Spring is in the air, which means it is time to get those gardens moving forward! It also happens to be my favorite time of the year. I absolutely love getting ready to plant the fruit and veggies that will take my family long into the winter months after we eat them fresh and preserve the rest. But that’s not where the garden has to end!
These 10 must-have herbs for your herb garden are the absolute perfect way to get started. I use herbs ALL of the time in cooking meals for my family and I’ve also incorporated many herbs into more homeopathic healing methods for the kids. I love knowing exactly what is being used and what is going into their little bodies and growing fresh herbs helps me do that. What more could I want?
So here are the favorite herbs that top my list. There are SO many more that I like, as well, but we’d be here all day if I listed out every single herb I use! For starters, let’s go with these 10 great herbs that can be used in a variety of ways 🙂
Rosemary
Rosemary is such a great herb to use in the kitchen. There is tons of information for you to find over at UntrainedHousewife.com, but one of the favorite uses in my family is as a marinade for Italian dishes. It’s so yummy! Rosemary tends to get a little wild, so you may want to consider planting this one in it’s own pot. It is such a fragrant herb that I love having it sitting out on the deck right outside of our door! And the little flowers that spring up on it are wonderful!
Basil
I don’t even know where to start with this great herb! We are a big pesto-loving family in this house and having fresh basil to make batches of pesto all summer long is a God-send! Find out lots of information on how to use basil over at NaturalLivingIdeas.com. I promise just when you think you’ve found the last good idea, you’ll find another! I use it in a lot of my cooking dishes. Even if it’s just a pinch of fresh basil I throw in, it always helps. But basil does a lot of other things around the house, too! I recently learned about the benefits of basil in keeping away insects…Who knew?! It’s also a great deodorizer as well.
Oregano
If you like cooking Italian and Mexican dishes in your home, then Oregano is a must plant in the herb garden! UntrainedHousewife.com has lots of ideas on how to cook with oregano, along with other uses for this herb. It’s definitely one of my favorites! And if you noticed the picture above, you’ll see just how easy it is to store fresh oregano for later in the year. That’s right! One thing I love to do with my herbs is to let them dry out or freeze them, and than store them for use in the winter months. It actually tastes better dried than it does fresh sometimes. And it is such an easy herb to grow. I feel like every time I cut some oregano off of the plant to use it, more replaces it in no time!
Chives
Chives are the little addition to my life that has become a bit of an addiction! I’ll admit…I add chives to just about everything when I have fresh ones available. They’re great to throw in a potato side dish for dinner. I also love to add them to vegetable sides and even in my soups. They work for everything! And chives are another super easy herb to grow. If you like onions, you’ll love chives. I’ve even added them to butter and oils too. They have just the right amount of flavoring to take your meals for the family over the top! Find out more great information about chives at NaturalLivingIdeas.com!
Lavender
I am a big user of essential oils and Lavender is one of my favorites. NaturalLivingIdeas.com and PreparednessMama.com have tons of great ideas on how to use home-grown lavender from your garden, but in my home, it’s one of the few herbs I grow to simply enjoy the fragrance and beauty. I know, I know… I could be doing SO much more with it and maybe this is the summer that I will. But because it’s a natural mosquito repellent, I like having it in the garden the entire summer to keep those nasty bugs away!
Garlic
Garlic is something I have yet to grow in my own garden, but this is the year! I’ve been wanting to for a few summers now and I know that I would get so much use out of my harvest. So I’m making the leap to plant some fresh garlic this spring! Thanks to PreparednessMama.com, I have lots of ideas and with the information I was able to glean from their great article, I know just what I’m going to do before I plant my garlic!
Chamomile
I’m a huge tea drinker and since I started planting Chamomile a couple of years ago, I’ll never turn back! PreparednessMama.com will give you some highlights before you start planting your herb garden. I don’t know about you, but I need a little calm and relaxing part of my day after all of the Mom duties that are thrown at me. I absolutely love being able to start my day with a nice brew of tea with fresh chamomile in it, or even better…soaking in a tub at night with a fresh cup of tea next to me. It doesn’t get any better than that!
Cilantro
Cilantro is one of my favorite herbs to use when it comes time to cook a meal. And salsa! Have you ever tried making your own homemade salsa? It’s super easy and with some fresh herbs to add, you will be getting compliments left and right on the great salsa you made. Can it if you want to enjoy some in the winter too! As seen at UntrainedHousewife.com, cilantro is great to just let flower and seed by not harvesting it. Before you know it, bam! You have fresh coriander, too! NaturalLivingIdeas.com gives even more instructions on what you can do with cilantro, but in my house, it’s one that has become a staple all year long.
Sage
Sage is something I use A LOT when I’m baking fresh bread! Yup! Bread! UntrainedHousewife.com has tons of great tips on growing it specifically for where you live, but it’s a super easy herb that you more than likely won’t have any issues with. I love to use it when cooking, but there is something about a piping hot loaf of fresh bread that is ready as your family sits down for dinner that has become an absolute favorite of mine! I’ll generally add in a few more herbs to the bread, as well, and it is absolute perfection.
Dill
Mmmmm…Dill! It has a pretty specific flavor that you will either love or hate, but we definitely love it in our family! One thing’s for sure…we can never eat enough 24 hour dill pickles! It’s also a great addition to side dishes and I also love adding it to a meat dish too. But who knew it had so many healing properties! Head over to LAHealthyLiving.com to see the 10 healing properties that dill provides. I’ll have to expand my dill horizons this year and see what I can use it with for health purposes with my family too!
And just like that you are going to be all set to have an herb garden! I do grow my herbs in a separate area from my main garden, but mainly just so it’s closer to my kitchen where I use them almost daily! I would be lost without my herbs! So get to planning that herb garden! Have fun!
Are there any other herbs that you HAVE to have in your garden for your family? Comment below and let us know what they are! We love to find new herbs to use at home! 🙂
Nice post. Can we grow all these herbs in pots.
Wow, this is cool all the herbs are amazing, I definitely try this at my garden.