Growing herbs in your garden can be satisfying. Seeing the way your herbs grow from seed to a plant with sprouting leaves and budding flowers, smelling the aroma of each herb, the way they all grow well together as one beautiful, happy herb family.

Then along comes your mint, which is EVERYWHERE.

Mints – which usually symbolizes virtue due to its fresh, mountain-spring flavor and aroma – are actually easy to plant and is useful for a lot of dishes; but it is also a voracious grower. If a mint plant had a mind, I would say that the aim for their existence is world (or in this case, garden) domination. It even has a killer instinct – the seemingly mild-scented mint will happily take and choke the life out of every herb in the same plot it is in.

Lesson number 1: Contain the power of expansion of the mint. Try to keep it in a large pot, or bury the pot in the flowerbed. Apply some mulch to the bed (or around the said pot) to discourage rooting. The mulch would also help in locking in much-needed nutrients and moisture for the roots.

Lesson number 2: You can grow mint in any type of soil and sun, as long as it doesn’t dry out.

Lesson number 3: Rust is a deadly and contagious (for plants) disease for mint plants. Look out for orange blobs (that look like rust) on the underside of your mint leaves. Remove the leaf immediately, taking care not to let it come into contact with other leaves and plants. If a lot of leaves are affected though, chop the whole plant down and burn it – this is so that the leaves won’t infect other plants around it. Remove the soil and clean the pot with disinfectant before planting a different mint plant.

Lesson number 4: Plant mint at least a foot to 15 inches apart. If you are planting different varieties, put them in different beds or pots to avoid cross pollination.

Mint is a wonderful and sprawling herb. If you care for it as you would a child (by checking up on them every once in a while), it would love you back by giving you a bountiful harvest.

An Italian herb garden groups the herbs well-known in Italian cuisine together, such as oregano, basil, garlic and  sage. Create a taste, smell and vision of Italy by creating your own Italian-themed herb garden. Its easy to do and adds authentic flavor to your Italian dishes.

Plant basil for a useful flavor-workhorse in Italian cuisine. Not only does basil dress up sauces and pesto, but also the plant has properties that help its neighbors in the garden. Planting it between tomatoes and peppers imparts flavor to both the tomatoes and peppers. Basil plants also repel flies and mosquitoes.

Italian sausages are often flavored with fennel seed. Fennel plants lose their flavor as  they mature. Divide fennel plants every few years and replant to encourage the flavorful new growth. Collect the seeds and use in breads as well as homemade sausages. Fennel is a perennial.

What is Italian cooking without garlic? A member of the onion family, garlic thrives in many gardens and many soil types with little fuss. Garlic heads can be dug up in fall and stored over winter either dried, frozen or pickled. Or leave them in the ground to grow the following year. Each clove of garlic can grow a whole plant.

Oregano is an Italian herb that enhances flower gardens as well as culinary gardens. Well-known in Italian sauces, oregano is aromatic and attractive, sporting small pink to purple flowers. As flowers appear, pinch them back to reduce bolting. Leaf flavor is best after flowering begins. Plant in well-drained, lean soil and divide as the perennial
becomes woody-stemmed in the center.

Parsley adds a light spicy flavor to many dishes. Used today as a garnish, fresh parsley leaves used to be served after meals as a breath-freshener. Chewing on fresh parsley leaves counters the strong odors left by garlic. The tradition of serving parsley with a meal lives on as garnish. Parsley can be difficult to grow. Add it to your Italian herb garden by planting the seeds directly in the garden; plants mature in their second year.

Rosemary is a perennial shrub that prefers a dry climate with mild temperatures. Profuse flowers range from white to purple and draw honeybees to any garden. For areas with heavy snow, plant rosemary in a pot and bring inside during the winter. Use rosemary leaves or whole stems of leaves to flavor dishes.

Sage leaves are useful in meat dishes, salads and sauces. This woody-stemmed plant should be pruned closely to encourage new shoots to grow. The best flavor is harvested from the new shoots after the plant blooms. Do not confuse European sage with sagebrush from the western U.S. high desert region – the latter was named for its color, not its taste, and could be poisonous.

Italy can come to your garden by planting a few of the herbs famous in their cuisine. Outside of use for their flavor, many Italian herbs are beautiful additions to your landscaping. Consider which herbs you are likely to use and each plants sunlight, soil and water requirements before planting an Italian-themed herb garden. Many more herbs used in Italian cooking are not listed here but with a little research you can explore other herbs you might plant in an Italian herb garden.