Garden Layout
The first thing you need to consider is your garden space, naturally. How big is the area you can devote to cultivating herbs, and how do you envisage the herb garden in this area – raised bed, or laid beds, with a rockery designed around the plants?

Herb Favorites
You need to very early on consider the herb varieties you wish to gorw – as this will also determine how you lay out the garden – culinery herbs versus medicinal herbs for instance. And some are best used to decorate the garden, less for their edible qualities. Decide on the usefulness of each herb that you are planning to grow. And consider your local climatic conditions. Herbs are pretty delicate plants so plant them only if you think that the necessary weather conditions are suitable for them.

Practical Considerations
You also need to consider the best soil combination to use, how to prevent weeds (naturally is best), sun exposure and plant spacing. Herb plants are generally very easy to cultivate, if you are careful and attentive. Read up on the different varieties, and best treatment practices, as certain varieties need to be more carefullt watched, and some need to be controlled more, or they will end up taking over your garden (eg mint).

Container Planting
Use containers if you plan to grow herbs in pots, strategically placed around an area of your garden, or more likely where you are limited in space, and plan to grow herbs in your yard, for instance. Place together all the herbs that need similar soils and sun exposure in o few large pots, or pot each herb into individual small pots. I prefer the latter idea as it avoids the possibility of overcrowding, and until you are more familiar withthe growing patterns of each herb it is best to experiment a little at first. Some people make the mistake of planting herbs too close to each other. This will create competition between the herbs for space, and the weaker ones will get a beating. So while making your herb garden design plans, make sure that the plants are well spaced out.

Standard Outdoor Planting
Alternatively, you could plant the herbs outdoors. Allocate some space and design the herb garden. Again the same care needs to be taken. The sun and soil combinations for plants should be taken care of while planting the herbs. Most herbs are not averse to the sun and in fact thrive in good sunlight. Also make sure that you space the plants well so that they grow properly.

Decorative Planting
Decorative plantings look beautiful and give your home that ‘rolling-parkland’ kind of feel. This requres more planning and creativity. Firstly, you have to plan the whole project in advance. Look at other homes for ideas. Search the Internet and you will find some of the loveliest herb garden designs for your home. Chart out your garden first, before you go about the herb garden designs. See how best you can place the plants. Plan which ones will complement each other in color and size. Again, the main consideration to design a herb garden…spacing, spacing, spacing.

Check out the hugely informative growing herbs ebook for more information.

Here are a few tips on herb gardening indoors that replicate conditions in an outdoor garden. The secret to growing indoor herbs is to make sure that the growing climate is pretty much the same as the climate outside.

Buy your young herb plants from a good garden center nursery. You will need some garden equipment like a small digging garden tool, garden gloves, organic fertilizer and some small gardening containers. You probably already have most of these garden supplies in your garden shed anyway.

Soil is the most important aspect of growing herbs indoors. Use only top grade potting soil, with an organic fertilizer mixed in. If you think it is too fine a soil, use a little perlite. Fertilize while potting the herbs and they should be happy until spring. If you have an herb that is not growing vigorously add a little organic liquid fertilizer to the water. Be careful not to over-water, and to start use water in the pot tray, and let it soak in to the roots this way.

When you go to transplant the herb into a larger container, go one inch up in the size of the gardening container. If the plant is in a two inch pot, go to a three inch gardening container. Leave the roots alone as best you can, although they may need a little loosening if they are very settled in the original pot. And be careful not to bruise the stem. Most herbs can share containers, but bon’t plant oregano, mint, lemon balm or bee balm with other plants because they will overgrow everything. Pot these herbs in a garden container all of their own. Some people put garden stones in the bottom of the gardening container, but this is your choice – I don’t as they take up valuable soil space.

When it comes to light, all herbs must get 4 to 6 hours of sunlight a day on your window sill. If your window doesn’t supply that much light, then purchase garden grow lights and hang them three inches above the plants. If you live in a very hot climate shade the herbs during the hottest periods. If you live in a very cold climate keep the herbs away from the cold glass window panes.

When it comes to watering, don’t let the herbs dry out but as mentioned don’t drown them either. An inexpensive water meter from your garden center nursery will help with this important step in growing your herbs, but is not really necessary. Always use room temperature water so as not to shock the herb’s roots.

If you follow all of these steps you will have a healthy herb garden all winter. Get more gret information from how to grow herbs.

You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘Italian herb garden’ – but what does it mean exactly? Well, put simply, some of the most famous and tastiest herbs in the world come from Italy.  Some great cooking recipes also come from Italy, and they are famous in part for their herbs. For more information try our Herb Gardening eBook.

Basil is a well know ‘Italian’ herb and useful in many Italian recipes.  Basil will not only add flavor to many Italian cuisines, it is useful in the garden for other plants.  Planting basil next to your peppers and tomatoes will actually improve their flavor.  Basil will also repel flies and mosquitoes.

Parsley is a relatively difficult plant to grow well, but it is useful in not only Italian dishes but many other types of cuisines.  A long time before we had breath mints, people would  eat fresh parsley after a meal to remove the bad breath left over from enjoying a meal.  The tradition arose in Europe to serve parsley on a small dish after the meal.  The tradition lives on today by using parsley as a garnish on a variety of meals, especially meals including strong onions or garlic in them.

Like basil, rosemary is an Italian herb that is beneficial to the garden.  It grows into a large shrub that spouts pretty little blue flowers.  It helps the garden by attracting bees.  Although it is a tough evergreen perennial, it is sensitive to frost.

Oregano is as decorative as it is flavorsome.  When it is fully mature it sprouts pretty purple flowers.  Oregano should not be harvested until it has flowered because this is when the plant is most flavorful.

Fennel is another famous for its seeds, which can enhance the flavors of Italian sausage.  The interesting thing about fennel is that the plant looses its flavor as it matures.  It is a perennial plant that should be divided and replanted every few years to savor its flavor (!).

However, probably the most used herb in Italian cuisines is garlic.  No Italian herb garden would be complete without this useful herb.  Garlic gloves can be planted and will thrive in just about any garden with very little attention.  They can be stored to be used at a later time after they are harvested by freezing them or pickling them to store in the refrigerator, or hanging in the airing closet.

Sage is used in a variety of Italian dishes from meats to salads.  New shoots of the plant contain the most flavor, so it is recommended not to let sage plants to get to woody by keeping them trim. This way new shoots will be encouraged to grow.  Sage can be harvested after it blooms.

There are many more herbs that can be included in an Italian herb garden, you really should consider which herbs you are particularly partial to eating in your recipes. Think about the growing conditions each plant needs. Italian herbs add flavor to food but they should also be looked at as more then that.  They also make amazing additions to landscape designs.  They can be displayed for color and their aroma.  By planting Italian herbs amongst other plants, you will be graced with the sweet aromas straight from Italy.  It will be like taking a stroll on an Italian hillside.  Grazie!