Herbs in the Garden

Host: Gary Bachman, Ornamental Horticulture Specialist

Transcription:

With the increased interest in gardening, more home owners than ever are growing herbs in home gardens today on Southern Gardening.

Herbs are a popular group of vegetable garden plants and many gardeners think they’re hard to grow. Herbs have been used for centuries for flavorings. And believe it or not, herbs just don’t come out of those cute little jars. They can add interest with a wide variety of foliage color, aroma, and textures. Right now the gardens centers have a broad variety of herbs ready to plant into your landscape. Now personally I would grow herbs in containers so they can be placed near the house for easier harvest. I’d like to suggest some herbs that can make any new gardener look like a pro. Dill is a popular choice with its frilly fine textured foliage. This is a forgiving herb that is a popular choice for fish dishes and the flower heads are used for home grown dill pickles. Another fine textured feathery herb is bronze fennel. This herb adds a sophisticated anise flavoring to dishes. Thyme is a popular low growing and trailing herb. English thyme is a common green variety. For color, try either lemon or variegated thyme while wooly thyme has a fuzzy pubescence on the leaves. A coarse leaved perennial herb is sage. The common variety has grayish green leafs, but there are more foliage color options. Icterina is variegated with dark green centers and light green edges and Tricolor has green, white and pinkish foliage and looks really good in a container. Herbs can be used fresh, or be dried down to store for use on a cold day next winter.

Herbs should be picked in the morning when their aromatic essential oils are at their peak. I’m horticulturist Gary Bachman for Southern Gardening.