What Herbs Are You Planting This Year?

I always have a lot of herbs going year round with mostly green onions and parsley because that's what I use most. I also have oregano, thyme, rosemary, dill (which I plant every fall and cut back around this time to try and make it last through the summer), a few varieties of mint, chives, and probably a few others that I'm leaving out. Will be taking my Genovese basil and thai basil out of the greenhouse to plant very soon.

I think the thyme you are looking for is normally referred to as common thyme or English thyme. I also really like the variegated lemon thyme. Although I really don't use it much in cooking except a little to infuse my tea when brewing, it's really nice to plant in walking pathways. It will spread like a ground cover plant and give off the most wonderful scent with every step.

Oregano, Rosemary, mint and english thyme are evergreen even here in Dallas. All except the rosemary got knocked back the night it went to 15 degrees but they are coming back now. I have my basil in a container and was able to over winter it by taking it inside those few times it got below freezing this year. I did plant a new oregano and basil just because I use so much of it.

Basil, rosemary, and maybe some cilantro

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lemon thyme.

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I love lemon thyme as well, though I don't use it much as you point out. It's good in salad dressings and there's a lemon, thyme and squash soup I make during the warmer months in which it is a delicious addition.

Lost most of what I had in the freeze and my large rosemary bush died suddenly for reasons unknown last Fall. It was nice and hearty and seemed to die overnight. I see some sprouting going on, so something is coming back a bit.

Thanks. That's what we're doing. I have plenty of room for more rosemary and plan to plant multiple bushes this year.

I usually have thyme, lemon thyme, sweet basil, thai basil, oregano, spicy oregano (I've only found this at Whole Foods in the Spring, but it's really good), lemon balm, a few kinds of mint and chives. For the most part, I'm having to start over this year. I rarely use sage, but I've had it and ironically, it did better than some of the others.

I have a garden area where some are planted. Some are in large pots and, this year, my yard guy is building a raised box for some or maybe he's putting the tomatoes in that one. I'm not sure.

Just planted yesterday in pots on my patio:

Basil
Lemon Mint
Orange Mint
Creeping Rosemary
Lavender
Italian Parsley
Garlic Chives
Fat Leaf Chives

And a Dwarf Meyer Lemon Tree. Sort of worried about this one. Patio gets about 7 or so hours of good sun a day. Its about 2 feet tall now. Its also in a whiskey barrel pot with about 1.5' of citrus soil & organic potting mix. covered with about 3"-4" of mulch. stem base protected with a 4" diameter PVC pipe. Interested to see how it grows and produces though.

Planted one in ground in LA at my old house and it produces lemons like crazy.

Most herbs can be grown in a small flowerbed or large pots. Small pots won't work. Herbs are tough, but have fairly large root systems for their size (part of what makes them drought tolerant). Most of the typical mediterranean herbs prefer well drained soil and full sun (rosemary, thyme, sage, fennel, basil). Rosemary and thyme are perennial in my zone 9, south of I-10 SE LA garden, but basil is an annual. Basil will flower once 8 sets of leaves are produced, and then it will die. All you need to do is to keep pinching back the plant---it will branch out & become bushy.

Cilantro is a cool-season herb here...it is beginning to flower in my garden. I let it set seeds, then scatter the seeds in the garden. It will sprout in the winter & grow until the weather warms up. Ditto for basil: let it go to seed in the fall & you'll have a free crop of self-sown basil in the spring. Thai/holy basil is especially good at self-sowing.

The most striking herb in my garden is bronze fennel: it's a bi-ennial...takes two years to go to seed, but makes a very heavy seed crop suitable for harvest & use as a spice or for replanting. Mammoth dill is another good one for seed saving.