Matty's Birdseye View From The Picket Fence

Herbs

Do you want a little more of a variety in your garden but dont want to spend a lot of money or perhaps you dont want high maintenance plants. Well here is a nice solution: HERBS! Herbs are a wonderful way to spice up your flower gardens. Some of them flower, the all have a great aroma to them, and most are care free! You can plant them in with your annuals or perennials or maybe in a vegetable garden, or perhaps just plant them into pots and window boxs that you can never find the right plant for. Window boxes outside of your kitchen window would be a supperb place for you to plant some herbs. You would see them all the time and they would be handy for when you need to snip a little for your recipes. As I said above most herbs are relatively care free. They dont really care what shape your soil is in and most of them can be in partial shade. The only thing that herbs require is that the soil be moist. Specially if you plant herbs in pots or planter boxes or window boxes. Pots don't contain alot of soil and because they may get some sun through out the day, they tend to dry out much quicker then if you would plant them straight into the ground. The ground tends to hold the moisture a little while longer. Although pots dont hold the moisture for long they do have at least two advantages that I can think of. One is that you can move the potted herbs around form time to time. Maybe one week you can have the potted herbs on your porch or deck because you are having company over then a week later your one flower bed is looking a little bare, so you move the potted herbs to the flower bed for a little fresher look. The second advantage is you can have your potted herbs out doors all summer long but at the end of the season you dont have to let those herbs die off, you can take them indoors. So you can have the fragrance and the beautiful plants year-round plus you will have fresh herbs for your recipes year-round. Here, I have listed some great herbs that you can plant in you gardens: Thyme Rosemary Parsley Basil Mint Dill Sage Chamomile Lemon Balm Tarragon Chives Germander Bay Cilantro Lavender Oregano Purple leafed Shiso Fine Leaf Basil (there are many more other types) Most herbs will come back year after year. Either because it is a perennial or becasue it will reseed itself. And don't be afraid to over plant, because you can always pull out some to thin later. Also the more you snip your herbs the more they produce.

Herbal Hints and Recipes- Click here to get some great recipes and hints on herbs.