Let’s Grow: Herbs

There are so many things to love about herbs. They’re easy to grow, even for beginner gardeners, and add beauty to your space. They don’t require much room in the garden, they smell great, and they offer a variety of health benefits and flavor when added to your meals.

Fall is actually a great time to plant an herb garden. Hardier herbs like rosemary, sage, and thyme can be started this time of year and will grow very well in areas with mild winters. Rosemary can even generally hang on for a couple of frosts.

If you’re a beginner gardener, it’s always okay to start off small. You can grow an assortment of your favorite herbs in individual pots that you can move inside and outdoors as needed.

I’ve always had the most success growing herbs in a larger planter. With a little bit more room, the herbs can generally maintain themselves and tolerate more abuse (too much sun, not enough water) than when they’re in one small pot.

In addition to my small and large herb planters, I stick different herb plants in the corners and along the edges of my kitchen garden because I don’t think you can have enough herbs. 

Top 10 Herbs to Grow

1. parsley
2. dill
3. cilantro
4. chives
5. garlic
6. sage
7. thyme
8. rosemary
9. calendula
10. chamomile

Parsley

Parsley is a low-maintenance herb in the carrot family that will love the cool weather, and because it’s a biennial, it can actually last through the winter if your location doesn’t get too cold.

Dill

Dill is a cool-loving herb and is extremely forgiving of just about all soil conditions. I even like to plant dill in my pollinator garden because swallowtail butterflies love dill flowers. I recommend saving your dill seeds to add on salads and soups in the wintertime when you’re missing that garden-fresh flavor.

Cilantro

Cilantro adds fresh, tangy flavor to so many different dishes, from salsa to pasta salads. If you plant cilantro now, you’ll still have time to enjoy the leaves before winter makes your soil unworkable. Bonus: its seeds, also known as coriander, are not only edible, they’re delicious. Cilantro is easy to grow in the fall and only gives you trouble in warmer weather when it tends to bolt.

Chives

Chives are a fantastic plant to grow if you want to try your hand at gardening, especially if you haven’t had much success yet, and with just a little bit of tending, you’ll be able to grow way more chives than you could ever think of using. It was my early success with chives in a pot that whet my appetite for growing my own fresh food in a simple way. My chives die back in the winter, but gardeners in milder climates can grow them year-round. One benefit of having chives regrow after winter is the amount of gorgeous purple blossoms it gives.

Garlic

Garlic is in the same family as chives, the Allium family, and while it’s not technically an herb, we use it like one in our kitchens to flavor our meals. Plant garlic in the fall and then allow it to do its thing throughout the entire winter. You’ll come back to harvest in the spring or summer. If you’re impatient, check out a fun project to regrow garlic from the store.

Sage

I love how the silvery leaves of sage provide a beautiful contrast to my other plants. Sage is a semi-woody perennial that can hang out in your garden for a long time with the proper care. It’s super easy to propagate, so take cuttings from your sage plants, pop them into some water, and never have to buy sage from the grocery store again.

Thyme

Thyme is an herb in the Lamiaceae plant family, which tends to do well most seasons of the year in the kitchen garden, including far into the cooler months. It grows quickly, and the stems, with their tiny gray-green leaves, look lovely draped over the corner of an herb garden or raised bed. Find out everything you need to know about thyme.

Rosemary

This woody evergreen herb comes from the Mediterranean, and although it loves lots of sun and warmth, it’s hardy enough to survive some winter climates. I love both the fragrance and the look of rosemary.

Calendula

Calendula is one of the easiest herbs to grow and start from seed. Its gorgeous flowers are edible and have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. I like to make my own calendula tea from dried leaves. Bonus: calendula is the perfect decoy to attract aphids and caterpillars away from your precious fall salad greens.

Chamomile

Chamomile, a member of the Aster family, is also a great herb for teas and has cute daisy-like flowers that give any garden a cottage feel. It’s low-maintenance and easily self-seeds for the next growing season