The easiest first garden is an herb garden

Common chives in flower

Sunday, June 25, 2023

If you are just starting gardening, an herb garden is a great place to start.  I started with flowers and hostas then tried herbs before adding vegetables.  Most common herbs are perennials and do well being neglected.  An herb garden is also very cost effective.  Spices are pricey and a plant that you buy once and get years of spices from is great for the pocket book and taste of what you cook.  

Most culinary herbs that we are familiar with hail from the Mediterranean region.  They thrive in poor soil and not a lot of water.  There are even more choices out there today that you can buy as plants.  Plants will give you enough for cooking with now and enough to harvest for winter cooking.

So, what are the herbs you should start with?  A basic culinary herb garden could include parsley, basil, chives, French tarragon, sorrel, sage, dill, oregano, rosemary, and thyme.  If you like the taste of licorice, add fennel. 

Of these, parsley, basil and dill are annuals, the rest are perennials.  With perennials, you plant once and you get to enjoy them for a lifetime.  Parsley and dill will likely “self sow”, meaning their seeds will sprout into a plant next year.  Basil will have to be replanted each year when all danger of frost has passed.  The other option with basil is to keep it in a pot and bring indoors to overwinter.

The easiest to grow are the perennials.  I'd start with them.  You can place them and then plan to add the annual herbs when you are feeling ready to take on more.  An additional benefit to herbs is that they deter deer from the garden.  Deer hate strong scents.  I have herbs all around my garden instead of just in one place for this reason.  Creeping thyme is a nice herb that you can plant all around the perimeter of your garden that makes a nice edging.

I have added horseradish and mint (both can be invasive so a pot is a good option), celery which loves lots of water so again a good option for a pot, cilantro which does reseed well and likes cool weather, and a bay laurel tree which I keep in a pot to bring into the basement each winter.

Starting with plants is the most fool proof way to get going.  You can pick up your herb plants at any big box store or for more fun varieties, go to your nearest nursery, farmers market or even seed catalogues sell plants.  There are many options out there.  I prefer getting my herb plants from a local organic nursery or trying new types from seed catalogues.

Thyme, savory and onions with daylilies in the background

You can buy an entire plant for less than the cost of one tiny bottle of dried herbs.  Herbs are easy to preserve; just dry them.  Cut the herbs back in mid summer and put in a paper bag.  Do not pack tightly, pack loosely so that the herbs do not mold.  Put in a warm, dry place out of direct sunlight if possible and a few weeks later you will be rewarded with enough herbs for your cooking and all your relatives for the entire year!   Make your own "Herbes de Provence"

Most herbs like full sun and dry feet.  Too much water is about the only thing that will kill an herb plant.  I plant mine amongst the flowers and near the back door for optimum convenience for cooking.  You can also grow in pots if you like and put right at the door!

If you have been thinking of trying your hand at edible gardening, herbs are a great way to start.