Herbs Ideas, Tips & Guides

Q: I am trying to grow a herb garden in a raised corner bed of my garden, where rhubarb is already going well every year. However, my neighbour’s cat has decided this is his litter tray and try as I might I can’t deter him and his friends from dropping in. I have used catsaway gel pellets and plastic water bottles to no avail. It is killing all my herbs and I really don’t want to grow edibles in this space currently. Any advice would be much appreciated. FD, Dublin

Shangri-La Paris

With basils, we always think about a stubby plant that’s growing in a small pot on a sunny windowsill. What if we tell you that it can be trained to grow like a 4-6 feet tall specimen? Sounds impossible? Well, it’s not!

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are among the most popular herbs for home gardeners to grow. They are easy to plant and care for, and since they are a hardy perennial, they return to the garden year after year. The fragrant and flavorful leaves of the chive plant are delicious to people, but the deer and rabbits leave them alone. To add yet another benefit, chive flowers are a favorite nectar source for many of the pollinators who also help pollinate other edible crops. Learning how to harvest chives for use in the kitchen is key to enjoying this easy-to-grow herb. Let’s take a look at several different ways to harvest chives for both fresh use and for preservation. The best time to harvest chives Before we get to the information on how to harvest chives, it’s important to understand

You’ll actually be surprised once you learn about these weeds that look like marigold leaves! Many of them are quite common and might be a nuisance in your garden.

If you like the warm and spicy scent of cinnamon, then you’d definitely love these plants that carry the same scent either in their foliage (when you crush the leaves) or flowers!

Mention Mediterranean gardens and you’re likely to imagine alfresco dining, soft colour palettes, citrus trees in terracotta pots and sun-loving perennials, all awash with the heady scents of herbs such as lavender and thyme. But you don’t need to travel to Greece or Italy to enjoy this kind of outdoor living. Mediterranean-style gardens are becoming more popular in the UK as many areas become more susceptible to drought, due to the climate crisis. Planting with species that have naturally evolved to live in hot, dry conditions means your garden will be more resilient in dry periods and more sustainable in its use of water – an extremely precious resource during our increasingly hot summers.

When you’re growing plants in containers, whether indoors or outside, knowing how much water a plant needs can be a challenge but self-watering planters and pots take a lot of that pressure away. The amount of water a plant requires can depend on the species, the time of year and growing conditions. In hot, dry summers they may need watering every couple of days, but in winter they may need it only every few weeks. Designed to allow plants to draw up water when they need it, self-watering planters are a convenient option to prevent overwatering, look after plants when you go away or simply provide a little peace of mind. Most importantly though, they provide plants with a consistent supply of water, reducing plant stress and helping to produce healthy, vigorous growth.

Here’s a list of some wonder herbs with yellow flowers that can add a dollop of fresh hues in your garden and containers!

Companion plants for roses not only keep them safe from the nasty pests, but also make sure they thrive together in a perfect camaraderie for years to come!

While fresh parsley is useful in the kitchen, it also pays to learn how to dry parsley so you can extend your homegrown harvest for many months to come. While many cooks think of parsley as a mere garnish, it is quite a flavorful herb that can add a touch of freshness to recipes. Gardeners who grow a bumper crop of either flat leaf or curly parsley can dry parsley one of three ways. In this article, you’ll learn these techniques and additional tips for success. Why dry parsley Some culinary herbs are best used as fresh herbs in a green, recently harvested state, including basil, cilantro,

How and When to Fertilize Basil

If you have a cat and not sure which plants to grow around these curious creatures without worrying about their health, well, these herbs fit the bill perfectly!

Lemon balm is one of those herbs I associate with a soothing herbal tea. A calming tea blend is what led me to start growing this fragrant member of the mint family (Lamiaceae). While lemon balm doesn’t have the sophisticated underground runner system that mint has, it does like to reseed itself. In other words, plant it once and you may never have to plant it again! In this article, I’m going to share some growing tips, as well as why growing lemon balm in pots may be a better option than planting it in the ground. Lemon balm is native to the Mediterranean region and Central Asia. Its healing history dates back to Greek mythology. And while i

These Fast Growing Herbs You Can Grow From Seeds germinate quickly, which means you can start them indoors anytime without waiting for weeks for them to emerge. It’s also inexpensive compared to buying plants from the store.

What makes Thai herbs different from the most popular ones we usually grow, is their subtle taste and unique scent!

You can grow these herbs and spices from cuttings and divisions very easily without waiting too long for the harvest! A sunny windowsill will be more than apt for most of these!

Well, that's the way it started… In the last year we renovated our house and there are too many things that are still waiting in our backyard to be reused (good luck with that… ).

Picking the right flowers for herb garden can be a vital to use Allelopathy, Pest Management and Polyculture. Let’s have a look at them in detail.

Le Creuset

Transforming your flat’s balcony into a lush, herb-filled oasis is easier than you might think, even if you’re a complete novice. With a bit of know-how and enthusiasm, you can enjoy the freshest flavours right at your fingertips. Let’s dive into how to get started on this rewarding journey.

What is this cool-season weed that is turning fallow fields purple right now?

The curly herb Parsley crispum is naturally slow to germinate. If the soil dries out it may never germinate.

If you don’t like the invasiveness of dandelions but love their yellow blooms, well, these are your best options!

The oldest anthology of Japanese poetry refers to ‘seven plants showing green through the cold earth as harbingers of spring’.

The Umbels family are far from humble when grown well. When grown badly like Hemlock (conium maculatum) they are poisonous, even fatal but many species such as carrots, parsnips and fennel are edible or even medicinal. The Greeks and Romans knew a thing or too (until Hemlock killed Socrates)

There’s no denying that gardening is an occupation that throws up a lot of questions, but garden design apps can help. Whether you’re new to it or a seasoned, green fingered pro, big projects like landscaping or planning a garden from scratch need a lot of information along the way (which a garden designer can help with if you have one, but these apps will help if you don’t) but it’s the smaller issues like plant identification or concerns about flowers that are equally tricky and it can be a nuisance to dig out a book to help you.

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Good gift inspiration for gardening mothers can be hard to come by. A thoughtful present for a Mother’s Day  could be anything from a comfortable knee pad, to a personalised pot but to give it that special touch for Mother’s Day requires something more than just practicality.

Lavender, the beloved favorite of every household, brings with it a myriad of associations that we should take the time to understand!

Catnip vs. Catmint – What’s the Difference?

How to Plant and Grow Bee Balm Monarda spp.

How to Grow Flavorful Greek Oregano Origanum vulgare var. hirtum

How to Harvest Feverfew

WHEN SHOPPING the seed catalogs, I realize I’m probably more likely to consider a tomato or pepper I haven’t grown before, or some unusual annual flower, than to try some new-to-me herb. But what a shame. I need to modify that behavior and spice things up a bit.