Gardening with Herbs

Adding herbs to your garden is fun! They are easy to grow and good for your health. Many herbs not only add flavor to your favorite dishes, but much-needed antioxidants and nutrients to your diet.

We have compiled a list of our top five herbs to add to your garden:

1. Parsley

Parsley is a wonderful compliment to meat and egg dishes, potato and pasta dishes, vegetables, rice, salads, and soups, as well as cottage cheese and herb butters. Add chopped parsley to a dish near the end of the cooking process or sprinkle it on vegetables or salads immediately before serving to keep the fresh flavor.

Parsley is a hardy herb that makes an attractive edging plant. Its curly, fern-like foliage is high in vitamins and the plant is rarely affected by disease.

2. Thyme

The earthy aroma of thyme is commonly used to season many poultry and beef dishes. Its savory flavor has a long shelf life when dried and can help soothe coughs and sore throats when steeped in hot water.

Thyme is one of the hardiest plants and is perfect to use as edging or as an addition to a container garden.

Thyme is a perennial ground cover, with tiny, gray-green leaves and a cluster of small, violet-blue flowers in spring or summer. 

3. Rosemary

Chosen by most gardeners for its beautiful blue flowers, Rosemary is commonly used in the kitchen to season poultry and pork dishes. Its robust aroma is pleasing to humans, but doubles as an excellent way to deter many insects in the garden.

This 3-foot plant is hardy in warm climates. Tiny, pale blue flowers bloom in winter or in early spring over aromatic grayish-green, needle-like foliage.

4. Mint

Any type of Mint is popular and versatile in the garden. Its pleasant aroma, refreshing flavor and cooling sensation make it an all-time favorite. Mint is used mostly in lamb dishes and is the main ingredient in many cocktails.

Dried mint leaves have the ability to soothe stomach aches when steeped in hot water and can also be used as potpourri to freshen up a space.

Mint will grow in most conditions but not too dry. It likes damp, moist soil with shade at the roots and sun on the leaves. We suggest growing mint in a pot. Left to grow outside of a container it will take over a garden space within a couple years.

5. Basil

Used in almost every Italian dish, basil is a must in any herb garden. From pesto to salads, the flavor is remarkably fresh. Dried Basil is known to have a long shelf life. That makes it a staple in any winter pantry.

Normally bought as an annual, you can harvest basil leaves all season long. Keep pinching off the flower heads so the plant will grow new leaves all summer long.

This annual herb is one of the most ornamental, with broad, clove-scented leaves of green or purple and a spike of white, purple, or pink flowers.

For a complete list of over 30 herbs to add to your garden, click here for a list of basic guidelines for growing herbs.

Want to learn more about herbs? Check out our workshop calendar to see when our next “Gardening with Herbs Workshop” is scheduled.

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Here at Wingard’s Market we specialize in providing outstanding customer service,offeringr professional gardening advice, and answers to your everyday gardening questions.  Stop by and visit our beautiful Gift Shoppe and Fresh Produce Market while you stroll under century-old pecan trees.  It’s truly a Garden Wonderland!

Located at 1403 North Lake Drive in Lexington, SC. Call us at (803) 359-9091