Creating your home herb garden is not at all difficult.

Remember when we were kids, and as a class project we stuck a kernel of corn in some potting soil in a Dixie Cup and watched it sprout several days later. Just like that kernel of corn, creating your home herb garden is not at all difficult. At least to get started! And maintaining their growth is not much more complicated. It’s simply a matter of diligence. You need to:

1. learn what they need for nutrition;
2. learn what and how much they like to drink; and
3. learn in what kind of environment they like to spend their day.

That is all there is to it.

There is much more to learn though. To start, by definition an herb “is a seed-producing annual, biennial, or perennial that does not develop persistent woody tissue but dies down at the end of a growing season. It is a plant or parts of various plants cultivated for their aromatic, pungent, or otherwise desirable substances. Spices and herbs consist of rhizomes, bulbs, barks, flower buds, stigmas, fruits, seeds, and leaves. They are commonly  divided into the categories of spices, spice seeds, and herbs.”

Historically, their use dates back to our earliest civilizations, China, Egypt and India with evidence dating as far back as the first century and far before. Chinese medicine employs a wide variety of herbs in its concoctions and the Egyptians used them in their embalming fluids. Ayurveda combines herbs with food for both diet and medicine.

Spices and herbs continue to have their place in medicine today, even in conventional Western medicine. Plants contain many compounds, such as beta-carotene that affects the body. However, caution and education is  essential when using herbs for medical purposes. While they may be consumed in small amounts to spice up your dinner, some can be toxic in larger quantities. Extracts of St. John’s-wort or kava are used for relief of depression and stress, while larger amounts can create very serious health issues. Many modern drugs had their origins in herbal medicines and many still utilize herbs purified to pharmaceutical standards.

It is in their essential oils that make them so valuable. It is for this reason that many herbs are used extensively in the food industry in processed meats, sausages, sauces, vinegars, mustards, pickles, chutneys, preserves, salad dressings, biscuits, cookies, cakes, confections, and beverages as well as a number of liqueurs like absinthe, anisette, benedictine, and others. They are used in everyday consumables like perfume, cosmetics, toiletries, lotions, hair products, toothpastes, and soaps.

Most of us are interested in the culinary use of herbs. When we think of herbs for seasoning our food, it is the leafy part of the plant that we refer to, which is used in relatively small amounts to provide flavor and not as the food itself.

Like other plants, they can be annuals, like basil and chervil; biennial, like parsley; perennials such as thyme or lavender, while others are biennials such as parsley or annuals like basil and some are shrubs such as rosemary or trees like bay laurel. Some plants are used as both spice and herb, such as dill seed and dill weed or coriander seeds and coriander leaves (cilantro). Chamomile tea is a use of the flower. Then there are some herbs such as those in the mint family that are used for both culinary and medicinal purposes.

You can create your home herb garden anywhere there is a convenient spot

Outside in a garden, in pots on a patio or balcony, or in a container on the windowsill of your kitchen are all great places for your home herb garden. When done with a bit of ingenuity, your home herb garden will enhance to look of any spot you put it, filling the space with its fragrance and beauty!