There is an astounding array of herb garden plants in this world and they can be classified into a remarkable range based on their life cycle and their purpose for adorning this earth.

Annuals, Biennials, and Perennials

Herb garden plants are categorized into annuals, biennials and perennials based on their growth cycle and life span. Most of the herb plants are great for indoor garden and thrive as container plants. Annuals as the term suggests last for a year and have to be replanted every year or season. They do not survive the frost. Basil, cilantro, and summer savory are classic examples of annuals.

Biennials generally refer to those garden plants that take two seasons to complete their life cycle, typically growing into a mature plant giving flowers and seeds and then dying during the second season. Parsley, angelica, and caraway are some proud biennials that are best sown in late spring directly into the garden outdoors as they don’t take kindly to transplanting. Parsley is notorious for slow germination.

Perennials (through the years) are your loyal herb plants that stick with you forever without any requirements for replanting and need little attention. Sage and winter savory are the perfect perennials that thrive in colder climates too.

Multifaceted Herbs – Incredible Uses

For ages, herbs have been used to flavor food. Basil, thyme, parsley, oregano, chives, and sage to name a few are essential ingredients in most of the traditional and modern dishes across countries.

History is proof of the medicinal value of most of the herbs such as thyme, fennel, basil, and garlic. Modern science has validated the usefulness of certain herbs in treating various ailments.

Aromatic herb plants such as lavender, loyage, mint, rosemary, and lemon verbena are used in homes for their sweet scents and permeating perfumes.

Ornamental herbs such as lavender with purple flowers, borage, and chicary with blue flowers and Valerian with crimson blossoms are used as decorations. Some herbs are also used as insect repellents in the garden.

Each herb is unique and has a purpose – recognize and make them your herb garden plants.

Growing of herbs in containers is a practical thing to do especially for herb enthusiasts who live in cities where free space in a residential lot is normally limited. If you are one of those determined to have your own herb garden despite the small yard you have, it is better to have your herb plants in containers. It is even more convenient to cultivate them this way as it will be easy to move the plants around in case there is a need to do so.

Just remember three basic requirements for herbs grown in containers:

The sun is the source of light and heat needed by all kinds of growing plants. Indoor types of herbs need sunshine – some for long periods of time while others may need only a few hours of it. The herbs grown on containers may be placed out in window boxes for their needs for sunshine or the herb enthusiast may regularly place them out in open space as part of her exercise. In some cases where sunlight is insufficient, the use of “growing lamps” or fluorescent lamps is an alternative method to give them light and heat.

The second need of the herb plants is water. If these are just located indoors, this is not a problem at all as the faucet is just nearby. One may even connect a hose to a faucet which is long enough to reach all herb plant containers placed in different locations. Watering the herb plants this way can be better controlled to avoid giving them too much water.

The soil in the containers planted to the herbs must be sufficient for their growth. This has to be watched because if the soil is insufficient in nutrients, the growth of the herbs will be adversely affected. A normal soil mixture of container soils for herbs consist of one part coarse sand and two parts sterilized potting soil. It is best to add lime at the rate of a teaspoon for every five inches of soil depth so it sweetens the soil for the herbs.

Indoor planting of herbs is practical because maintenance of the plants is easy – they are all within convenient reach of the herb hobbyist. When you start using some of the herbs for the kitchen you can also pick the ones you need easily from the window boxes where many of them are located.

For certain herbs which are of the perennial type, you can place them out in the small yard so they can experience the frost which they need to grow stronger. These are the mint, chives, and tarragon.