Even if you don't have room for an outdoor garden, you can still enjoy the flavor and aroma of garden fresh herbs when you grow an indoor herb garden. A decorative assortment of potted herbs will not only let you enjoy fresh herbs year round for use in cooking, brewing tea, or for medicinal purposes, it can also be a lovely decorative accent for your home. Even if you have a garden outside, you might still choose to raise some fresh herbs indoors. All you need is a sunny location or a small table lit by a plant grow light. Here are four great reasons why you should grow an indoor herb garden.

1. Get more choice. When you grow an indoor herb garden you can experiment with plants that you might not be able to raise outside due to climate or environmental conditions. Herbs that are native to the tropics such as ginger or stevia flourish in the home. The fact that the seasons don't change indoors prevents the herbs from going to seed, which causes their flavor to change. As well, a number of herbs that would only grow annually outside, meaning you have to reseed each year, will grow for several years in an indoor herb garden. Plants which we consider annuals, such as marjoram and parsley, are actually perennial herbs in their native environment.

2. Enjoy fresh herbs in the winter. Wouldn't it be great to use fresh herbs instead of dried in your wintertime comfort foods such as soup or stew? When you grow an indoor herb garden, the fresh flavors of basil, cilantro and parsley can be enjoyed throughout the year. Herbs such as rosemary and tarragon, which taste quite acceptable when dried, are even better when you pick them fresh.

3. Get a head start on your outdoor herb gardening. When you grow an indoor herb garden, it doesn't have to stay there. In the springtime, you can take it outdoors. You can maintain the herbs in the same pots in an attractive arrangement or sunk in the ground up to the rim. Or you can transplant them into the ground and enjoy a ready made herb garden while other people are still coaxing along their seedlings. In the fall, you can simply repot them and take them back indoors.

4. Freshen your air naturally. Fragrant herbs such as thyme, sage and marjoram don’t merely taste wonderful. They also release a delicious aroma while growing in an indoor herb garden. In fact, an assortment of such plants can be a natural substitute for your store bought air fresheners. A dish filled with lavender potpourri is pretty, but simply can’t compare with a decorative clay pot containing a live lavender plant with its attractive foliage and purple flowers. Also, as you grow an indoor herb garden filled with fragrant herbs, the plants absorb the carbon dioxide in your inside air and convert it to oxygen.

Whether you decide to start your indoor herb garden from scratch with your own pots and seeds, or use one of the herb growing kits that are available such as the terrarium style planters or the Chia herb garden kits, there's no easier or cheaper way to enjoy garden fresh herbs year round.