My wife wants to put in a herb garden, we are both very avid cooks and love both our herbs and spices in our foods, are there any you would not recommend?
It depends on what type of garden you want to do. Do you want like a kitchen garden, strictly culinary, are you into herbal healing at all, do you want that option? I am wavering on a similar question except mine will all be in containers because I have limited space.
Some herbs can be invasive. Purple Basil and the Mint family are two that I can think of. Some are annuals and others are perennials, which might make a difference in what you plant. I can't think of any that I absolutely would not recommend, though.
I want to put something in as well, but I want some things I can use both medicinally and in the kitchen. They need some good sues or it is not worth my time to plant them.
We are big Basil lovers as well as sage and cilantro. We also like oregano, parsley and marjoram. I think we may start with this and add in some chives and that should be a good start, don't you think?
I too love basil. The choice of herbs to plant would also depend on your garden's location. I find that some herbs only grow well in full or almost full sun. I don't have that option at the moment, so I keep to the simple herbs, basil, chives, parsley and oregano. I used to grow mint, but that went every where!!! It spreads like crazy. I do grow catnip too for my boys, it spreads too, but not as badly. So I grow it in pots. Not surprisingly we have a good many visits from the neighborhood cats. :biggrin:
You asked about what NOT to plant----Chamomile and Dill. These love to re-seed in nooks in pavement and stone as well as along crushed stone paths. Grow them in containers to avoid this problem.
I want to put something in as well, but I want some things I can use both medicinally and in the kitchen. They need some good sues or it is not worth my time to plant them.
There is a lot of information here about herbs you can grow for medicinal use. (I presume you have the skill to do something with them once grown :smile. Some of them will do double duty in the kitchen as well.
Don't plant lemon balm, or any kind of mint really, but the lemon balm, lovely smelling though it is, completely took over my garden at one time and it took me months to get rid of it.
Cat nip is another herb that you might not want to plant. I have it in a special area of my herb garden. My cats love it, the problem is so do all the neighborhood cats. That is why I have it over to one side, so when they decide (the cats that is) to have a roll in the nip (as apposed to roll in the hay) they don't disturb the other herbs. Also, catnip is also called catmint by some, and that means it will try to invade everywhere. It is not as hardy as peppermint, therefore, it doesn't usually become a pain by spreading.
. Some of them will do double duty in the kitchen as well.