By Diana, Contributing Writer
A great kitchen garden begins with herbs.
Fresh herbs add flavor and freshness to a dish – they add color and vibrance. Fresh herbs can turn the ordinary into something spectacular – like this eggplant bechamel.
Besides their wonderful flavoring to dishes, one of my favorite things about fresh herbs is how incredibly easy they are to grow at home. Even if you’ve never started a garden before, or lack the space, growing herbs will make you feel like a master gardener!
That’s because most herbs are perennial.
That means they come back year after year with absolutely no effort on your part. Some herbs can actually be invasive, like mint, so you’ll want to make sure to plant them in an area that you don’t mind them taking off.
Some of my favorite herbal perennials to grow are chamomile, mint, chives, lavender, dill, oregano, thyme, marjoram, sage, tarragon, and sorrel. I have most of these growing in and around my edible landscaping at home; however, I plan on transplanting some of them to containers on my patio this year.
That’s another great thing about herbs: you can plant them in ground or in containers. If you plan on drying herbs to perserve, like chamomile, I’d suggest finding a good place for them in ground where you don’t mind them expanding year after year.
If this will be your first year planting herbs, one tip to save you money on your herb garden is to take stem cuttings from established plants and propagate them at home.
That’s right, you can simply snip a stem and plant it. There’s no need to pay for a plant when one stem will take off right away!
As you can see, growing herbs is simple. As an encouragement, don’t feel like you need to grow every single herb that there is. Start with a few of your favorites, then expand your herb garden year after year.
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Stacy @Stacy Makes Cents
May 15, 2013 at 4:27 AMOh dear – this makes me feel like an even bigger loser. LOL I can’t even grow herbs. —-> black thumb of death
hsmominmo
May 15, 2013 at 6:19 AMwonderful tips! You must make starts in a cup of water? or do you need to use root powder to get them going? I’m putting out basil plants today!
Christina @ Keeping Home
May 15, 2013 at 6:46 AMI’m curious about stem cuttings. I wonder how sage would do?
I so want to grow herbs! We’ve done well with basil so far. Oregano has been a problem: finding one with taste. We got a plant with a strong smell but it turned out to be blah. 🙁
Amanda
May 15, 2013 at 8:30 AMOh wow, the photos at the end inspire both creativity and envy! 😉 I can’t seem to grow a veggie garden in my suburban neighborhood due to the wildlife we have – deer, turkeys, groundhog, you name it! But, I can grow herbs! I love keeping them growing in pots all winter, too. I love that I can often root the shoots as well. I have rerooted a bunch of basil I received last summer from a friend’s CSA. Each time it starts looking bad or too leggy, I clip off the tops, stick them in a cup of water until they grow roots, then plant in a pot. It’s been awesome!
Diana
May 15, 2013 at 2:53 PMI was so surprised when my oregano turned out to be perennial! I’ve gotten my oregano herb jar filled with dry oregano–I was over the moon when I crumbled my homegrown, home-dried oregano and filled my little jar!
I would love to try marjoram. Glad to know it’s a perennial too! Does the dill actually grow year round, or does it just re-seed itself? It’s great in homemade ranch dressing.
Nuha
May 19, 2013 at 8:44 AMGreat tips and view on how to start my own herb garden. I like the idea of the jars mounted on the wall, very creative and inspirational, might be the style that I will incorporate in my herb garden. I am going to take your advice on starting with a couple favourite herbs then slowly expanding with more. Thank you for sharing these tips.
Jo
June 3, 2013 at 4:48 PMThanks for the inspiration, that recipe looks mouthwatering!
Jessica
June 4, 2013 at 2:02 PMGreat post! I bookmarked your site so I can have a look around when I have more time 🙂