Henny Penny Farmette

Herbs in abundance line the shelves of local garden centers now, and for good reason. Many of these versatile plants are hardy and adaptable and have myriad uses in a landscape.

Herbs in a pot for use in the kitchen

Cooks, especially, appreciate access to culinary herbs near the kitchen. Grow cilantro, parsley, sage, tarragon, chives, basil, anise, dill, mint, and other desirable culinary herbs in boxes or giant pots on a kitchen patio. The location will make it easy to water and gather them.

Many herbs like chives, sage, and dill re-seed themselves, therefore, consider growing these in containers unless you have a designated space in your garden for them.

For shady areas in a landscape or garden, plant sweet woodruff, Borage, and chamomile. In areas that receive full sun, plant rosemary, mother-of-thyme, caraway-scented thyme, and woolly thyme. In areas that remain moist, plant angelica, mints, parsley, and sweet woodruff.

The leathery pomegranate peel takes center stage in this potpourri that utilizes herbs, seed pods, spices, and citrus peels

To grow herbs for potpourris and sachets to scent rooms in your home, cultivate costmary, English woodruff, and lemon-scented herbs like pelargonium and verbena. Also rose geranium and lavender add a lovely scent to mixtures of herbs for potpourri.

With so many different ways to use herbs to beautify a garden or patio and to flavor foods and scent a home, there’s no reason not to grow a few. Remember, herbs (like mint) can be dried for tea or crumbling over salads and you can collect herb seeds or propagate cuttings for next year’s herb garden.

Tags: angelica, anise, basil, borage, caraway-scented thyme, chamomile, chives, lavender, mint, parsley, Pelargonium, rosemary, sweet woodruff, tarragon, thyme, wooly thyme