Herbs are no doubt among the easiest plants to grow in your garden. Many of them are fairly drought tolerant and have a blooming period albeit short. In addition, herbs lend a delicious fragrance to the garden. I am especially bias about herbs. Where I come from in North Dakota, every girl was taught about herbs as you could not get animals or people to the doctor in 50 below zero weather. When my Dad would go to the barn they had a raw hide rope tied to the barn and then to the house so when they went to milk they could find the barn. They dug deep tunnels in the snow, the snow was lots taller than my brother or Dad and they were well over six feet. I remember my mom growing herbs on our sun porch. Even though North Dakota is a harsh weather land, it has a lot of sunny days in the winter. So not only do I like the flavor a huge variety of herbs, but I see the value as medicinal herbs.
While most herbs are easily grown in containers which is a major plus, if you have space, consider planting an entire herb garden. It needn't take that much space. A plot of land measuring approximate 200-400 square feet should do you quite nicely. Find out the diameter of a mature plant; obtain some graph paper and sketch out your garden before you dig a single hole. Remember to allow at least 1 foot of space between mature plants for ease of weeding and pruning. I went from a house with a large yard, where I could grow whatever I liked, to an apartment where my outdoor space was a hole in the ground. That is what I call my patio. It has a nice screen door that leads to the patio, it is very dark and shady, but it has a roof and I mounted grow lights to the ceiling of the roof. Then I could grow anything. I have a lot of photos of my hole in the ground. Anyway, I now am moving to a high rise in Seattle. No outdoor space, maybe I will be able to get a community garden. If not this is some plans I have for my kitchen in the new place where the kitchen is very dark. Grow lights and glass shelfs will brighten it a great deal.
One of the most fragrant herbs to add to your garden is lavender. The scent of lavender in bloom is heavenly and is wonderful for making scented sachets to hang in your closet or place in your dresser drawers. This is the only herb I would suggest you plant as many as you have space for as those sachets make wonderful gifts. Lavender is very calming, doctors even sometimes prescribe it for Alzhimers patients. The essential oil on your feet at night will help you to sleep.
As the song goes, 4 great savory herbs to add to your garden are Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. Fresh chopped parsley is a wonder addition to potato and pasta salads, not to mention a lovely garnish for many other dishes. Try drying sage leaves to add to many dishes including stuffing for turkey and chicken. And, both rosemary and thyme are excellent accents when roasting poultry and lamb among other savory dishes.
Tarragon is a wonderful addition to soups and vegetables. This herb is also good in tuna, egg, pasta and green salads. Add when making sauces for fish or chicken, it's a must for béarnaise sauce.
If you intend upon canning pickled vegetables from your garden or making pretty vinegars for gifts think about planting some dill. While its true you can purchase dried dill weed very cheaply, there is no way you can get a full stalk of dill unless you grow it or pay rather dearly for it when needed in quantity.
In my opinion, no herb garden is complete without chives. In fact, if I could plant only one herb, it would be chives because they are so very useful. While I love green onions, by the time I get around to using them, alas they all but lifeless. No problem with chives growing right outside my door. They not only add that touch of needed green, they also have that subtle onion flavor which is perfect for salads and potato toppings.
Unfortunately, another one of my favorite herbs is not worth planting. Cilantro tends to bolt so quickly you would be lucky to retrieve a leaf or two. Obviously those that grow cilantro commercially know something we don't know and they aren’t telling. If you figure it out please let me in on the secret. I will let you in on my secret for preserving store bought cilantro, however. Place the bunch of cilantro in a glass of water and cover with the plastic bag it came in. This way, the cilantro will stay fresh and crisp for up to 2 weeks in your fridge.
On a final note, let's talk about mint. A favorite of mine is pineapple mint. It has a wonderful fragrance and taste and makes a lovely tea and garnish. However, there is a real problem with mint. It's tangled roots go deep and it tends to try to take over every other plant in the garden. Spray it with Round-up and it comes right back again. Once planted, you simply can't get rid of it! So, if you want to add mint to your garden, plant it in a container and move the container often enough to insure it doesn't take root in the ground through the drainage hole in the container.
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