One Essential Rule in Kitchen Herb Gardening

Kitchen herb gardening is a tiny bit different than the normal herb gardening and if you want to learn about herb gardening, this is a good place to start.

The rule of thumb for this important garden is to only grow what you use regularly and as close to the kitchen as possible

There is little sense in growing herbs you do not want to use fresh and use often in an important garden space. In my own kitchen garden, I keep chives, garlic chives, basil and sorrel as close to the door as possible. I use these in salads or cooking (garlic chives with fried eggs or omelets are superb for a wakeup breakfast call) and will use them more often if they are close and easy to harvest. If I have to walk a long way to get them (like out into the main garden) I’ll use them less frequently.

Even though my garden is fairly close to the house, I want those particular herbs close to me. You’ll have different ones, you’ll make different choices based on your use but follow the rule of thumb – grow the herbs you’ll use regularly and fresh in your kitchen herb garden.

The rest of the herbs – those I dry or use infrequently – go out into the main herb garden and I’ll grow and harvest those as part of my normal routine.

And finally, tuck these kitchen herbs among your flowers and shrubs so they don't take up too much space. You'll be cutting them and they'll get that ugly, pruned-look regularly so do hide them if possible among the rest of your plants.

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