Herbs: Expert Guides and Resources

You can find lots of reasons to grow herbs in your home garden. Most herb plants are both ornamental and useful; most are fragrant, many taste good, and some are highly nutritious. Plus, herbs are just plain interesting — many have colorful names and equally colorful lore associated with them. Grow your own herbs, and you get the freshest harvest, you can control how they’re cared for and stored, and you can grow unusual varieties.

If you plan to harvest herbs for use in cooking or to make herbal remedies, you’ll want to avoid using pesticides. And even if you won’t be ingesting the herbs, it just makes sense to minimize your use of pesticides — even organic ones. The good news is that you can find plenty of ecologically sound ways to control pests without resorting to sprays: Choose pest-resistant herbs that are adapted to your climate.

Here are some of the more common herbs to be wary of, including a couple that can “worke eternal sleepe.” If you choose to grow these herbs, be sure to carefully label each herb and plant them away from culinary herbs and edible crops. Avoid planting them if you have pets or young children that may be tempted to nibble them.

The term “fragrant herbs” may be redundant, but there are fragrances and there are fragrances. Some gardeners love the scent of rosemary, for example, and others are less enthralled. Here are herbs whose leaves and/or flowers keep you olfactorily ahhhing and ohhhing. Beebalm (Monarda didyma) foliage has a citrusy aroma.

If you’re growing herbs, it’s only proper that your cup of tea be herbal, either herbs alone or tea brewed with herbs. Here are the first ten herbs to put in your tea garden: Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) has a minty/anise flavor. Bee balm (Monarda didyma) makes a citrusy flavored tea. Catnip (Nepeta cataria) creates a relaxing tea that soothes cold symptoms.

Just as you harvest different herbs at different times, you collect different parts of your herbs — leaves, stems, flowers, fruits, seeds, and roots — at different times. The timing of your harvest also depends on how you expect to use the herb: to make tea, for example, or to make a wreath or a nosegay. Annuals, biennials, and perennials have their own quirks, but the rules for harvesting are pretty simple and straightforward.

Taking good care of an herb garden results in wonderful quality and a big harvest for food and crafts. Herb gardens need good air circulation, protection from extreme weather, and adequate watering. Herb garden woes? Water, weather, and circulation To keep your herbs from being choked, or dulled, keep your garden away from low spots, where cold air can pool.

Herbs that are almost never troubled by insects and diseases in the garden are easy targets when grown indoors. As a bare-bones essential, you must offer indoor herbs artificial light. And even when you do, many of the plants will balk at confinement. Some herbs are too tall to grow under lights; some have deep tap roots; some require a period of chilling or complete dormancy during the winter months.