What herbs do you grow in your garden?

1. 83

   BWD316posted 11 years ago

   What herbs do you grow in your garden?
   
   I only started growing herbs last summer, with a whiskey barrel filled of mint, some sweet basil and rosemary.  Im thinking of growing more herbs but not sure what I want to grow.

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2. 94

   savingkathyposted 11 years ago

   It varies from year to year, but I usually grow basil, rosemary, chives, oregano and thyme. It's wonderful to be able to snip some fresh herbs for cooking or garnishes.
   I also have lemon balm which keeps coming back. You can use it to make tea. I haven't done that yet, but it smells wonderful.

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   1. 83

      BWD316posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      i forgot about lemon balm, i heard it smells really good!

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3. 60

   thekatydidposted 11 years ago

   My favorite herb is Sweet Annie and I have that growing all over our grounds in different nooks and crannies...along fence lines and in the backs of flower beds.  Sweet Annie can grow to 10 feet tall and look like a slender Christmas tree by late summer...It's an annual but comes up freely here and there once you have it just one summer.  They say the scent of Sweet Annie will last 100 years even after dried..now I don't know who's lived long enough to KNOW that...but I know I have some in bouquets that's 10 or so years old and still smells heavenly.  I'd imagine I give away 4 or 5 dozen plants in spring and early summer because we have so much coming up.  I also love tansy and we have it around the backporch where our swings and chairs are and around our bonfire pit area..because tansy repells mosquitos...And tansy resembles a fern....I also have tons of sages, and basils and several mints...my favorite mints are Swiss Mint...it has the strongest scent..and also mint juliep...peppermints, chocolate mint...pineapple and others...I always make sure I have lots of healthy mints and sweet annie by our front porch steps and around our setting areas because when the wind blows or it rains...it's just wonderful....those scents will also float indoors...if planted close to kitchen windows or doors with screens......It's almost gardening time in Southern Illinois and I'm getting SO SO SOOOOOOOO excited   :-)

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   1. 83

      BWD316posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      so interesting! I never heard of Sweet Annie or tansy, i'll definitely have to look them up  Last year i planted peppermint, chocolate mint, and orange mint, all of which smelled great after a rain storm! Im getting excited for the growing season too

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4. 93

   MJenniferposted 11 years ago

   The herb I cannot live without is cilantro.  It never has a fresh taste if you use dried, and it never lasts more than a day or so if you buy a bundle of fresh cilantro from the grocery -- so it's essential to grow it if you enjoy fresh cilantro in your salad or salsa.  (I even use it as a pizza topping, but I'm a cilantro addict!)  I love the scent of it, and it makes a very pretty addition to a cottage-garden look.  It's also easy to grow!  I've ordered the slow-bolting seeds this year, as that's the one draw-back -- the standard cilantro has a fast life-cycle.
   I also have a wonderful, huge rosemary bush.  In our area, I've had no luck with other herbs, but as long as my cilantro grows, I'm happy!

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   1. 83

      BWD316posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I love cilantro too, the rest of my family arn't big fans.  I haven't grown it because i heard of its fast life cycle.  I have a rosemary bush in a pot in my shed right now, hoping it comes back this spring!

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5. 61

   gerrywalkerposted 11 years ago

   In  N.Georgia I grew eveything in half whiskey barrels, because the yard was actually a parkng area with gravel, and also because that way it was near the door for cooking!  My garlic chives were fantastic, got them originally in PA when my daughter was there; now I'm in Florida and I'm afraid they're dying, the heat is tremendous even in winter, today it's 75 and that's the coolest we've had for a couple weeks.  My oregano, though, is growing great and in Walmart when I first got here they had lavendar plants on special (99c) so of course I bought all of them, 18, I think and put them all around. Meanwhile the Fla. indigenous geraniums are a couple feet tall and the lavender is bushing nicely. HATE not having my whiskey barrels but lucky to have 3 growing areas in my little condo patio so will see what happens. Tomorrow is a talk on medicinal herbs & plants I'm hoping to get to in Stuart if I can find the place! Oh yes, I grew tansy in Ga in the back, supposed to keep ants out of the house too, but it is kind of poisonous I think so don't put it in your tea by mistake for the mint!

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