Hit the Dirt; Herb Gardening

Planning your first herb garden can be the start of a great adventure. The world of herbs is one full of history folklore and tradition as well as tasty culinary treats herbs are useful plants. By definition an herb is a plant with a purpose and this purpose can be for seasoning your food. It can be for healing your family making fragrant your home dyeing cyber strewing decorating or for magic. For me there is a special beauty about herbs that is heightened by the knowledge of their uses. As far as growing herbs there's really no mystique to their growing in general. Herbs need a well drained soil in a sunny location a quality soil results in a quality herb in designing an herb garden there are any number of ways to go. Herb themed gardens can be fun and creative. Some examples of those are making a garden and filling with it with lemon scented herbs or one of all tea herbs or all fragrant herbs or themes like Italian medicinal or medieval. A kitchen herb garden is a great way to begin

some perennial herbs that you could put in this garden would be French Terre gun which is an herb that is hearty and has a tasty lightly licorice flavor to it. It's really popular in a lot of recipes. It's not to be confused with a tasteless tall variety called Russian Terre gun that often people will grow from seed because the true French Terrapin can't be grown from seed. Another Herb you can grow is German time or garden time. It's a hearty upright time unlike the ornamental times you see that are low and creeping. It's a sun loving plant that requires some lime in the soil. Garlic chives is a greater bit similar to the regular garden chives that many of us are familiar with but this is a deeper green wider flat bladed type that makes a wonderful upright statement in the garden and has a slight light garlic taste to it. You can use this all through the season. Greek oregano and there's a hearty variety of this that we can grow here in Maine that's. That's not to be confused with the wild margarine

that can manage to take over your garden if you let it. And Greek oregano is a wonderful herb to use in any kind of tomato or Mexican or Italian type cooking. As far as annual herbs that you can grow in your garden sweet bezel. This is probably one of the most popular and it's a heat loving plant that shouldn't really be put out until after around Memorial Day. It's a great companion plant with tomatoes parsley and dill are commonly used herbs that can be directly sown into the garden. And I encourage you to use them fresh all season long sweet marjoram is one of my favorites. It's considered an annual here in Maine but technically it's a tender perennial so it could be lifted and brought in for the winter and then put out again in the spring. It has a sweet fragrance and a lovely taste. And the little seed heads on top look like sweet little French knots. It's great used fresh in salads. And to round out your herb garden planting calendula the herbalist Marigold is a beautiful touch it not only gives you blooms throughout the season

but it's the petals are edible. I encourage you to try some new herbs this year. Get to know them by reading about them as well as growing them. Follow the herbs through their cycles seedlings to maturity to harvest. You can learn to use these herbs both fresh and dried. Remember herbs are for use and delight whatever your gardening interest whether it be herbs or perennial flowers annuals vegetables or fruit. Enjoy your time in the garden.