To Herb, Or Not To Herb

As the days get longer and the temperature rises I find myself thinking about summertime. Something about the springtime air rejuvenates me and makes me want to be more active, eat healthier and just plain smile more. One of my favorite things about summertime is the abundance of fresh produce and particularly, the fresh herbs on my patio. Since we are moving this summer I debated for about 5 minutes whether I should take the time to plant any herbs as we’ll either have to discard them before we move, or we’ll have to tow them cross country. I decided to go ahead with my herb patio; however, I will keep it simple and only plant few, essential herbs.

Somehow, after years of spending time in my mother’s garden, I did not develop a green thumb and I am learning through my own failures. I have found that gardening is not a gifted skill; rather it is a learned skill. If you want to have a beautiful, thriving garden, you should do as much research as possible. Planting a garden is kind of like having a child.  You can do as much research as you want before your child arrives but since every baby is different, living in a different environment, and cannot talk you will never be fully prepared and thus, will have to make adjustments as you go. Like a child, your garden will need constant attention.  What you do one day will not be like what you did the previous day, and you will lose sleep thinking about whether you are doing the right things! The wonderful thing about gardening is that you can garden on any scale, just a small herb garden, as I am planning or an entire field’s worth of plants, vegetables, or fruits.

One of the reasons I love my herb garden so dearly is the simplicity of it. In my experience, herbs do not need much tender loving care. Once you plant them and douse them with a daily watering, you can just watch them grow and you have wonderful, fresh herbs readily available all summer long. For the frugal minded, you can buy an entire plant for the same price you will pay for a few sprigs of herbs in the grocery store.

Culinary Herb Garden is a great basic reference for planting a herb garden, giving you basic descriptions on many different herbs, how and where they should be grown as well as how they can be used in your kitchen.