Are you interested in starting an
herb garden, but don't know where to begin? With so many varieties
of herbs available, choosing just a few to begin with can be overwhelming
to the novice. The list that follows is far from complete, but the
beginner may choose herbs from it depending on their tastes and
needs. These herbs are the most basic building blocks of the herb
garden.
1. English Lavender
Nothing says "herb" like lavender. If you want to use
lavender in your cooking, choose the smaller-leaved French lavender.
Its blossoms are much smaller and less fragrant, but the leaves
are preferred by chefs worldwide. But if you want lavender for its
scent or its flowers, choose one of the several varieties of English
lavender. ('Munstead' is the most common, but any will do.)
Lavender likes to stay rather dry.
It shouldn't dry out completely, but the top layer of soil should
dry out before you water. Overwatering is the surest way to kill
lavender. Lavender is an excellent choice for a potted herb, because
it can survive if you forget to water it for a couple of days. Lavender
likes full sun. It may survive if planted in a shady location, but
it will not bloom.
Lavender flowers are best when picked
in the early morning, before the sun has a chance to hit the flowers.
They can be dried and added to potpourris, nestled between sheets
and pillowcases in the linen closet, or tucked between the pages
of a favorite book.
2. Mother of Thyme
This creeping thyme makes an excellent groundcover. Like lavender,
it prefers to stay dry and sunny. The Mother of Thyme, or mother-of-thyme,
has the fullest and richest flavor of the many thyme varieties,
and it's also the easiest to care for.
Also like lavender, mother-of-thyme
grows well in a pot with well-drained, slightly sandy soil. If you
have a hot, dry garden location, both lavender and mother-of-thyme
would be good choices for your garden. However, lavender prefers
a rich soil with plenty of nutrients; mother-of-thyme grows perfectly
well in churt-and-clay pathways, rocky soil, and other nutritionally
deficit soils.
3. Greek Oregano
Sometimes referred to as "garden oregano," Greek oregano
is actually much stronger and more flavorful than its English and
Italian counterparts, also frequently referred to as "garden
oregano."
Like many other herbs, it likes it
hot and can stand it fairly dry. Unlike lavendar, however, Greek
oregano isn't going to root rot if it lives in a moist, humid area.
Just be careful not to overwater and add to the problem.
With mother-of-thyme, oregano can
be added to tomato sauce to create an absolutely delicious spaghetti
sauce. Similarly, sprinkle a little on top of your pizza or add
to calzomes for extra flavor. Add it to chili, stew, or even tacos
for a little Mediterranean flair.
4. Lemon Balm, or Balm of Melissa
This little-known herb makes an excellent herbal tea. The tea can
also be used in place of water in cake mixes, pancake recipes, and
more. Because lemon balm is so easy to grow, it makes an excellent
starter herb for a new herb gardener.
Lemon balm prefers rich soil that
is both well drained (so water doesn't stagnate around the roots)
and well-watered (so the plant never dries out to the extent that
lavender and thyme can).
5. Rosemary
This bushy herb is more shrub than plant. It has a rich, piney smell
that reminds one of Christmas and winter, even in the summer. Sprigs
of rosemary can be added to potato or chicken dishes for maximum
flavor. Or, tuck a rosemary sprig inside a turkey along with the
stuffing at Thanksgiving.
Rosemary likes a sunny, dry location,
with much like other herbs. As with lavender, water sparingly to
avoid root rot. A coarse, sandy soil is perfect for rosemary.
6. Parsley
Parsley is a favorite with chefs everywhere. Unlike the herbs discussed
so far, parsley is not a perennial. It is, instead, a biannual,
which means it grows for a year, dies back in the winter, comes
back in the spring, sets seed, and dies for good at the end of the
second summer. Parsley can, however, sometimes self-seed, especially
if you leave seedheads to fall naturally instead of picking them.
Parsley likes a rich, moist soil.
Parsley may well be the most versatile
of herbs when it comes to the kitchen. It can be added to potato
soups, potato salads, or deviled eggs; it can be shredded into mashed
potatoes, sprinkled over chicken or pork, or added as a garnish
to anything. The key to parsley is to avoid cooking it as much as
possible. When using it in a soup, add it in two minutes before
the soup is completely finished. Mix it fresh into potato salad
or deviled eggs, sprinkle it over meat aften the meat is fully cooked
and just before serving. When cooked, parsley loses most of its
vitamins and minerals. It also acquires a bitter taste that you
want to avoid whenever possible.
7.Chives
Chives are another potato delight. Chopped chives can be used like
parsley and along with parsley in almost any potato dish. Also like
parsley, you want to avoid cooking them if possible.
Chives, like onions and leeks, are
a member of the allium family. They are perennial, and come back
year after year. Also like parsley, chives like a rich soil, with
plenty of moisture. They can tolerate a drought, but growth is slowed
and flavor is weakened when the soil stays too dry for too long.
To harvest chives, simply take a pair
of scissors and cut the entire plant about an inch and a half to
two inches away from the soil. Chives grow much like grass, so the
cut chives will simply grow up again where they were cut.
8. Garden Sage
This herb is both a delight and a horror. It ranks fairly low on
a list of herbs for beginners because it's so capricious; one season
it may thrive, the next it may die. But it usually isn't any easier
for an established herbalist to grow, and if it will live, you can
use the leaves in a delicious tea, or add them like bay leaves to
soups, stews, pot roasts, and almost any dish made in a slow cooker
or crockpot. If you like making jellies, use a strong sage tea and
apples to make sage-apple jelly, a must-have with pork or lamb.
Sage will get root rot if you keep
it too wet, but it doesn't like to dry out completely, either. Keep
it in a dry, sunny location and give it a splash of water once a
day for best results.
Any of these herbs will give you a
good start to your herb garden. Consider your soil when deciding
which herbs to plant. Almost any herbs will need sun, but some herbs
prefer dry soil and some prefer well-watered soil. Some herbs, such
as thyme, can take rather poor, rocky soil; others, like lavender
and parsley, prefer rich soil.- Keesa Renee DuPre
