Some years, gardening isn't in the cards thanks to renovations that are more overwhelming than planned, or too much work, or a rain every single weekend leaving no time to till the garden plot. And this year is going to be one of those years unfortunately, at least for my spring garden. But no matter what, I always make sure to have a thriving herb garden for cooking applications. There's nothing like going outside to snip your own fresh herbs. I wanted to share my top five herb garden essentials that I enjoy every single year without fail, no matter how small my garden is.
I have some plants that come back year after year thanks to my mulch and roof overhang, which keeps the herbs from getting frost on them. But others I have to replant each year and they get used steadily! With careful planning, you can enjoy the perennial nature of many of these herbs.
Basil
Basil is a classic! I usually grow several plants — one year I grew them from seed and had about thirty plants. I had a LOT of pesto that year. It's also great cut in a chiffonade in caprese salads, in pasta sauce and other Italian dishes, and dried for use throughout the rest of the year.
Thai Basil
You can totally tell the difference in regular basil and Thai basil. For starters, Thai basil usually has a purplish hue to it, and a more anise-y scent. As you can imagine, it's great in Thai dishes, and I like to have a plant in the garden to add into my favorite, drunken noodles, over the spring, summer, and fall. Thai basil also goes great in other stir fries and curries for a special touch.
Spearmint
Everyone cautions against growing mint directly in the ground, but I love letting it grow wild in a section of my backyard herb bed. All that means is that I have that much more mint each year since it multiples, and not as crazily as people may lead you to believe. It smells great on top of that. I like going and snipping off leaves to use in smoothies, mint tea, as garnishes for cocktails, and to mix into my Israeli couscous tabbouleh. Dried just isn't the same in this application! Make sure to get spearmint and not peppermint if you don't want it to taste like Christmas in July. There are also a ton of other mint varieties — lavender mint is another favorite of mine.
Lemongrass
Another traditionally Thai flavor, I love lemongrass in the garden for the herb and for it's bug repellant powers. While it smells amazing to humans, bugs seem to hate it. Works for me! I can then use the citrusy stalks to make simple syrups for cocktails, my favorite application for it. The stalks also freeze well if you have a bumper crop, which is easy to do. Lemongrass is also a staple flavor of Thai cooking.
Bay Leaf
Yes, believe it or not, you can grow your own bay leaves to use in cooking. Not many nurseries seem to carry it, but I found mine at the Plant Shop at the Old Mill for those local to Columbia, SC. Make sure to get the right kind of bay plant for cooking though. I planted one in a big container and one directly in the ground to see what worked better and both of them are doing great. Apparently bay plants can get huge though so consider that when planting in the ground.
Extras
I also love growing lavender, thyme, chocolate mint, catnip (even though I have no cats), and rosemary! If you grow what you like, you'll use it and come to depend on it as it depends on you to water and give it nutrients.
