The idea of having tiny versions of every herb at your fingertips is appealing. Pruning and pinching will keep plants compact and bushy, but some herbs are meant to grow three feet tall. A mini herb garden is a collection of herbs grown in a compact space. Confining the herbs to a small planting bed or to a collection of pots will make your herb garden miniature. Potted herbs grow well both indoors and out with the right amounts of light, water and proper soil.

Without available yard space for an in-ground herb garden, you can grow a mini herb garden in pots right on your deck or patio or balcony. Lining the available space with several pots, one herb plant per pot is one way, but no law says you can’t plant more than one plant in the same pot. Herbs with similar sunlight and water needs will do just fine planted together. Choose a pot with a wide mouth for this mini garden. Basil, chives and parsley will grow well in the same pot. Strawberry jars with their multiple openings work very well for mini herb gardens and take very little space.

Indoor pots will most likely be restricted in size. You’ll want to provide good light for your mini herb garden, and often this is on a windowsill. Line up several small pots in a simple tray that will fit on your windowsill. The pots can be matching or mis-matched-don’t be afraid to please your aesthetic sense and the plant’s needs at the same time. Try to plant in 4-inch or smaller size pots. They can be terra cotta, plastic or even an oddly-shaped container; as long as a drain hole is provided, your herbs should grow in their small home.

For an indoor mini herb garden, look at the direction your chosen windowsill faces. Windows facing the west or south will generally get the most sun. Herbs that do well in sunny windows include basil, bay laurel, chives, coriander, fernleaf dill, French lavender, lemon verbena, rosemary, sage and thyme.

Look at your windowsill and the direction it faces to guide you in which herbs to plant for an indoor mini herb garden. Heat and sun-loving herbs such as sage, thyme, rosemary, French lavender, lemon verbena, fernleaf dill, chives, basil and bay laurel will do best in a window that faces west or south.

Cuban oregano, parsley, mint, chives, and borage are examples of shade-loving herbs that will do better in a north or east-facing window. These like cooler temperatures and moister soil.

Both indoor and outdoor mini herb gardens require soil that will drain well. Even mints, which like moister soil, will prefer a mixture of sterile commercial potting mix and sand or vermiculite/perlite. Three parts soil to one part sand or two parts soil to one part perlite are good mixes for growing potted herbs. Elevate the bottom of the pot above the ground or the saucer with spacers or gravel to allow excess water to drain off.

If messing with potting soil is not your style, you can find kits online that will grow herbs using hydroponics. The plant seeds root in a felt-like material and the roots dangle in water infused with nutrients rather than soil. While some hydroponic growth kits fit on a tabletop, others are small enough for a windowsill. Bug-free and mess-free growing might be worth checking out.

Growing garden herbs is a great way to add an attractive element to your existing garden. Having the right plan will help you to be able to not only grow fresh herbs, but also keep the garden you have. In order to get started with your plan, you need to take into consideration what conditions the individual plants will grow best in. The individual conditions, which will cause a plant to grow well or struggle, include air, water and soil. Giving your plant the best possible conditions will allow you to enjoy the herbs for cooking, aromatherapy or medicinal purposes.

Take light into consideration when deciding where to plant your herbs. You do not want to plant herbs, which require full light in areas where there will be a lot of shade from other plants. The shady spots are better suited to the herbs that will grow best in these conditions. In order to get to know the lighting in your garden, check in a couple times over the course of the day. Take not of which parts of your garden are shaded and which are in full sunlight. This will give you a good idea of where to get started.

The soil for growing garden herbs is important in order to make sure your plants are getting the nutrients they need. One of the most important aspects of the soil is the base. Most herbs will grow well in environments where the soil is fairly loose, well drained and fairly low in nutrients. In order to create a great bed of soil, dig up the garden soil and lay a bed of gravel. The mixed soil goes on top of this. The best idea is to mix the soil you have with potting soil and sand. This combination creates soil that will retain enough moisture and allow the rest to pass through.

Correct watering practices will help the plants to be able to grow. Make sure you never give the plants too much water. If the soil feels moist to the touch, simply spray the leaves with a spray bottle. It is best for your plant to get moisture from leaves as much as from the soil. Touching the soil is a good indicator of whether or not you will need to add any water to your soil. When you press down with your finger, it should feel moist, but should never pool over with water. If you see a pool of water, it means there is too much water.

Wind is an element that is often forgotten when growing garden herbs. The herbs in your garden will respond much better to slightly windy conditions as opposed to still air. If there is not much wind where your garden is, it is recommended to install a fan close to the garden. Set the fan on low and allow your plants to get a gentle breeze a couple times a day for about an hour each. This will simulate the environment they would be thriving in naturally.

With the right planning, your garden will be able to grow better than ever. Make sure you do not obsess over the plans, as gardening should be fun and relaxing. If something does not work, you can always use cuttings or fresh seed in order to plant again and try again.

There are a number of reasons for you to have a fresh herb garden. Gardening does wonders for the mind and body and research has confirmed this. One study found that cancer patients recovered from treatment more quickly and had a higher rate of remission over those who did not participate in some type of outdoor activity. Growing a fresh herb garden has also been found to benefit those with special needs, is a gentle way to increase range of motion in those with mobility issues, and increases hand-eye coordination.

Cultivating a fresh herb garden is a great way to get the beneficial effects of the sun. While we have been warned for years to stay out of the sun as much as possible, new research has found that our indoor lifestyles, with most of our time spent in front of a computer in the office or the television at home, have lead to a population that is drastically lacking in vitamin D. Vitamin D is responsible for healthy bones, particularly in those who are overweight or post menopausal women. We should still limit the amount of time we spend in the sun to about thirty minutes at a time, and wear sun screen if it will be any longer than that. Sunscreen has been found to inhibit the absorption of vitamin D, so a short period of time outdoors without it is fine.

Working in your fresh herb garden has other physical benefits as well. Instead of going to the gym, spend some time in your fresh herb garden. Imagine the workout you can get from lifting water cans full of water, or a wheelbarrow full of mulch. The bonus here is that not only do you get a workout, but you’ll also end up with some great tasting herbs.

One of the most obvious benefits of growing a fresh herb garden is the fresh herbs you get at the end. Adding fresh herbs to dishes is one of the key tips that every nutritionist and diet expert will suggest because herbs add a lot of flavor without a lot of calories. Things like salt, sugar, and fats add flavor to dishes as well, but they have a whole host of well documented health effects and none of them are good. You can use fresh herbs to flavor a pasta sauce, or if you have a wide variety, you can even use them to make a salad. Some herbs such as Mint, some varieties of Sage, Lemon Balm, and others make a lovely tea as well. The possibilities are endless.

The last benefit of growing a fresh herb garden that I want to touch on is the emotional and spiritual benefit. Many people aren’t aware that the simple act of growing herbs connects them with the nature of the earth. The planet has it’s own natural rhythms and cycles, and growing herbs is a great way to connect with that. Growing fresh herbs is also emotionally uplifting, and has been found to be helpful in treating mild forms of depression.

Whatever your reason for wanting to grow a fresh herb garden, the benefits are many. Give it a shot and see if your mind, body and spirit don’t have a bounty as rich as your garden.

Growing your own herbs in an Italian herb garden provides a huge amount of possibilities. Some of the most famous and tastiest herbs in the world come from Italy. Some of the best cuisines come from Italy and are famous for their herbs.

Basil is one of the many herbal jewels in the crown of Italian herb gardens. It comes in various subtle flavours and enhances Italian dishes. In addition to being a flavouring agent in cooking Basil is of great value in the garden. Used as a companion plant to peppers and tomatoes it enhances their rich garden flavour. Basil is also said to repel flies and mosquitoes. Hang it in loose bunches outside your kitchen door, or keep pots of it by the back entry.

The next flavour of note comes from Parsley. Parsley is a more challenging herb to grow, but is well worth the effort it takes. It graces not only Italian fare but many other cuisines. Prior to the commercial trend of buying breath mints, gourmet diners discovered the power of parsley to sweeten the breath and remove the odor of spicy and flavourful foods. That discovery is the origin of serving parsley as a garnish with a meal. Lovely Oregano at its maturity has pretty little purple flowers. The flowers are the sign that it is time to harvest Oregano, for when it flowers, the flavour has peaked.

Fennel is famous for its seeds that grace and enhance the flavours of Italian sausage. The interesting thing about fennel is that the plant looses its flavour as it matures. It is a perennial plant that should be divided and replanted every few years to savour its flavour.

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.

Garlic is quite likely the universal herb and is an essential part of an Italian herb garden. Plant garlic cloves in most soils and ignore them, they still will yield good harvest. Harvest the bulbs, and store them in the refrigerator, in vinegar or in oil. Braid the stems and make an artisan looking chain to hang in your kitchen.

Sage, is a very old and traditional herb that is found in meats, and salads and side dishes. Sage tea is soothing to the stomach. New growth from the plant has the best taste, and will add the most to your dishes. Keep the woody growth cut back so that you will continue to have those tender shoots. Harvest sage after it blooms. Use it throughout the growing season, without trimming back the entire plant.

Has reading about Italian herbs got your mouth watering? Do you know which herbs you would most likely use from an Italian herb garden? If you can provide the right growing conditions and are ready to do some herb gardening, consider planting some of these culinary herbs. Remember they also beautify your landscape while lending their aromatic essence to the surrounding area. Their soft colours and fragrance filling the air are like a vacation to Italy.