Herbs are a great way to add flavor to your dishes and to your garden. From Italian parsley to rosemary, oregano, sage, chives, thyme, peppermint, basil, marjoram, salvia and lemon balm, there are many herbs that can be grown in your garden. Each herb has its own unique flavor and characteristics that make it a great addition to any garden. Italian parsley is one of the easiest herbs to grow since it is quite resistant.
Plant it in a pot or in the garden from a seed in autumn or spring, preferably in the sun. Parsley prefers moist soil and if you find that the leaves are yellowish, add a little liquid fertilizer in winter to increase nutrients. Rosemary is a tough herb that requires little attention and will mostly survive on rainwater alone. Plant it in a pot or large pot in full sun and you can also use rosemary as an edible hedge since it can grow quite wide and tall.
Just shape it at the end of summer. Peppermint is a very easy herb to grow but it will take over your garden if you're not careful. It requires only a little water and is suitable for both sun and shade. Plant it in a container and if you want a lot of mint, choose a large pot for it to spread.
Avoid small plastic pots as they will quickly get stuck in the roots. Basil grows well from seed when planted in full sun. It prefers moist but well-drained soils and will require frequent pruning to encourage new growth. Chives are an excellent herb for potting or can be used to create garden borders.
Plant them during the winter in full sun, keeping the soil at maximum but making sure it is well drained. Thyme is another great edible plant for your garden. It will do well in a pot but also as a ground cover forming large groups in the garden on which you can walk. Thyme prefers to be planted in a protected position in full sun and is available in several varieties such as woolly thyme and lemon thyme, which can be harvested at any time of the year. Oregano is more common in Italian and Greek dishes and is often used in soups, stews and sauces. Harvest single leaves from the stem or harvest a long stem with leaves.
Rosemary is one of the tastiest herbs and is ideal for adding to things like poultry, meat and vegetables. Around Christmas, you will see tree-shaped rosemary shrubs for sale which you can take home and store them for planting in spring. The fragrant plant is a delicious scent and is sometimes used in flower arrangements. Rosemary likes his soil to be a little dry so be careful not to overwater. If allowed to bloom, a rosemary plant will turn into a full-size shrub. Parsley brightens up any dish with its delicious taste making it an easy-to-love herb.
They can be temperamental to start from seed. Chives are a commonly grown herb but often not eaten. Yes, they are beautiful to look at but their mild onion flavor is perfect for dishes that need that layer of flavor without being overwhelming with onions. Marjoram is a lesser-known herb which deserves to be the center of attention. It is easy to grow and tastes like oregano with much more depth. Have you ever tried oregano and did it seem bitter? Then sweet marjoram is the answer. Never bitter and with a much bigger taste, this herb deserves a second look for any culinary herb garden.
Salvia is a very rewarding herb to grow coming in many varieties and colors which you can easily incorporate into your garden design. Be sure to take a look at the pink, green and gold tones that sage can produce. It is truly a spectacular and tasty herb. Peppermint is wonderful for so many things that it makes sense to grow it in your garden. Mint grows in sunny or shady gardens, it fills up quickly and loves to be trimmed several times whether for tea or simply to attract beneficial insects, mint will surely belong in your culinary herb garden. Lemongrass is another delicious herb that is a prolific producer filling your pots or garden beds with beautiful green leaves. Cut it several times during the growing season and save it for tea throughout the winter. Lemon balm gives it a real lemon flavor and can be used in any recipe that uses lemon juice such as pesto for fish or as substitute for ceviche cilantro. It is really a useful and charming herb.
Sage is another great herb to cook which is easy to grow but does not like moist soil so plant it in a sunny place with fertile well-drained soil. There are plenty of varieties of sage to choose from including some with colorful leaves so harvest the leaves regularly to encourage them to grow more. Salvia is an evergreen tree so the leaves can be picked at any time to add to your dishes but for winter protection the plant can be covered with horticultural fleece. Parsley can germinate slowly so speed things up by soaking the seeds in water overnight before planting them choosing a place with rich slightly moist soil in full sun or partial shade. Oregano plants thrive in warm sunny places with light soils having beautiful pink flowers covering the ground on the front of the edges. You can grow mint from seeds but it is often different from the mother plant so I would recommend buying young plants from the garden center keeping in mind that mint spreads easily so plant it in pots to contain the roots and prevent it from taking over. Keep it in full sun or partial shade pinching the buds to encourage new growth.
Conclusion
Herbs are an essential part of any culinary garden adding flavor, texture, color, aroma and nutrition to your dishes while also providing many health benefits such as reducing inflammation, improving digestion, boosting immunity and more.From Italian parsley, rosemary, oregano, sage, chives, thyme, peppermint, basil, marjoram, salvia and lemon balm there are many herbs that you can easily incorporate into your garden design depending on your needs.
Each one has its own unique flavor characteristics making them all great additions for any garden.
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