Choosing Your Herbs

If you are interested in herbs you may be astonished to realize how many herbs you are already growing.

Parsley, chives, garlic, spearmint, dill and sage appear in almost every garden. And they are among the most valued herbs. Do you raise violets, roses, nasturtiums and marigolds? These, too, are herbs, even though we call them flowers.

Along with these herbs, add thyme, summer savory, sweet marjoram, basil, lemon balm (Melissa), borage and chervil, and you will have a good start on a herb garden which will provide for most of your needs.

Herbs are fun to grow, and they are easy to raise unless you choose to make a major project of it. Unfortunately, I have never developed a “green thumb”; most plants don't “just grow’5 for me. But herbs do. With very poor conditions, I manage to have all the herbs I want for myself or to give to friends.

Although herbs are supposed to need plenty of sunlight and an alkaline soil, mine get shade and clay. They do best with lots of space in which to grow; I have practically none. Our climate is dry, the winds hot, the growing season short. And still, should you stop by some afternoon, I can give you a cup of tea flavored with lemon balm, herb-flavored canapés, and buttered scones spread with rose geranium jelly.

Fortunately for lazy gardeners like myself, those herbs most frequently used are also the easiest grown. One packet of seeds for each will be more than enough. If you have only a small space, divide the seeds with a friend, or save some for a second planting later in the summer, for plants to take indoors during the winter.

When deciding which herbs to put in your garden, remember that it must be suited to your particular way of life. If you enjoy entertaining and love to cook, you will want a garden planted mostly with culinary herbs. If you wish for fragrance primarily, you would choose some other herbs. Or if a collection of as many herbs as possible is your goal, still another plan would be needed.

Basic Herbs

Practically everyone who grows herbs has her own basic list, and you will not be long in finding yours. However, to start with, try these:

Sow seeds of: Sweet basil, Parsley, Borage, Dill, Burnet, Sweet marjoram, Chervil, Summer: savory, Get roots of: Spearmint, Lemon balm, Peppermint, Chives (bulblets)

Get plants of: Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, Lavender, The Culinary Seeds

Although when we speak of using herbs, we generally refer to the leaves, there are some which are better known for their seeds. Of these the most popular are:

Anise Coriander Mustard
Caraway Cumin Poppy
Cardamon Dill Sesame
Celery Fennel

Since the leaves as well as the seeds of fennel, mustard, dill, anise and caraway are used in cooking you may want to include one or all of them in your herb garden. However, herbs grown for their seed alone are scarcely worth the space and bother. The crop is too small to be of value, and you can buy fresh seed inexpensively packaged at any grocery store.

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