Growing an Herb Garden
When you choose to create your own herb garden, the next step is selecting the assortment of herb plants you want. In addition to all the different herb plants out there, each herb has several kinds to select from—such as basil which has hundreds of kinds.
Each plant type has its own growing period. Understanding your herb plant’s life cycle will help you make the best choices. Before you get your herb plants, you will want to be aware of their growing season, or life cycle. The three primary categories are:
- Annuals: These flowers begin from a seed. They grow, flower and die all in the same growing season. Some good annual herbs are dill, cilantro, mustard, chervil, basil and borage.
- Biennials: This variety of flower will grow for 2 years and can generally bear “fruit” after the first year. Some herb plants (like parsley) can produce foliage during both years but die early in the second growing season. Angelica, chicory and Queen Anne’s lace are just a couple of the many biennials to select from.
- Perennials: Herbs that tend to survive for more than 2 growing seasons are called perennials. Whether or not they come back or for how many years they can come back depends on the location where you live. Of the many perennials available, some you might love are lemon verbena, rosemary, scented geranium, mints, thyme, yarrow and lady’s mantle.
My favorite herb plants are perennials because I only have to buy and plant them once, but I also have fun cultivating annuals and biennials. Beware of how much cold your perennials are exposed to because too much will kill them. You can lengthen their growing cycle by bringing them in during winter months.
There are several other things you can do to extend the life of your herb plants:
- The garage, basement or cellar is a nice location to store some perennials that need to be trimmed back and have the bulb, roots or rhizome unearthed for the winter.
- If you are going to bring your herbs indoors during the colder time of year, use pots instead of growing them in the ground. Some folks even plant their containers in the ground, covering them up to the rim with earth. This makes it simple to store them during winter—just unearth the container at the end of the season.
- Plant your biennials in middle of the summer so that you can get lots of flowers in the second season.
- Self-sowers are herbs that sow their own seeds for the next year. Mustard, borage and catnip are just some of the herbs that are self-sowers.
- A wonderful way to boost a short-lived annual’s growing cycle is to remove any flowers that have faded. Depending on your area’s climate; your annuals may self-seed if you clip the herb back near the end of the summer.
- If you get some unexpected cold weather be sure to cover your plants with a blanket, towel or sheet which can prevent the frost from killing your herb. Herbs that are in pots can be moved under a covered porch for protection.
I hope that these pointers will help you with your herb garden planning. It can be hard at times to get it just right. Even I make flubs after all these years, but just remember that you can take out what does not work and try try again!
Here is more information on Herb Garden Information. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.
Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.
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