Best Herbs To Start An Herb Garden

Author: Kevin

For an indoor herb garden you should consider planting the best herbs to start an herb garden. To start your herb garden you should choose herbs that are easy to care for and at the same time are very useful. This way your can find success in your efforts and at the same time make the most of what you have grown. There is nothing better than caring for and growing a productive herb garden.

When picking the best herbs to start your herb garden you may want to consider chives. Chives are easy to grow and they are very versatile in the kitchen. The only real demand chives have in an herb garden is that you clip them back often. This so they will not topple over due to their weight from rapid growth. The plants will provide you with many herbs for you to cook and you can even freeze dry for later use.

Thyme is another herb on the list of the best herbs to start an herb garden. Thyme is easy to grow and it is a powerful herb when it comes to flavor. There are several of varieties of thyme to choose from and they are all just as easy to grow. Thyme delivers leaves packed with more flavor the more often you trim them back. Thyme is great for use in savory dished and great to make teas for colds.

Another very versatile herb on the list of the best herbs to start an herb garden is French tarragon. This herb is very useful in dishes made with dairy products and eggs. It is used in winter comfort foods. It is also famous for what it does to enhance dishes made at breakfast and brunch.

On the list of the best herbs to use when starting an herb garden is sweet marjoram. It can be used in any dish where oregano is used. The difference is sweet marjoram does not have the bitterness oregano can sometimes have. Sweet marjoram can add new life to some of the tried and true Italian dishes you enjoy making. Sweet marjoram also offers a different aromatic experience than you receive with oregano.

Sage is a great herb since it is easy to grow and great in several savory dishes such as meat or poultry. Sage can also be used for medicinal purposes. Teas for sore throats and colds can be made from sage. There are many varieties of sage to choose from and they are all easy to grow and use in the kitchen.

Having an herb garden made up of the herbs, which are the best for starting your herb garden, you can expand your cooking experiences. Having all of these herbs at your disposal makes a great reason to look for new recipes you may have never tried or known of before. A simple herb garden can do so much to expand your experiences in cooking. An herb garden can really help you add spice to your life in more ways than one.

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How To Grow And Handle Fresh Herbs From Your Garden Beds Or Your Container Garden

Fresh herbs are now more available than ever. The best way to get fresh herbs is to grow your own in either a garden bed or as a container garden. Here are ways to plant, handle and use fresh herbs from your herb gardens.

In any recipe calling for herbs, use fresh herbs. Preparing the herbs for your dish is easy. The more tender herbs like mint, parsley, basil and cilantro can be gathered in a bowl and snipped with scissors. This is the fastest and safest way to chop the herbs. If your recipe calls for the more hardy herbs like oregano, rosemary, or thyme you should use the stripping method. Hold a branch of the herb upright in your fingers and run the fingers of your other hand down the stalk stripping the tiny leaves free. The flavor will be more intense if you have gathered the herbs from your herb gardens or container gardens because they will be absolutely the freshest herbs available.

The best way to have fresh herbs is to plant and grow them yourself. No longer is there a designated “herb garden”. They can be found in your flower beds, along walkways or in pots on your porch. Many ambitious gardeners are finding new ways to incorporate herbs into their garden beds and their container gardens.

Many gardeners are unaware of the beauty of flowering herbs and never consider planting them within their flower beds. Some herbs that have beautiful flowers are purple coneflower, catmint, bee balm, yarrow, pinks, lavender, pot marigold, borage, feverfew, and nasturtium which is particularly lovely in fresh salads.. Many other herbs, such as parsley are excellent next to flowers of all sorts because of their spectacular foliage. When planting red or blue flowers, place purple basil around them for an artful arrangement.

Another area to consider is to use herbs as ground cover. The herbs that are suitable to this are the low growing oregano, chamomile, woolly and other creeping thyme, mint, and rosemary. Not only will it look pretty but it will be absolutely fragrant. Just be careful of the mint family, they tend to take over everything.

One of the best ways I have grown herbs is in containers. In fact, I like container gardening so much I wrote my eBook “Container Gardening Secrets” (available at ContainerGardeningSecrets.com), so everyone could enjoy this type of gardening. The beauty of a container garden is that it is portable and can be changed at a moment’s whim. When there is no more room in your garden, start a container garden which you can place on your door step or patio. Use them to fill in bare spots that come up during the gardening season or put them on a sunny window sill in your home for easy harvesting. Best of all you can bring your herb containers inside over the winter months and continue to harvest for months to add to your tasty meals or to be used for medicinal purposes.

Another way to employ pots in your garden is to plant invasive herbs such as mint into a pot and then plant pot and all into the ground. This is an easy trick to keep those “creepers” from taking over your garden beds.

Plant a container garden near your door with the cherry pie scented blue flower heliotrope and other fragrant herbs such as rosemary, thyme and basil. Every time you walk by you will be greeted with there delicious scent.

Some herbs that have grown on rocky hillsides over the centuries such as thyme, oregano and lavender are perfect for cracks in flag stone paths or walls and rock gardens. They thrive in hot dry areas with good drainage. Some believe that those herbs grown in these conditions produce much better flavor.

Now is the time to plant your herbs, whether it is in a garden bed, a cracked wall or a container garden. Use your imagination. Consider color height and texture when planting your gardens. Not only will it be visually pleasing but your cooking will improve too!

Happy Gardening!

Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

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About the Author

Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She has published other articles on Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com http://www.GardeningHerb.com and http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com

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