I asked James Mann who is an expert on Herb Gardening to share some of this thoughts with us.

I have always loved herbs but it was until I started herb gardening that I really started to understand herbs. They have quickly become my favorite plant in my backyard garden. Of course my only thought on herbs before I had a garden was strictly for the kitchen and my cooking.

Of course herbs have their practical value and they certainly serve a purpose, Mmmmmmm, but they also look beautiful in my garden and make the yard smell nice and that’s a blessing here in town. Oh yeah we don’t want to forget that with herb gardening you can actually use your plants in your food, which is what most people think of immediately.

Fresh herbs are far superior in flavor than dried but if you don’t have an indoor herb garden you are going to have to dry those herbs so you have them all through the winter months. It’s not difficult, you just…

First, cut the tops off leafy herbs and wash thoroughly, then hang them until the water evaporates. Next you can tie all the stems together and put them in a paper bag to dry for a couple of weeks. Once dry you can crush the leaves and store them in glass jars until you need them.

I can’t get enough of cooking shows, just love the Food Network. Lot’s of Italian cooking going on there and one of the most used herbs it Basil, so why not have your own basil growing in your herb garden.

Regular green basil is great but give Dark Opal a try as well, they make a great decoration and addition to any backyard garden, or even your windowsills because the Dark Opal basil has light pink flowers and dark red leaves making it beautiful to look at.

I don’t grow basil strictly for its good looks; I use it for extra flavor in tomato juices and pastes.

Do you like baked potatoes fresh of your BBQ? Well chives are one of my fav things to put on my baked potatoes. They are very petite looking and resemble a blade of grass or very young green onions. Chives may be small and fragile looking but can handle some pretty dry conditions and make a great addition to your herb garden. We use them for more than just baked potatoes, chives are great in salads, egg dishes, and many different sauces.

Other great herbs for you garden are mint, great in jellies, thyme and sage for flavoring soups, chicken, turkey, pork, and other sausages. Some grow sage for its beautiful blue spiked flowers and have no desire to cook with it.

My beautiful wife can’t get enough lavender because it is probably the best smelling herb in all of herb gardening. She has lavender everything like candles and perfume. Their light purple flowers smell absolutely lovely.

Other types of herbs often grown in herb gardening include borage (used in salads), chervil (used in egg dishes), sweet marjoram (flavors lamb, fish, salad, and soup), sesame (flavors crackers, cookies, and bread), and dill (flavors meats and used in pickles). Herb gardening allows gardeners to use herbs from their own garden for cooking, looks, and smell. Herb gardening will produce much fresher herbs with more flavor than store-bought herbs, and are a lot cheaper.

You can read more from James at his Herb Gardening Site

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