It's time to plan your gardens for the coming growing season. Depending on how many herbs you and your family use in a year, you should be able to meet your needs in a small, manageable, garden. Most herbs can also be grown in containers, a kitchen garden with vegetables, or mixed in a flower or perennial border. By starting with culinary herbs that you already use in your cooking and keeping your herb garden small, it won't become a chore. The satisfaction from growing your own herbs is immeasurable. Both in the benefits of added flavor and nutrition, as well as in the enjoyment from working with the plants. Herb gardening is a nice project for the whole family.
It's easy to start a low maintenance Herb garden by choosing your plants and location carefully. It should be near the kitchen if possible. Keeping in mind that most herbs prefer an eastern or southern exposure or at least 5 hours of direct sun. I've found few people stop to run across the yard to pick a few leaves when they're in the middle of cooking! So, keeping them a few steps away they are right at hand when needed. If you can't have a garden by the door, try some containers on your deck or patio.
The list of herbs can be somewhat overwhelming to someone who is just starting out. By first picking out herbs you already are familiar with then adding a couple of new herbs you find interesting to try, you can keep you garden simple, useful and enjoyable. Then each year add another new herb or two to try.
This year Telly's is introducing herbs and vegetables that have been grown organically in environmentally friendly rice pots. Stop in and check out the herbs already available in the greenhouse.
Besides the useful, culinary aspect of many herbs, there are herbs for fragrance, decorating, making your own bath & beauty products, medicinal and just being aesthetically pleasing in the garden. (Although we recommended that if you are trying to grow herbs at home for medicinal purposes you do your own research on them thoroughly.) You can mix annual herbs with annuals flowers in your summer containers for wonderful foliage effects as well as the bonus of fragrance. We used the new 'Golden Delicious' Pineapple sage as the center for many stunning containers last year. With it's chartreuse foliage it makes an excellent accent plant. And, you can make tea with it! The dainty little lavandula 'Lady' is the perfect Lavender for use in containers. A drift of variegated sages, either golden or tri-color, or the new bi-color tri-color adds interest and texture to any garden. Dark, feathery bronze fennel makes a gorgeous focal point or specimen plant that butterflies love, and you can add it fresh to your salads. For a semi-shady spot try lovage with it's wonderful architectural stature. This huge plant is a member of the celery family and the leaves are a great substitute that is widely used in Europe. There are just so many wonderful herbs to learn about and grow. Why not think about some new additions for your garden this year.
