My Favorite Herbs to Grow in My Backyard
I don’t know that I’d go so far as to say that I have a green thumb just yet, but each year I learn a little more and get a little bit more garden savvy.
I love growing herbs. They are probably my favorite things to grow in my garden.
Herbs are incredibly versatile. I am fascinated by herbs and all of their nutritional and medicinal benefits. You can add them to salads, pizzas, soups, stews, and just about anything else you come up with in the kitchen. Plus, herbs can be made into teas or tinctures. Herbs can be rubbed on your skin or eaten by themselves. The list goes on and on!
From a gardening standpoint, herbs are so easy to grow. They are great for newbie gardeners because they are so tough (read: hard to kill) and don’t require a lot of attention in order to produce!
I thought it would be fun to share what herbs I’m growing this year.
Parsley
Who doesn’t love parsley? I use it often in my cooking, but did you know that it’s an incredibly healthy addition to your daily diet?
Parsley is high in antioxidants and Vitamin C, as well as a good source of Vitamin A. It’s also a good source of folic acid, which is essential for a healthy pregnancy.
I love adding parsley to anything I cook, salads, salad dressings, and just picking it off the plant and eating it raw. Parsley is not just a decorative garnish!
Oregano
Oregano is a wonderful herb to use both in cooking and medicinally. It’s high in antioxidants and has antibacterial/antifungal properties. I keep Oil of Oregano stocked in my natural medicine cabinet.
Oregano grows easily, making it a great beginner’s herb.
Thyme
Thyme is another wonderful herb to use both in cooking and medicinally.
It’s great addition to salads, salad dressings, soups, and as meat seasoning.
In addition, thyme is an antiseptic which makes it great for cuts and scrapes. It comes in handy during cold and flu season as it helps clear congestion and other ailments.
Sweet Basil
Sweet basil is a rich source of vitamin K, beta carotene, and iron. It’s also known for its anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties.
Lemon Basil
Like sweet basil, lemon basil is a rich source of Vitamin K, beta carotene, and iron. I planted lemon basil simply for variety, and it smelled too good to pass up!
Rosemary
Rosemary is most commonly used to season meats, stews, and soups. But it can also be used in many natural remedies to treat migraines, enhance memory, improve digestion, and promote hair growth.
It’s a good source of iron, vitamin B6, and calcium.
Cilantro
Another tasty addition to your kitchen cuisine as well as being rich in essential vitamins and minerals.
Cilantro is a great cleansing agent, which helps transport toxins out of your body. It helps improve digestion, ease menstrual cramps, and so much more!
Lemon balm
Lemon balm is hands down my favorite herb. It’s currently growing in a bed of rocks outside my kitchen window. The previous home owners planted it, and I see no need to move it. It smells so wonderful, and it thrives where it is. It’s amazing really.
I think it’s safe to say that lemon balm will grow just about anywhere!
Lemon balm aids digestion, menstrual cramps, and helps calm nerves. It’s a natural remedy for bee stings and tastes great in salads.
My current favorite use for lemon balm is in iced tea. So good!
Pineapple Sage
Pineapple sage is new to me. I added it to my container garden this year alongside my sweet basil.
It smells amazing! It’s beautiful to look at, and it tastes delicious.
I like to throw it into a fresh salad, sprinkle on top of some baked fish, or even brewed in with a few other herbs for iced tea.
Sages have been used for years as part of the culinary herbs, but it’s also mild enough to be incredibly useful for children.
Echinacea
The purple cone flower is beautiful to look at, but it’s also great during the cold and flu season.
Echinacea is a powerful antiobiotic and immune booster. We use it in teas and tinctures.
Chocolate Mint
Another one that’s new to me is the chocolate mint. I couldn’t resist adding it to my garden after I smelled it. Chocolate? Mint? Together? Yes, please!
Chocolate mint makes a great herbal tea, but it also has many other uses.
You can put it into iced teas (my personal favorite right now) as well as use it cakes, cookies, and pies. Just infuse the mint leaves into the milk!
Like other mints, it aids digestion and can take over you garden. If you don’t want it to spread, then put it in a pot.
Peppermint
Peppermint is one of my family’s favorite herbs. It’s great for digestion, cold, flu, migraines, and more!
Peppermint makes a great hot tea and a wonderfully refreshing cold tea. I like to mix it with cream and honey when I drink it hot. Yum! Peppermint tea is also a great alternative to coffee.
Peppermint grows easily just about anywhere. But beware, it will spread like crazy! I use it for ground cover so I don’t mind. If you don’t want it to spread, then put it in a pot.
Spearmint
Spearmint is my husband’s favorite. He prefers spearmint over peppermint when making hot teas and home remedies. It’s not my favorite, but I grow it for him.
Spearmint aids digestion and works as an astringent, which means it relieves inflamed tissues.
Catnip
I’m not a cat lover, so I’m not trying to attract cats. However, I can’t resist this herb in my garden. It has incredible medicinal properties that I can’t pass up.
Catnip is great for cold and flu season, but it’s also a calming herb, which makes it a great bedtime remedy for restless little children. Catnip settles the stomach and soothes the nerves. It’s also a great herb for natural teething tea.
Garlic
Oh how I have a major love affair with garlic.
I’ve written about garlic before, and even shared 7 ways to eat raw garlic.
We’ve used garlic to fight the flu naturally and as an immune booster during cold and flu season.
This is my first year to grow my own, and I can’t wait to see how they turn out.
In addition to these herbs that I choose to grow intentionally, I have a few herbs growing that I thought were weeds. I’ll share about those in another post! I’m currently learning the art of wild crafting. Totally fascinating!
The photos are lovely! I’m slowly working on growing my collection of perennial herbs. It’s so fun seeing which ones come up again in the spring.
Not only are they delicious and nutritious, they seem to be really beneficial to the garden (and chickens!)
Jealous of your chickens! But yes, it is so fun to see which ones come back each year! I think perennials (flower, herb, whatever) are just so amazing. We live where it can easily be 30-40 below zero for days on end in the winter. As a matter of fact, we might get another freeze tonight and possible snow on the mountain (hoping for just rain here, fingers crossed). So the fact that anything comes back each spring amazes me!