Herb Garden suggestions ideas?

I have sweet Basil and lime basil to start with and yarrow and lemon grass if I can over winter it.
What would you put in a herb garden? Also where do you get your seeds/plants?

Lavina

LavinaMae unless you have room for a herb field ^_^ you might want to start by deciding what you want the herbs for - culinary, fragrance, etc (see the current poll) and then make your choices from there. There are many good sources for herb seeds and plants. If you go to the Herb Resources thread at the top of this Forum there are really good links.

This is also a good thread where alot posted their top 10 herbs. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/848647/

I agree with dahlianut - what one plants in an herb garden would depend on the desired use of the herb. We grow both culinary and medicinal herbs. (The categories overlap.)

Are you looking for taste, frangrance, colour, health, or?

I too love to cook with herbs and medicinal ones I know nothing about. I have a small Yarrow and don't even know what its good for.
What do you grow?

Lavina

Yarrow is good as a styptic - it stops bleeding. Several times I have been in a garden and cut my finger. Mushing up a few yarrow leaves and applying it to the cut stops bleeding in no time. You can also tincture yarrow. (Get Richo Cech's book, "Making Plant Medicine" or James Green's, "The Herbal Medicine Maker" for directions). The Chinese used yarrow stalks in the I Ching fortune telling. Of course, you can grow yarrow just to look at and enjoy its beauty.

Lavina, I'm so new to herb gardening, but loving Park Seed's seed tape. It's so easy to grow basil hedges.

Anyhow, I have basil seeds to share, I have about 15 kinds left. D-Mail me what you have if interested.

In answer to your original post then, here is what we currently have in the herb garden:

A shrub that was supposed to be Licorice but looks like a Butterfly Bush
Ajwain
Aloe Vera bardenensis
Amlaki (Indian Gooseberry)
Bee Balm (Oswego Tea/Bergamot)
Black Cumin
Borage
Cardamom
Catnip
Chives
Clary sage
Culinary sage
Cumin
Curry Leave Plant (Murraya Koenegii)
Dill
Epazote
2 types of fennel – Foeniculm vulgaris (bada saunf) and Foeniculm vulgaris dulce (choti saunf)
French Tarragon
Genovese sweet basil
Ginko
Gojii Berries (Chinese Wolfberry)
Golden purslane
Goto Kola
Greek Oregano
Hlabec (some type of syrian/jordian basil/mint that was gifted to me)
Horehound
Italian flat leaf parsley
Jatamamsi
Lamb’s ears
Lemon Verbena
Lemon Balm
Lemon Thyme
“English” thyme
Lovage
Marjoram
Mawal (Celosia Christata, a type of Cockscomb)
Motherwort
Mugwort
Mullein
Oregon Grape
Pennyroyal
Peppermint
Rosa Rugosa
Rue
Salad Burnet
Self-Heal
Spearmint
St John’s Wort
Stinging Nettle
Summer Savoury
Tulsi (Indian Holy Basil)
Tumeric
Vitex Agnus Castus
White sage
Winter Savoury
Wood Betony
Yarrow
Yellow and Purple Hyssops
Yerba Buena (Satureja douglasii)

Will be adding/replanting:
Anise
Ashwagandha
Black Cohosh
Burdock
Caraway
Coriander
Fenugrek
Ginger (as a test to see how it does in our climate. Will it adapt?)
Hing (Asafoetida)
Milk Thistle
Shatavari (asparagus racemosa), possibly
Yellow dock

Garden_mermaid, Hlabec???? Please tell more about this plant, I am unfamiliar with it. You have my full attention! :-)

I'm spelling it phonetically. Google is not bringing up anything when I search on this name. I'll try to get a photo of it this weekend. It has narrow leaves and a flavour somewhere between the oreganos, basils and mints. LOL! How's that for specifics?

Garden mermaid wow someday I hope to have all that.
My lumber for my green house is in the yard and I can hardly wait till hubby gets it built, then I am starting the herb garden. I am really excited .LOL

Lavina

Don't worry Lavina, you herb garden will grow. Make a space and plants will follow you home in the most amazing ways! :D


herbalbetty, the correct name for this leggy mint is Habek mint, of mentha longifolia.
The arabic pronounciation is something to the effect of "Chabek rya". Apparently is is known as the sheperd's mint or sheperd's basil in Jordan and is supposed to have been mentioned in the Bible.

Here is the davesgarden plant file listing:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/64468/

Here's another listing from mountain valley growers:
http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/menlongifolia.htm

Thank you Garden Mermaid!

You are most welcome. Have you grown this plant before?

Here is some info on yarrow Lavina. It is a very good plant for beneficial insects like green lacewings and ladybugs as well.
http://www.altnature.com/gallery/yarrow.htm
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Achillea+millefolium
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/y/yarrow02.html

Interesting articles, will it come back every year?

Lavina

Ours does. I think it reseeds itself.

I always lose my tarragon in 5a but I use a great deal in cooking. Catnip is a must. I grow "Amish Tea" which is a very mild spearmint. Chocolate mint which I want to take over an area so I'm giving it free reign. Peppermint, Pineapple mint, and I dream of having enough rosemary to do whatever I like with it.

This spring, I will be replacing my entire walkway full of pachysandra with lavender, which loves my river silt soil and is very happy in full sun on the south side of the house.

Basil hates our soil... but we love basil... I keep sage by the door. Dill! and Italian flat parsley, Greek & Italian oregano, thyme. :)

Cilantro which gives coriander when it goes to seed - luscious in beef roast. Mmmm.

Sweet Marjoram is extremely high in flavor. Freezing most herbs in air tight containers at harvest time will usually provide with delicious fresh-tasting herbs throughout the winter.

Hope this helps. Let us know what you decide to plant.

I know for sure lots of different basils and some chocolate mint.
I have never heard of the Amish Tea before. I love making tea from Herbs tho.

Lavina

Janiejoy have you tried tarragon in a protected spot? We can overwinter it here with protection.

How would I protect it? It seems to simply be shy in my soil... which is sandy river silt. What kind of soil do you have?

Sorry Janiejoy I should have explained. Tarragon loves sandy soil and good drainage so you should be good there. I meant protection from winter dryness, out of the wind and good snow cover (if you get snow). Sigh I remember snow. Are you watering til your ground freezes? We lose alot of plants here because we stop watering before the ground freezes.

I haven 't watered at all - wonder if that is the problem??? LOL!~