Well, you can grow herbs anywhere. But here in Iowa, some overwinter while others need to be brought in or replaced every year. This photo is from a couple of years ago. Sadly, with this year’s heavy rains and high temps, it’s not quite as pretty. But it’s basically the same layout every year.
We put in our herb garden by our deck years ago in raised beds. We keep rosemary in a pot so it’s easier to take in the house before the first freeze. I also plant Basil from seed every year. I have several long pots up on the deck filled with basil, along with cilantro, spinach and arugula.
We have some hardy ones that come up year after year: lemon Balm, thyme (upright & creeping), marjoram, chives, sage and sorrel.
Every once in a while, I have to replace a hardy herb. A couple of years ago, my sage never came back. It was normally a huge and sturdy plant, providing tons of lovely flavor for my Thanksgiving stuffing. Thank goodness I had some frozen for that year. I planted a new sage plant the next spring and it is huge and thriving.
Some herbs die back but reseed themselves. Especially dill.
How do you use herbs in your cooking? There are a lot of articles out there about what goes best with a dish, etc. But my favorite thing to do is lay out what I’m going to cook, think about how it tastes, then go to my herb garden and do some sniffing. It’s surprising how you can envision how a certain herb can go together famously with a dish. The sky is the limit.
Even if you just have a windowsill for space, you can enjoy the taste of fresh herbs every day.
A few tips:
- Most herbs freeze well. Then you can use all winter long. Except for basil – it turns brown.
- To keep your basil green when freezing, puree with olive oil, put into ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, you can pop them out and put in a freezer safe bag.
