You’ll love the convenience of homegrown herbs.
Whether you create culinary herb masterpieces, use aromatherapy to calm your mind, or enjoy a soothing cup of chamomile tea before bed, herbs will add to your day.
Add Beautiful Blooms and Fabulous Fragrances to Your Garden
For many gardeners, growing herbs is the first foray into edible gardening. Herbs look lovely in garden beds and containers, taste delicious in recipes, add fragrance to DIY projects like soaps and lotions, create stunning floral bouquets, and attract pollinators to the garden.
For centuries, herbs have been used medicinally, from soothing sore throats to quieting coughs or relieving digestive ailments. Many also provide a low-maintenance pop of pretty color, while those of Mediterranean origin survive high heat and drought conditions.
What’s not to love about herbs?
Herbs continue to evolve. Just as new introductions of tomatoes or petunias hit the market each year, breeders continue to produce new herbal offerings. Whether they’re more disease-resistant, bloom later in the season, or grow more compactly for smaller spaces, you’ll find a great array of new herbs offered by National Garden Bureau members.
But First: What is an Herb?
Merriam-Webster botanically defines an herb as: “A seed-producing annual, biennial, or perennial that does not develop persistent woody tissue but dies down at the end of a growing season.”
Hmm. Rosemary may take offense at this definition.
It also includes a more general definition: “A plant or plant valued for its medicinal, savory, or aromatic qualities.”
What’s New in Herb Breeding?
Most gardeners think of herbs as standard fare. But in reality, breeders continuously assess how they can make herbs better for the home grower. Perhaps you’ve seen new varieties of basil that offer high resistance to downy mildew. Or maybe you’ve noticed a new parsley variety that’s bolt-resistant. While you might not hear a lot of buzz about herb breeding, there’s a significant investment of time and money by breeders and growers to create the most disease-tolerant, bolt-resistant, productive herb plants that will thrive in home gardens.
Thank goodness for our creative and committed herb breeders!
Breeders agree that the ultimate reason they invest time and resources into developing better herbs is this:
“The homeowner has to win.”
Breeders look closely at the issues facing home gardeners. They then work hard to develop plants to meet those needs. By developing new varieties that resist disease and bolting, gardeners win by enjoying healthier plants for longer harvests. And, by introducing compact varieties, gardeners can enjoy herbs in more ways—in hanging baskets, window boxes, or even indoors under lights.
A breeder’s ultimate goal is to create herb plants that allow home gardeners to grow successfully.
Some Favorite Herbs:
When asked which herbs topped the list as their favorites, National Garden Bureau members offered a diverse list. They offered personal opinions about why they chose the following as their favorites.
Kitchen Garden Blend Parsley
Grow a versatile kitchen herb with ease by planting a trio of parsley varieties. Enjoy the convenience of flat, semi-curled, and curled parsley all in one packet.
Mint
Add a burst of freshness to any recipe. From chocolate to pineapple, mint offers a wide range of flavors and fragrances to suit your taste buds.
Tulsi Basil
The sweet, earthy aroma tastes delicious in tea. Plus, it produces beautiful flowers that bees love.
Rosemary
A perennial herb in the south, rosemary grows into a big, bushy shrub. Harvest a branch of rosemary to use as a skewer for kebabs and infuse meat with delicious flavor. It’s the perfect companion for chicken, turkey, or pork roasts, plus Rosemary makes a refreshing tea.
Cilantro/Coriander
A polarizing herb—you either love it or hate it, depending on your genetics. Some people find that it tastes like soap. Still, it’s a staple for Mexican-inspired cuisine. This short-season herb grows best in cooler temperatures. But once it flowers, let the plant set seeds—which you can use as coriander.
Basil
Pesto, bruschetta, caprese salad…summer meals taste so much better with basil. The edible flowers look pretty and taste great in salads or beverages. With many different flavor profiles, you’ll find an ideal basil for whatever your needs. Try cinnamon basil paired with chocolate to create a delicious dessert.
Chives
A perennial herb, chives add a subtle onion flavor to recipes. Plus, the edible flowers look lovely on the plate and in your garden.
Lemon Verbena
The strong citrus fragrance adds delicious flavor to any meal or drink that benefits from a burst of lemon.
Thyme
In addition to being valuable in the kitchen, it’s just as useful in the landscape as a fragrant low-growing evergreen ground cover.
Seed Starting Versus Vegetative Propagation: Which Is the Best Method to Grow Herbs?
Some herb seeds grow almost overnight. But others can be tricky to start from seed, requiring stratification or more rigorous attention for germination. And some, like chocolate mint, may not grow true from seed.
Spearmint and peppermint, for instance, grow true from seed. French tarragon, though, is not available to grow from seed—it only grows true from a vegetative cutting.
The more you know about your favorites, the better success you’ll enjoy when growing them in the garden.
What does “growing true” mean?
Just like “mutt” dogs with differing genetic makeup, seeds harvested from plants in the garden may not grow true to the parent plant due to cross-pollination from other herb varieties. Plus, if you’re harvesting seeds from a hybrid plant, the seeds produced may revert to one of the original parents used to create the hybrid.
So, if you’re looking for a specific flavor or fragrance, a little research helps you know if you can grow the herbs you love from seeds—or should purchase plants from your favorite National Garden Bureau member.
Herb Growing Tips
Before you plant herbs in your kitchen garden or container, consider the needs of your plants.
- Herbs, like rosemary and oregano, are native to Mediterranean regions. These herbs need good drainage, low humidity, full sun, and hot temperatures.
- Herbs, like basil and lavender, prefer 8 hours of full sun.
- Herbs, like chives, parsley, cilantro, and lemon balm, grow well in partial sun.
But be careful: some herbs, such as members of the mint family, run rampant in the garden.
These highly aggressive plants should be confined to containers. Otherwise, you’ll soon find your kitchen garden smothered by mint—and not much else.
Add Herbs to Benefit the Kitchen Garden
Many herbs such as Dill, Cilantro, Fennel, Creeping Thyme, Lemon Balm and Parsley all attract braconid wasps, which not only pollinate plants but also parasitize pests, laying their eggs in or on the bodies of other insects, such as tomato hornworms.
Herbs make terrific companions to your favorite vegetables and fruits not only in recipes–but also when growing in the garden.
If you want a constant supply of your favorite annual herbs, consider succession planting.
For herbs like basil, for instance, start seeds every two to three weeks to ensure a continuous supply of fresh leaves throughout the season. Because cilantro prefers cool weather, plant it every few weeks throughout spring—take a break in the heat of summer—and then succession sow throughout fall. A little planning will keep you in fresh herbs throughout the growing season.
Contain Herbs for Convenience
When you’re in the midst of making dinner or preparing a favorite beverage, an herb container placed just outside the kitchen door or on a nearby balcony provides a convenient way to easily add herbs to your culinary creations.
What types of containers work best for herbs?
Well, it depends on what you plan to grow. Terra cotta pots that dry out quickly make a good choice for herbs that don’t like soggy soil, like lavender. However, you’ll need to bring these pots indoors or place them in a shed in the winter, as these pots can crack during freezing temperatures.
Plastic or lightweight fiberglass containers make a good option for year-round growing. Whatever material you choose, make sure the container drains well—drainage holes are essential to ensure healthy plants.
Keep in mind that perennial plants in containers often need additional protection during winter. Perennial herbs planted in ground benefit from additional insulation—the roots are protected by the surrounding soil, and a layer of snow actually provides additional insulation.
Growing Herbs Indoors
It is possible to grow your favorite herbs inside—preferably in the kitchen, where they’re ready to spark culinary inspiration.
Lighting is the key to success when growing herbs indoors.
Although a sunny windowsill may work for some herbs, plants tend to stretch toward the light, making for leggy, weak stems. Instead, a fluorescent or LED light source placed just a few inches above the plants helps ensure that your plants receive the light they need to thrive.
Spider mites tend to enjoy indoor herbs, unfortunately. Keep an eye out for these pests. If you find an infestation, place the plant in the sink or shower, spraying the leaves well to remove the pests. For a serious infestation, insecticidal soap helps eliminate pests. (But rinse the herbs well before use in recipes.)
Harvesting and Preserving Herbs
Most herbs enjoy a good “haircut”—particularly fast-growing annuals like basil, cilantro, and dill. Don’t be afraid to snip these frequently to use in your recipes and crafts.
Without cutting herbs, they’ll begin blooming—and once they flower, the flavor profile changes. Plus, if you frequently pinch back basil to use, for instance, you’ll create a bushier plant—and delay flowering.
As the temperatures cool and the season winds down, consider harvesting entire annual plants, as well as cutting branches from perennial plants, to preserve them for winter use. Typically, herbs taste strongest when dried, allowing you to use less dried than fresh in recipes. For most herbs, the ratio is 1 tablespoon of dried versus 3 tablespoons of fresh in recipes.
Drying herbs is simple
Herbs like rosemary, lavender, or oregano, simply cut stems in a similar length, bundle them together, tie a piece of twine around the end, and hang in a cool, dry, dark space.
Or, if you prefer, spread herbs on a baking sheet, place in an oven on low heat, and allow them to dry slowly in the oven. (Some ovens have a “dehydrate” setting—use this if it’s available.)
Once you’ve dried the herbs, pull off the leaves and store them in a canning jar with a lid. Make sure to label them for later use.
Herbs like basil store well frozen. Remove the fresh leaves from the stem, chop them roughly, place in an ice cube tray, and pour olive oil into each section. Pop the tray in the freezer, and you’ll have perfectly portioned basil-infused olive oil cubes to add to your favorite pasta recipes during the winter.
Are you ready to grow delicious, beautiful, beneficial herbs in your garden? With so many varieties available, we’re sure you’ll find the choices for your favorite recipes, DIY projects, or homegrown bouquets.
Learn more about growing individual herbs:
Ask our NGB Experts about Herbs!
About National Garden Bureau
Founded more than 100 years ago, the National Garden Bureau educates, inspires, and motivates people to grow home gardens. National Garden Bureau members are horticultural experts, and the information shared with you comes directly from these experts to ensure your gardening success.
“This post is provided as an educational/inspirational service of the National Garden Bureau and our members. Please credit and link to National Garden Bureau and author member when using all or parts of this article.”
