Kitchen herb gardening is one of the best ways on how you can start your garden and grow some herbs that you can use in the future. The popularity of growing herbs is skyrocketing, more so when countries like Italy and China introduced their culinary masterpieces that are laden with herbs. In fact, expert chefs reveal that the best food preparations in the world today includes food cooked using some very important varieties of herbs. If you plan to grow herbs, all you need to do is to have a small yard or garden. It doesn’t need to be big because herb plants can grow anywhere and on any soil types. Putting up a kitchen herb garden can also help minimize the space you need, simply because you can use pots or containers. If you love using herbs as much as I do, then I bet that you would agree that fresh herbs always taste better than the commercially available ones. It would also come in handy if you need a safe alternative for illness. How would you like to transform your cooking with the freshest herbs picked from your own garden? It’s very simple to do, and putting up a garden exclusively for herbs will ensure easy harvesting and convenient care!
Herbs are categorized into annuals and perennials. Those that grow during normal season and dies when the temperature hits freezing are called annual herbs. The best examples of this type of herbs are cilantro, parsley, chamomile, marjoram, summer savory, chervil, basil and dill. Those that also grow year after are called perennial plants. Every year they only produce new leaves and continues to grow. Herbs of this kind are chives, lemon, mint, balm, thyme, lavender, tarragon, sage, lovage and hyssop.
If you are a beginner gardener, you better start with plants. In my experience in gardening, the most common herbs are hard to grow from seed. With this article, we also would like you to learn the important uses of some known herb plants which can put in your kitchen herb garden. Are you ready to learn?
1. Sage – This herb belongs to the perennial category and is very attractive to herb planters. It has a strong flavor and is famous worldwide as it comes in many varieties. In Germany, the ‘Berggarten’ is very famous. In this country Sage is best used for turkey stuffing. However, the Sage is traditionally used in bread and also as a dressing for pork.
2. Parsley – is biennial. This type of herb plant grows in two seasons then dies. You need to plant a new one once your first plant dies. Parsley-mixed food preparations are said to be favorites in Italy. This herb has a tangy flavor which can be best mixed with salads, sauces, dressings, and soups. The Japanese parsley has been creating a name too in the culinary industry. They said this Japanese food is a combination of celery leaves and Italian parsley. They’re also used for garnishing and soups.
3. Thyme (perennial) – this kind of plant grows wider because it can easily spread. Afoot tall thyme is already cool and this can even carpet your pathways or accent big rocks. The most known Thyme variety come from France, they’re best used for vegetables and meats. Its distinctive and spicy scent is what makes this herb interesting for chefs. Lemon thyme is also best for its aromatic foliage.
4. Rosemary (perennial) – is part of the mint group of plants and history recorded this plant as the oldest herb of the world. The plant is best known for its ability to improve memory and alleviate headaches. It also adds a very promising flavor when used as a dressing in bread and vegetables.
Choosing herb plants that you can grow in your kitchen herb garden is fun. Don’t become too excited though, or you might end up too many plants that won’t fit the allotted space for your garden!