There's nothing quite like fresh herbs from a home garden to spice up a meal.
Planting an herb garden doesn't need to be complicated. Part of the fun is the selection of herbs to grow. You can search Internet herb catalogs to buy hard-to-find seeds or plants or visit garden centers for more common varieties.
Herbs can be planted any time of year although spring and fall are the most popular. I prefer herbs in pots because I place them in a location convenient to the kitchen. I use a variety of different new and older pots of various sizes.
Many herbs must be treated as annuals because frost will kill them; however, there are varieties that do well in winter, such as varieties of oregano and parsley.
Most herbs prefer full sun. The only maintenance needed for herbs is watering and the occasional dead-heading and fertilization with a water-soluble or granular slow-release fertilizer every four to six weeks or as directed.
One of the nice things about herbs in pots is that fragile plants can be brought indoors before the first freeze.
Start with just a few pots and continue to add new pots as you discover new varieties that will add wonderful new and different tastes to your meals.
Bon appetit!
REACH LARRY BARATTO, A MASTER GARDENER, LANDSCAPE DESIGNER AND OWNER OF GARDEN COACH, A PERSONALIZED GARDEN AND LANDSCAPE SERVICE, ATL.BARATTO@COMCAST.NET.
