My Top 10 Perennial Culinary Herbs

I love herbs!  Did you know that herbs are natural insect repellents and flavor enhancers?!  They are perfect companions to other vegetables and plants! I love finding new fresh recipes that require using or cooking with herbs!  I especially love walking through my herb garden taking in all the aromas!  Here are pictures of my herbs (just planted last year) growing and doing well after a healthy rain storm! 

Chives and Garlic Chives

Chives are so versatile.  You can throw them in salads, top off soups, potatoes and make a yummy herb butter.  Regular chives have a purple blossom and garlic chives have a white blossom.  Be sure to allow the blossoms to open, but not go to seed, unless of course you want chives all over your garden!  They can be prolific if you let them!  Chives are excellent for keeping aphids and spider mites away!

Italian Leaf Parsley 

Parsley can be used in just about anything!  I love it chopped fresh in pasta salad, green salad and vegetable lentil soup.  Parsley is biennial, meaning it comes back the second year, reseeds itself in that second year and grows back the following spring.  Parsley grows well from seed but, doesn't like to be transplanted.  If you do choose to let it go to seed make sure there is enough room for it to grow, otherwise you may just want to start over every 2 years.  Soak your seeds over night before planting to help the germination process go a little faster.  

Greek Oregano

I love Greek oregano!  It has the best flavor of all oregano's in my opinion.  It has a spicier flavor and depth to it than other oregano's.  It's a great addition to spaghetti and homemade pizza sauce.  It is also used to deter the cucumber beetles in the garden.  Oregano is self seeding and can be prolific.  Be sure to pull out the babies, unless you want to transplant it somewhere else in the garden or share with a friend! 

French Tarragon

French tarragon is a wonderful herb that just doesn't get enough credit in the kitchen!  It pairs very well with fish, eggs and chicken.  Barefoot Contessa makes a fabulous 'Chicken Veronique' served over rolls or whole grain bread.  The ingredients are simple.  Chicken, mayo, green grapes, celery, salt/pepper and fresh tarragon.  French tarragon has a slightly anise flavor to it, almost licorice like.  The plant grows well in sandy soil and must be divided every 2-3 years.  

English Thyme

One of my most comforting smells is English thyme!  I love to cook with it!  And I put it in pretty much everything!  From stuffing a roasted whole chicken to soups, roasted root vegetables and sauces!  It has so many different uses!  Thyme is also used medicinally.  Check out health.learninginfo.org/thyme.htm for more info on all the wonderful recipes and benefits of thyme. I also love to grow lemon thyme, it is wonderful added to lemon pound cake!

Arp Rosemary

Rosemary is one of my all time favorite herbs!  It is absolutely heavenly!  I specifically purchased an Arp rosemary plant because it has been known to survive our cold harsh winter months here in northern Utah.  When my husband first started to landscape our yard he wanted to let more light into the basement windows.  So he created this 2 foot lower level next to the house with boulders to hold back the earth.  A small cove for the rosemary plant was created, giving it protection and perfect sunlight facing east south.  As you can see, she pulled through the winter and is now blooming beautiful light blue/purple flowers.  Rosemary repels cabbage moths, bean beetles and carrot flies.  I use it in spaghetti, roasted root vegetables with chicken, roasted stone fruits, and herb oil over grilled flat bread!  Martha Stewart has a heavenly rosemary butter cookie that is to die for!

Peppermint, Spearmint and Lemon Balm

I grow all three in containers because they are so invasive!  The honey bees love the blossoms and the scent right by the back door is quite lovely!  The honey bees do their job and we never have a problem with them that close to the house.  My peppermint and spearmint is in the red pot, it repels  ants, white cabbage moths, aphids and flea beetles.  Peppermint tea is used for relaxing the digestive track and relieving gas pains.  Take some freshly dried leaves and let it steep in water that has been boiled and then taken off the heat for about 15 minutes.  Check out health.learninginfo.org/peppermint-herb.htm for more info on the benefits of peppermint.  My lemon balm is in the blue container and is still waking up from winter.  It is used in teas to alleviate anxiety and depression.  It's also nice chopped in a fruit salad with mint, chopped over sorbet and smoothies.   

English Lavender

I know what you must be thinking...  Lavender? a culinary herb?  Yes!  Lavender blooms around July and is used for many purposes.  I will take my lavender blossoms and use them in teas to add to lemonade or cranberry juice.  I have also made a lavender icing to go over delicate sugar cookies.  My all time favorite tea to sip on in the evening before bed is chamomile lavender tea.  I never sleep better than when I have a cup a few hours before bed.  Lavender essential oil is excellent for alleviating tension headaches, painful cuts and burns and can help decrease scarring.

Sage

Sage is one of those herbs that reminds me of fall!  One of my favorite memories growing up was walking into my parents home  on a crisp fall day to the smell of butter, onions and sage sautaying on the stove top.  I know that soon we will be eating something comforting and very flavorful!  Sage is great for repelling cabbage moths, bean beetles and carrot flies. Sage is held sacred by many of the Native American Indians.  They believe that sage, when burned balances and purifies the body and mind of all negative spirits and impurities.  In ancient times they would use it to heal the sick.  It has also been known to improve brain function and memory.