interesting about the straws!