I have my own herb garden, that I started years ago.  Some years it looked really, really good and other years it went to heck and looked horrendous.  It all depended on how much time I had available to work in and around the garden.  Big vacation years, or when my kids were young and needed a lot of watching in the pool were the bad years.  My kids are older teens and I now have a lot more time to spend in the garden, plus sometimes they help out.  Raised beds make it easier to grow and control my herbs and keep the weeds and grass at bay.

These herbs are easy to grow and essential to my kitchen. 

Three annuals I suggest you buy and put into your herb beds.  Not only do they love the summer heat, and are great for cooking, but I pick the leaves and throw them into my salad for a little zing.

• Flat leaf Italian Parsley - it has a peppery taste and has much more flavor than the curly leaf
• Basil - I love to make a platter with tomatoes, fresh soft mozzarella and basil, drizzled with vinaigrette.
• Dill - Dill goes wonderfully in all your salads, on deviled eggs and in potato and macaroni salads.  When the dill goes to seed, you can store the seeds in a tin and grind them up in the winter for flavor.

My most used and easiest to grow perennials are wonderful for summer cooking and also for drying and using in the winter.

• Thyme - use in chicken and sauces and egg dishes
• Lemon Thyme - gives your food a great lemony taste
• Sage - I use it more in the fall and winter in roasts
• Chives- Great in omelets, especially the flowers when they are young and soft.  Also they are delicious in dips and salads
• Oregano - can get out of control easily and spread.  Great in pasta dishes and when you are making your pasta sauces. 

If you want to start an herb garden, it can be as small or as large as you would like it.  My dad grew his in barrels in a much smaller and more contained area.  I have larger beds which makes for more weeding and more spreading.  I had to take the clippers quite a bit to my sage last year.  One of the best things about working in the herb garden is the aroma it sends out; I love all of the wonderful smells.  I have more herbs than those listed, but these to me are the most essential and easiest to grow.  Success with these herbs can give you the confidence to expand your herb garden later.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 at 4:25 pm and is filed under Kitchen Garden, Herbs & Spices. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.