Best Herbs to Grow in Your Herb Garden

Best Herbs to Grow in Your Herb Garden

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  1. Growing herbs can be a rewarding way to add fragrance to your garden and flavor to your food.  The best herbs to grow in your garden depend entirely on you.  After considering your space and location, your final herb decision will be dependent on what types of herbs you most enjoy. 

     

    What do you eat?

    Be sure to grow herbs that you know you will use.  Look at your cooking habits; do you use basil is nearly every dish?  Then maybe you want to plant two or three basil plants.  Do you use thyme just every once and awhile?  Maybe you should just stick to one of these plants.  If you don’t even know what lemon balm is used for, then maybe you want to stay away from that one.  On the other hand, if you have the space and you want to experiment with something new, try planting something you rarely use of have never heard of.  If you never cook with oregano but think you might want to start, go ahead and start a plant, you may be surprised at what wonderful flavors you discover. 

     

    Where is your garden?

    Herb gardening is usually easy as long as your plants are started in the right environment.  Most herbs desire full sunlight, between six to eight hours.  If your garden is located in a bright and sunny spot, you can grow everything from basil to wormwood.  If your garden is in a more shaded spot, the options for successful cultivation are more limited.  While all herbs can survive in full sun, there are only a number that can also survive in partial shade.  Cilantro, dill, chamomile, catnip, chives and lemon balm are all good plants to grow in areas with less than optimal sunlight. 

     

    How much space do you have?

    Herbs come in all shapes and sizes.  If you just have a little bit of room, you don’t want to plant a type of herb that is going to spread out over your whole space.  Cilantro, savory, mint, and sage all need a lot of horizontal space in order to thrive.  On the other hand, parsley, chamomile and basil can be planted in closer quarters.   You also need to remember that some herbs grow taller than others.  Think about the aesthetics of your herb garden:  where do you want your taller plants compared to your more grounded plants?  Cilantro, basil, and peppermint plants all grow to be tall plants.  

     

    Herb gardening is a learning process.  During your first year of gardening you may find that some plants die while others thrive.  Don’t discourage if your favorite type of herb doesn’t make it through the season – take note of what happened, and try again the next year!

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