I’ll never forget the first time I went herb shopping and that was the time I learned there's no better time than now to grow herbs.
I read a book about housecleaning with herbs.
How cool I thought.
The lady who wrote the book talked about putting mint in her wash water, so away I went in search of mint.
I knew I liked the smell of mint and the way my mouth felt cool when I chewed mint gum, so I reasoned why wouldn’t I like cleaning with mint?
When I got to the nursery I was shown a candy mint.
The lady encouraged me to smell it.
It did have a candy smell to it, sweet, but refreshing.
That plant was going home with me.
What other plants were there that smelled good I asked.
She showed me numerous other herbs, but I don’t remember any of them as clearly as I do the candy mint.
When I got home, I planted it in the ground and promptly cut off all the leaves – every last one.
I assumed it would grow back.
What a mistake!
Not only did I lose the plant but when I went back to get more they were all gone!
I did however, enjoy mopping the floor and doing dishes that day!
What a delight it was to work with candy mint!
That was my introduction to herb gardening.
Within the next two months I had a proper herb garden complete with different varieties of mint, dill, horseradish, lemon balm, thyme, oregano and a slew of other fragrant leaved herbs including scented geraniums.
Since I had no idea what to do with these plants other than use them in my wash water, I went to the library to find out.
Wow!
Potpourri!
How cool that idea was!
I could make my own potpourri.
Then I discovered I could make incense.
Awesome!
The real eye opener however was that they were edible!
Imagine that, scented and edible!
What more could one ask for!
From that day on, herbs went into everything.
Friends started talking about coming to my house to eat weeds in their foods.
Even my kids were saying I fed them weeds!
I patiently explained they were herbs, but not a lot of people caught my drift.
I kept on using them, experimenting, sometimes using a bit too much, sometimes not enough.
My love of herbs grew.
No garden was complete without them.
I brought them into the house in winter, then as I graduated to a greenhouse, added them there.
My first few herb gardens were hodge podge gardens with this herb and that herb mixed together.
No one but me could tell what the herbs were.
I tried labeling but the labels broke or were blown away.
Today my herb garden is being revamped.
It is being moved into raised beds with one type of herb per bed.
I am still working on labeling ideas, but at least they are organized.
From that tiny candy mint plant years ago, I have evolved.
Herbs I now grow include culinary sage, yarrow, thyme, lemon balm, lime balm, hops, horseradish, comfrey, spearmint, peppermint, pineapple mint, banana mint, chocolate mint, fennel, chamomile, rue, hyssop, motherwort, parsley, dill, oregano, lady’s bedstraw, sweet grass, vanilla grass, echinacea, St.John’s Wort as well as a slew of others.
On my most wanted list is candy mint, ginseng and goldenseal.
If you haven’t started an herb garden, there is no better time than now.
Growing your own herbs will not only delight you if you toss a few into your wash water, but will liven up your cooking, your bath time and many can be used medicinally to boot!
Herb Gardening
Herb Gardening Tips For Beginners
Follow these simple herb gardening tips for beginners to successfully start your herb garden. These herb garden tips are ideal for container gardens too.
Herb Garden Tips For Beginners
From how to grow herbs to how to harvest herbs and everything in between, these herb garden tips give bite sized information ideal for beginners.
How To Grow Bay Leaves Indoors
Discover the secrets of successful gardening with our guide on how to grow bay leaves indoors. Cultivate your own aromatic herb garden!
14 Common Herbal Medicine Garden Plants That Are Easy To Grow
These fourteen common herbal medicine garden plants are easy to grow, indoors or outdoors. Common medicinal herbs often double as culinary herbs, so it is possible you are already growing some of these if you already grow an herb garden.
Common Garden Herbs For An Herbal Medicine Garden
Starting an herbal medicine garden is easy. Self-sufficiency and alternative healing options are just a couple reasons to grow a medicinal garden.
Citrus Theme Garden Tutorial
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Popular Medicinal Herbs St. Johns Wort, Ginseng and Gingko Biloba for Natural Health
St. Johns Wort, Ginkgo Biloba and Ginseng are popular medicinal herbs for natural health. Growing medicinal herbs is quite easy to do.
Grow The Best Indoor Herb Garden Using These Herb Garden Tips
Learn how to grow the best indoor herb garden ever by following these simple herb garden tips. It really is easy to grow and harvest herbs year round.
Tips On Planning A Medicinal Herb Garden
Check out these tips for planning a medicinal herb garden. Learn how to choose what herbs to get started with, how to choose the right site and more.
Learn What To Plant In This Easy Herb Garden For Beginners
Knowing what to plant makes creating an easy herb garden for beginners to tend much more enjoyable. Try these eight herbs.
How To Grow Boswellia sacra
Boswellia sacra is the plant frankincense tears comes from. Learn how to grow the Boswellia sacra plant and what the various uses for it are.
The Truth About Authentic, Easy To Grow Lemon Grass
Lemon grass is a versatile herb that is known for being used in cooking. It is easy to grow and the lemon scent just can't be beat.
Sheri Ann Richerson
Learn how to make three different herb garden gifts, step by step plus get some great tips on propagating herbs.
The three types of gift ideas include:
Herbal Mason Jar Trio
Trio Of Herbs In Small Clay Pots
Herbal Advent Calendar
The idea that steals the show is the herb garden Advent Caledar.
Besides making a great gift, the herb garden Advent Calendar is ideal for homeschool families!
Allow the children to plant either an herb plant or herb seeds in little buckets and then hang them in a window so they can watch the herbs grow through the winter months.
Each day in addition to planting an herb in the buckets, a lesson could be taught about the herb.
The supplies for the Advent Calendar are available at many dollar stores or this could even be a lesson in recylcing supplies you have on hand.
If you love herbs - or know someone who does - this is one eCourse you won't want to miss!