Since the beginning of time, herbs have been grown not only for their beauty and decorative properties, but also for flavoring food and made into medicines. Today we still utilize herbs for all of those benefits. Whether you decide to add herbs to your garden for culinary reasons, to use in crafts and decorations, making home remedies or just as companion plants to add additional beauty and interest, there are several basic herb garden plants you'll want to consider.
Lavender- One of the most popular herbs to grow is lavender. It is beautiful to line your garden edge with or fill areas you need bursts of color. It has soft gray leaves and long stems with small lavender colored flowers on them. It is very aromatic and is popularly used in sachets for its soothing, relaxing aroma.
Oregano- The popular culinary herb of oregano is an ideal favorite in the garden. Also known as wild marjoram, it's a hardy herb with dark green oval leaves and either white or pink flowers. It flavors tomato sauces and meats.
Cilantro- Another popular culinary herb for any basic herb garden is cilantro. Though some do not enjoy its flavor, it's a wonderful addition to Mexican or Thai food as well as salsas, soups, stews and salads. It tends to loose its flavor when dried, so use it fresh.
Sweet Basil- Basil looks lovely in every basic herb garden with its dark green, oval leaves and pink flowers. It's used widely in cooking and if you love pesto, you'll need plenty of basil in your herb garden.
Thyme- Thyme has dark greenish gray leaves and pretty light pink flowers that bloom at its stem tips. It flavors meat, fish and poultry, soups; is wonderful in cottage cheese or butter. Thyme's leaves are most flavorful if you harvest just before the flowers open.
Rosemary- This beautiful evergreen shrub has silver-green foliage that is needle like but soft and flexible. Its flowers vary from white, pink or blue. Rosemary is a very aromatic herb used for ornament or flavoring food. Both its leaves and flowers are edible.
Marjoram- Marjoram is actually in the mint family though often compared and confused with oregano. It has inch-long green leaves. Marjoram is great for flavoring meat but does well with most other foods too. It's a good herb to harvest and dry for later because it holds its flavor when dried.
Parsley- Quite underrated parsley not only looks wonderful, but has many health benefits. It contains vitamins A and C and aids digestion. It's a great choice for a basic herb garden. Works well as an edging or border herb and tastes best when used fresh.
Sage- Sage has silvery leaves, blue to purple flowers and woody stems. It's a beautiful ornamental herb and is used commonly in the kitchen to flavor meats, cheeses, sauces and even some drinks.
These are just a few of the many herbs to consider when planting a basic herb garden. Chosen for their beauty, culinary and health benefits they are a good place to start. With a little research you will in no time have a growing list of the many other herbs you will want to add to your herb garden.
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