Re Herb Garden Information

Gardening is one of the most popular hobbies in the US and UK with herb gardening a very successful branch off. So why is this so?

In gardening, you can grow vegetables and fruits for eating and flowers for enjoyment. In herb gardening, you get enjoyment and eating plus adventure and more! An herb garden will provide you with a harvest of culinary herbs that will not only enhance your dishes but also have the ability to provide healing, comfort, decoration and even make the clothes in your drawers smell good. Where appropriate they can make your workouts more interesting and more effective and you do not have to have six pack abs to show before you can start!

And it does not have to end there. You can choose to stretch this hobby further by extending your herb gardening into the exploration and experimenting of international cuisines. If you think you have run out of steam with that you can go on further into experimenting with healing herbal teas or even into herb plants arrangements (like flower arrangement) and so on. You are limited only by your imagination and passion.

Indeed, very few hobbies can provide as much satisfaction as herb gardening.

Like normal plants herb gardening plants include perennials, annuals and biennials. The top three perennial plants that offer all the above benefits are:

• Lavender.
To me, except perhaps for a field of daffodils there are few sights that can challenge the sight of a meadow filled with purple lavender. Not only is lavender used for everything from cooking to healing, they would adorn any flower bed with their lovely foliage and colours that include blue and white.

• Mint
Now I know that mint is sometimes shunned because of its intrusive nature but confine it into a pot and you will be able to enjoy its many benefits.

Mint is my wife's favourite herb when a handful of it is added to a bowl of laksa soup (a sourish fish soup with white rice noodles). It is also the herb that we turn to for a healing cup of mint herbal tea to settle an upset tummy.

There are a number of varieties to grow including Peppermint, Orange Mint and Kentucky Colonel Mint and they all give off a refreshing minty scent and taste.

• Thyme
Thyme will grow in just about any garden. Like mint tea, thyme tea gives welcome relief for upset stomachs. You can also sip away soreness in your throat with thyme tea.

My top three favourite annual herbs are:

• Aloe Vera
Excellent for growing indoors or out, the aloe plant grows easily although care must be taken when a frost arrives.

My aloe plant in the kitchen looks a bit rough as its leaves have at various times been cut to ease that accidental burn or cut with its juicy pulp. This pulp is also great for relieving insect bites.

• Basil
My all time favourite (besides garlic). As I have written many times, this aromatic herb never fails to please at dinner time in my tom-yam basil chicken stir fry.

Additionally, basil tea is refreshing and uplifting with the ability to alleviate nausea and prevent coughs and colds.

• Chamomile.
There are few who do not know about the relaxing and calming attributes of chamomile tea. But it is capable of more. It gives comforting release for insomnia and recurring nightmares, sore throats and menstrual cramps.

My top three biennials are:

• Evening Primrose
One of the easier plants to grow, the evening primrose bears lemon yellow flowers. These flowers open around midday and again as evening arrive. Entirely edible from roots to flowers this plant possesses extraordinary healing properties for relieving especially women's ailments.

• Parsley
Easily one of the more popular culinary herbs, parsley is full of minerals and vitamins like iron, calcium, vitamins A and B and more vitamin C than are in oranges!

• Foxglove
I like foxgloves for their bold colours and dramatic heights that make them suitable for planting right at the back of the plot. They can grow to six feet tall and bear lots of flowers all the way down the stalk that attract bees and butterflies and even hummingbirds.

Why not start a small herb gardening project with just a small pot each of the above herb plants on your windowsill. Choose a south or west facing windowsill to put your plants, water them but not too much and watch them thrive.

You can get even more ideas and easy to follow expert guidance when you download "Successful Herb Gardening ~ Step-by-Step." Happy gardening!

Shad Alan is an herb gardening enthusiast and owner of the Herb Gardening Site. For more great tips and herb garden information plus expert guidance on herb gardening that you can download, visit http://www.herbgardeningsite.com the one-stop resource for herb gardening enthusiasts