This morning I headed out the the garden to snap a few pictures of our herb garden. I decided to grow the majority of our herbs in pots this year so I could save the space in the raised garden beds for growing vegetables.
We do have basil growing in the greenhouse, chives alongside the greenhouse and mint in a container next to the fence as well.
If there is one herb that always grows well for me, it’s oregano. I love that it comes back every year and it’s so easy to maintain. Over the winter I dug up the raised bed herb garden and when I moved the oregano to a pot I also included a few strawberry plants as well.
We also moved the sage to a container as well. At first I was worried it would not survive the move but it seems to be thriving.
I started parsley from seeds this year. So far so good.
Thyme. Another herb we started from seed. This is my first year growing thyme from seed and I transplanted 3 plants to a outdoor pot a few weeks ago. We use a lot of dried thyme in our cooking so hopefully we will get a good crop and I won’t have to buy it anymore.
And then there is the rosemary. It’s not looking too hot and I am totally blaming the guy who’s looking after it.
Do YOU grow your own herbs?
If so, what are your favorite ones to grow?
~Mavis
Linda says
I’m trying growing herbs this year. I’m looking forward to it.
Randi says
I am growing oregano (now have 15 plants separated from one original!) I grow it in my rockery. Also growing thyme, rosemary, mint (in pots!!) and basil. Basil is currently under grow lights or in the greenhouse. I live north of Seattle and am not sure when to plant it outside. When do you Mavis?
Tanya says
I’ve got chives I planted in a pot about 7 years ago that are still thriving! I also have oregano in the pot with the chives that overwintered just fine. I am currently moving mint from my raised bed to a pot because it is taking over. I also just moved some cilantro from the raised bed to a pot that came up from seeds last years plant dropped. Gotta love the volunteers!
Ginger says
Oregano seems to just love it here. When I mow lawn it smells like an Italian restuarant! And my rosemary is looking sad, but still alive in the house all winter. Not sure where I will be putting all the rest outside. Have to keep them out of reach of my 2 legged terrors. (Chickens!)
Rachael says
I’m in central Texas. I have the hardest time with herbs! They grow and bolt so quick, or they wilt in the heat. The rosemary, however, is amazing and is a bush and will take over the area is not trimmed back.
I’ve even had a hard time with mint. argh.
Connie says
Hey Rachael! I live @ 50 miles from the Texas Gulf Coast and have struggled with growing herbs as well. Have found that growing mint in a container that I can move into some shade when the heat gets brutal really helps. It’s taken a year or so to get the batch I have now established but seems to be doing better this spring. It enjoys a really good trim (I pinch it back often so we have plenty for iced tea!) and when the weather starts to get hot – I water it daily. Hang in there hun … happy gardening! 😉
Michele says
In addition to the herbs Mavis has already mentioned I also really enjoy growing and cooking with Lemon Thyme and Marjoram.
Pat Giaquinta says
We have tansy growing (it was here when we bought our home) and mint (it’s everywhere). I have started rosemary in peat pots (after seeing your herbs in pots, that’s where the rosemary is going). I have some garlic chive seeds that I’m going to put on the sides of our veggie garden. I used to have golden marjoram (which I loved ~ so pretty) but I can’t find any plants or seeds anywhere. Do you have any idea who sells it? Thanks, Mavis ~ have a great weekend.
Ellen says
A neighbor told me that rosemary likes to be “hot, high and dry (well-drained)”. I have been a little successful with it, but not with basil. Not yet, anyway.
Evelyn says
Yes I was going to comment that Rosemary likes drought conditions.It is my favorite, the herb of friendship 🙂 I plant it at each end of the window box that is outside our living room window it gets HUGE after a season or two.I then takes those rosemary plants and put them as a hedge in the garden the ones at the end are at least 4 foot tall and go all the way across the end. I have started down the ‘front’ of the garden now about a forth of the way down.We have several kinds of Basil ,mint, thyme, fennel and dill.Also lemon balm, salad burnet,sage, comfrey,and lavendar all started from seed except the Rosemary and apple mint. I hurt my back in 2008 and lost more plants than I care to admit I had an extensive collection of scented gerainums and many herbs that I had for many years 🙁 This is my first season full “back “in the garden.That 4 foot hedge of Rosemary lived through those years of neglect in Florida heat and drought and they are beautiful so thankful they waited for my return.
Cherri says
I have a whiskey barrel planter in my flowerbed full of lemon thyme. I have had it for probably 7-8 years or longer. It withstands a lot of neglect. I harvest and dry it every year, we love it. Also have basil, cilantro and mint in pots in the house just waiting to go outside. Lavender in the front flowerbed that I harvest and dry also. Lavender/Lemonade is very nice in the summer. I am hoping to expand this year. I have planted big pots in a flowerbed to keep out the underground critters (hopefully!) and will plant rosemary, sage, oregano, parsley, chives and marjoram this year. I enter my canning and dried food in the county fair. I have a lot of fun with it. Hence the expanded herbs as well as a first attempt at a garden this year. Wish me luck. We have deer, any suggestions?
Mavis says
I love the whiskey barrels for planting! 10 Ways to Keep Deer Out of Your Garden
Cecily says
I have chives, oregono, thyme, marjoram, sage, basil, spearmint, chocolate mint and a bay laurel. Thyme is my favorite but there is nothing like fresh bay leaves. I’ve seen bay laurel get to 20 feet tall in my area (zone 7b).
Sheila M. says
Am I the only one who read the title of this post and can’t help singing Scarborough Fair…”parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme”…?
Mavis, maybe you could nickname this part of your garden Scarborough Fair….just a thought 😉
suzanne says
Lol. I thought the same thing but wondered if it’s not just my generation.
Mavis says
Ha! Now I’m going to have to google that!
suzanne says
I’m a bit of a collector/hoarder when it comes to plants so I have them all and when I say all I mean 2 or 3 of each variety (5 types of rhubarb.) My faves roll in and out with the season. I’m a canner so we use quite a bit. It’s really nice to not have to purchase herbs for seasoning. The cilantro/coriander is one of my top favorites. We use it so much it doesn’t have a chance to bolt. Dill as a close 2nd. for pickled cukes, carrots, cauliflower and beans. The cats love the catnip!!! They don’t bother it in the garden to much but one of them has pulled the dehydrator apart to get to it in the middle of the night.
Jessica says
Mavis (or anyone), how do you decide which to put in pots and which to put in the ground? I live in central Texas on a hill so I don’t have to worry about frost if I plant next to the house (I’ve had the same pepper plants for 2-3 years before they call it quits). Plus I have the perfect little alcove which I would love to use a sitting herb garden. It only gets direct sunlight in the wee hours of the morning and gets filtered sunlight the rest of our long summer days so it stays nice and cool. I love the idea of letting some things bush but I don’t want a jungle either (of plants or pots). Any suggestions?
Janet Brown says
Just want to agree with Ellen about the rosemary. I am in north Georgia and have had to dig it up and get rid of it several times because it grows out of control and I totally neglect it. I have switched to the trailing variety and hope it will be more appropriate for the space. The one I never water at all is the healthiest, and it is in full sun almost all day.
Janelle Diaz says
I grow chives in large pots outside my front door. They get very full and smell good but keep some of the bugs away from my front walk. They are great decoration as they look like decorative grass. Function able and edible and EASY! They come back every year after you trim them.
Linda Clark says
Mavis-
In looking at your rosemary, let the soil dry out a bit by covering with a bit of plastic and put somewhere in full sun. Remember these are plants that originally come from a mediterranean type of environment and need to not be too wet. You might also want to add more sand to your soil. Let me know if that helps.
Lana says
I have most of my herbs in pots because the voles like the roots. They will be growing along just fine and then just suddenly die after the voles eat the roots. I have my rosemary in the ground though and the voles leave it alone. Mine is right next to my hot asphalt driveway and it loves it there. I never water it and just rely on rain no mater how dry it gets.
D'Anna says
A few years back I turned a big section into an herb garden to see if I could grow anything and my GIL donated some plants to the cause, the rest were starts from a local store.
Now I have a rosemary “tree” that we leave alone and cut off limbs as needed for roasting chickens…we ignore and it seems to do fine. I also have mutant golden oregano that has taken over a nice portion of the herb garden, another plant I ignore except to hack it back so the thyme will survive. I accidentally weeded out parsley and leeks last year and this year I’m trying to grow cilantro from seed.
Diane Bernath says
I am up in Canada (near Toronto). I’ve got chives (lots of them), have basil, parsley and summer savory on the go and will be planting some thyme, cilantro, italian parsley, oregano, sage, thyme and a few others.
Diane