1. Beyond the basic herbs

    July 2, 2009 by strangefruit

    Herbs are some of my favorite plants as they have so many uses: I use fresh herbs daily for cooking, I love letting my fingers play with them just to smell their scent, and I find that their varied foilage add beauty to the garden.

    Currently I have these basic herb plants: sweet basil, chives, peppermint, thyme, parsley, lavender, rosemary, and dill.

    basilchivespeppermintthymeparsleylavender2rosemarydill

    Sadly I just had to let a couple of plants go to the eternal land of composting, which opened up some spots for additional herbs. I figured it was a good idea to ask the green thumbs on twitter for suggestions for which herbs to get in addition to the ones I had (I apologize for forgetting to mention that I already have lavender, rosemary, and dill). Here are the great suggestions I got:

    • @angelcityart How about rosemary, chocolate mint and fresh cilantro?
    • @green_leigh For funsies – lemongrass & stevia - make your own sweetened tisane. Yum.
    • @jesterhillfarm We have some garlic chives and we really love the flavor! Started from seed years ago & keeps coming back every spring.
    • @sundevilpeg Epazote is beyond easy to grow. It grows like a weed – being that that’s what it is! Impervious to pests and diseases, too.
    • @mimi63 stevia and cilantro are 2 of my fav’s also chocolate mint
    • @Wildflower222 Fresh cilantro for Tex-Mex
    • @Cookiegirlandi Tarragon is wonderful!Fennel,Chamomile,Dill, Sage. :)
    • @gardenmom29 I saw somebody already said sage & rosemary…how about oregano? or fennel?
    • @afreshspace we’ve got lavendar, stevia, sage, rosemary and a couple different varieties of thyme
    • @katie_1955 rosemary & oregeno
    • @bportgardener How about cilantro (seeds are coriander), borage (pretty flowers) and chamomile?
    • @EastSideGarden Don’t forget cilantro and use it to make a yummy strawberry salsa (strawberries, lime, cilantro, red onion, and balsamic). mmmm
    • @FarmerBenji howzabout dill and fennel? Plus lovage?
    • @SeasonalWisdom Plant suggestions?  how about chamomile, calendula and borage? Pretty flowers that taste good too. Warning: they self seed..
    • @luvzwool marjoram borage nasturtiums tarragon rosemary
    • @MyRubberBoots you should get Salvia Microphylla ‘Hot Lips’. I planted it this year & LOVE how it smells & looks. I’m normally not a big Sage fan.
    • @4bratz2luv Cilantro, lavendar, sage and lemon basil
    • @DocDamo Oregano and rosemary are great and simple, but they can take over. Excellent to mix with the basil in Italian cooking though!
    • @greenlasagna Why don’t you have rosemary? It’s so easy to grow! Pineapple sage blooms w/ beautiful red flowers in the fall.
    • @AnarchyGarden oregano, marjoram, epazote, dill
    • @greenlasagna Check out the sages. There are some really pretty ones, like tricolor sage. Also, try some epazote if you like mexican food.
    • @PureAveda I think rosemary would make a lovely addition to your herb garden… fragrant & delicious :-)
    • @Curvyboom Oregano, cilantro, dill, rosemary.

    I think the herbs that were most frequently mentioned were sage, cilantro, and epazote. I have to admit I am not crazy about the flavor of cilantro, but I am thinking of giving it another try since so many recommended it. The garlic chives and chocolate mint sound really yummy. There are so many great suggestions, and I am looking forward to getting more familiar with these new flavors, scents and looks!