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If you enjoy cooking or gardening, or perhaps both, you should consider growing your own herbs at home.  There are literally hundreds of herbs that you can grow yourself.  Not only do fresh herbs make a wonderful addition to a kitchen garden, but they can also be attractive plants to weave in with other flowers, perennials, and bushes.

When considering what types of herbs to grow, first ask yourself which herbs you use the most in cooking.  Consult your recipe box; are there any particular herbs that you routinely buy fresh at the grocery store?  If so, these should be your first choices.  Also remember that fresh herbs will taste far better than dried seasonings purchased in little bottles.  While you may not care for the taste of dried dillweed, you may find that fresh dill is a real treat.  When it comes to growing herbs, don’t limit yourself.  They don’t require a lot of space, so start with a variety and see which ones you like best.

When it comes to homegrown herbs, parsley may be one of the most popular choices.  Parsley is routinely used in cooking, and freshly cut sprigs of parsley are also commonly used as a garnish to make a plated meal look more attractive.  Parsley is grown as an annual, so you’ll either have to start new seeds each year or buy young plants from a nursery.  There is a saying that parsley seeds must go to the devil and back seven times before they will germinate, simply meaning that if planted all at the same time, you’ll see germination from your other herb seeds long before parsley will finally appear.  Like many other herbs, parsley is a good choice for growing in containers, and it may be possible to overwinter plants indoors or in a greenhouse.

Chives are a wonderful, almost maintenance-free homegrown herb.  A perennial, they will not need to be restarted from one year to the next.  Get a good start of chives from a friend or neighbor, plant it in your garden, and they’ll keep coming back year after year.  Chives also boast attractive purple flowers that can be a nice addition to a flower garden.

Basil is favorite homegrown herb for anyone who loves Italian food.  If you grow tomatoes, you should grow basil, too, because tomatoes and basil go together like milk and cookies.  Basil is another annual that will need to be restarted each spring, but it can be easily grown indoors from seed and then transplanted into the garden once the soil is thoroughly warmed.  Be sure to keep basil pinched back regularly for full and productive plants.  And when you see flowers begin to appear, remove them quickly so that the plant does not go to seed.

Rosemary is a very attractive herb to grow, and in most areas it will grow as a perennial if treated with care for overwintering.  Rosemary is not easily grown from seed, so to get it started initially, buy a young plant from a nursery and transplant it into your garden or else find a friend who already has some and request a cutting.  Rosemary can be grown in containers, but it will need to be brought indoors for winter.

Mint is another favorite herb that can be used in cooking, dried to make teas, and even crushed and bottled for perfumes or to be sprinkled on clean clothes and sheets.  There are many varieties of mints to choose from.  Spearmint and peppermint are quite common.  For something more unique, try pineapple, apple, or chocolate mints.  Mint is a perennial, so there will be no need to replant in subsequent years.  Take caution, however, before letting mint loose in your garden.  Mint spreads rapidly by underground runners and can quickly overwhelm a garden.  Once mint has been planted in the ground, it can be nearly impossible to completely eradicate.  Mint does grow well in containers, however, and when watered thoroughly before a hard freeze, will overwinter quite well.

The herbs we’ve discussed are just a few choices.  Other possibilities for an herb garden might include tarragon, cilantro, dill, sage, lavender, bay, marjoram, thyme, and more.  Don’t limit yourself!  Herbs are fun and easy to grow, and they don’t require a lot of space in the garden.  Whether you’re an established cook or gardener, homegrown herbs are a wonderful addition to any kitchen garden.

For any gardener who enjoys working with their plants, a greenhouse is a welcome addition to expand their hobby.  Greenhouse gardening can be as intensive or as low-key as you want it to be, depending on how much gardening you do and how much money you want to invest in the hobby.  Serious gardeners wishing to expand their interest into greenhouse gardening may opt for a permanent structure in their backyard, possibly something that incorporates a cement foundation, integrated doors and windows, and an auto-venting system for temperature control.  On the other end of the spectrum, we have the beginning gardener or hobby horticulturist who wishes to cultivate plants indoors during the winter months or start seeds indoors in the spring for a head start on the summer growing season.  This more basic form of greenhouse gardening will be our focus for this article.

Basic greenhouse gardening usually begins indoors with a temporary structure that can be set up when it’s needed and taken down when it’s not.  An inexpensive shelving kit will work well for this purpose, provided you have space to set it up.  Other structures could be a tabletop that’s not in use or an old workbench.  If you are purchasing something new for the purpose of indoor gardening, look for a structure that’s lightweight and that can be easily disassembled for storage.  Consider buying plastic, if you have the option, so that you can easily wipe away any dirt or water that accumulates.

Next, you’ll need to look around your home and determine where the shelf or table will be placed.  If you have a sunny window that receives at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily, this is ideal.  Warm, sunny bay windows facing the west or south will usually meet the criteria.  If you don’t have such a window, then you’ll need to consider using a grow light.  This will require a special light bulb that gives off a full spectrum of light similar to the sun’s rays.  While the light cast from these bulbs certainly won’t look like natural sunlight to your eyes, to the plants, it is virtually the same.  Grow lights can usually be purchased quite inexpensively from home improvement stores or garden centers, and can then be screwed into your own light fixture at home.

When setting up a grow light, it’s important to suspend the light as close as possible to the plants.  Particularly if you are using the light to start seeds, you’ll want to place the light within an inch or two of the seedlings themselves.  If you place the light too far away, the seedlings will grow tall and spindly instead of strong and stocky.

An indoor greenhouse can feature a vinyl cover to help retain heat or moisture, or you can simply use the indoor environment of your home as the greenhouse environment.  Ideal temperatures will range from 75 to 85 degrees, so choose a room of your house that is warmer than others.  If you’re using a grow light instead of a sunny window, you won’t be as limited to the possible locations you can choose from your plants.  If you’re using a grow light and trying to determine a warm location in your house, consider an upstairs room and/or a high up location in the room, vertically speaking, such as on top of a high shelf or a tall cabinet.  Heat rises, so the highest place in your home should also be the one with the highest temperature.

If you’re a beginning gardener interested in greenhouse gardening, don’t be intimidated to give it a try.  Getting started indoors is easy and doesn’t cost a lot of money.  With a little time and a minimal investment, you can expand your gardening hobby, grow more plants, and give your green thumb a workout during cooler months!