May 23, 2013

It is becoming very trendy to grow your own food, and what a better way to start than to plant an herb garden.  If you enjoy cooking, you will be amazed at how useful and satisfying it is to grow your own herbs.

 Herb gardens are generally very easy to take care of, and many herbs are perennial, which means you do not have to plant them every year.  When creating your herb garden, start with plants that you would use a lot in cooking, and add others here and there that you may use occasionally or for novelty.  Most herbs need full sun to thrive, so take care to choose a place that gets at least 6 hours of full sun.

Popular herbs that are perennial here in Michigan are thyme, sage, fennel, chives,tarragon, lavender, parsley, oregano, chamomile, savory and mint.  Take care planting those plants in the mint family, because they can be very invasive. We recommend planting them in pots. Many other herbs seed freely, so it is wise to cut them regularly, and keep them from setting seed.

Popular annual herbs are dill (although it usually seeds itself), basil, rosemary (some varieties may occasionally winter over if very protected), cilantro, arugula, lemon verbena and lemon grass.  Other herbs have edible flowers, such as nasturtium, dianthus and pot marigold.

Creating an herb garden can be a very rewarding project. It is also a great way to introduce children to gardening, as they love to smell the different plants, and help with harvesting them.  If you would like help in creating an herb garden, or other landscape project, contact us for a consultation…. We would love to help you!