Herb Gardening

[powder_tears]

I've discussed it with my parents, and they've agreed to allow me to grow an herb garden in the front yard. They think it's a good idea, I'll get outside more, become more active, etc. And now I've got a blue-print, an area picked out, and I have no idea what to plant.

I live in Michigan, the northern part, but not in the UP, and I'm not sure what will even grow.

Can anyone suggest some "newbie friendly" plants that are easy to grow and useful? I've never gardened in my entire life, my sisters and I weren't allowed in the garden out of my parents' fear we'd crush their plants.

Thanks in advance, and Blessed Be,

Powder_tears

P.S. Does anyone know a good way of drying violets? I'm currently trying three different ways, but I don't know which way will work better, putting them in sand, hang-drying them, or pressing.

[Silverfire Darkmoon]

I would air-dry the violets.
Ok, for simple and fun plants, I suggest sage, thyme, lemon balm, lavender (and then some more lavender), basil, and a potted rosemary. I would also reccomend something fun like sweet peas or nasturtiums. Of course, what you plant depends on what you want to do with your herbs. If you're going to be making perfumes, sachets, incenses and the like, than fragrant ones will be on your list (I forgot, no garden is complete without at least ONE rose bush). Therefore you'd want lavender, roses, maybe Florentine iris (orrisroot) should you be able to find it, and other things with intense fragrance. You might be using your herbs to cook, in which case have a look at the spice rack and plant what will grow in your climate. If you dare to be a witch like me ( :P ), then monkshood, foxglove, nightshade, wormwood, and periwinkle will top your list.
For general magical purposes, I suggest having a look at Cunningam and picking out four or five.

[Cindlady2]

Yes, first step is deciding what you will use them for, then decide what you will use the most. You also have to decide if you want some perennials or just stay with annuals. If you go with perennials you need an area that you won't disturb year after year.
As for your violets, it depends on what you want them for. IF you want them to stay pretty, use sand. If you want to use them for scent, hang them and when real dry put them in a glass (colored if you can) jar or a zip-lock bag and keep in a dark place.

[Maggie]

I've discussed it with my parents, and they've agreed to allow me to grow an herb garden in the front yard. They think it's a good idea, I'll get outside more, become more active, etc. And now I've got a blue-print, an area picked out, and I have no idea what to plant.

I live in Michigan, the northern part, but not in the UP, and I'm not sure what will even grow.

Can anyone suggest some "newbie friendly" plants that are easy to grow and useful? I've never gardened in my entire life, my sisters and I weren't allowed in the garden out of my parents' fear we'd crush their plants.

Thanks in advance, and Blessed Be,

Powder_tears

P.S. Does anyone know a good way of drying violets? I'm currently trying three different ways, but I don't know which way will work better, putting them in sand, hang-drying them, or pressing.


The first things you need to do are to check what kind of sunlight exposure you have and how long your site has direct sunlight. Then you need to determine your USDA hardiness zone, because that will let you know what herbs you can expect to come back and what ones you need to treat as annuals. Rosemary, for instance, won't survive your winters. And then you need to look at what kind of soil you're going to be growing things in.


Maggie

[Vervain]

I've planted a small herb garden in a couple of whisky barrels. So far, I have mint, chocolate mint, spearmint (can you tell I like mint? :D ), sage, pinapple sage, thyme, lemon thyme, lemon balm, chamomile, dill, and lavender. I think that's all of them.

I haven't had much luck with sage in the past. I've tried to grow it indoors but I think the root system is too extensive for a regular pot. It also seems to dry out much faster than the other herbs. I was gone for a weekend and the sage nearly died because it didn't get any water. Mint is very easy to grow, but it spreads like crazy so you might want to keep that in mind.

I really like herb gardens. It's a lot of fun to watch the plants grow, and I love to snip off a couple of leaves and brew a cup of fresh herb tea. There's nothing like it! I hope you enjoy your garden! :)

[Kalika]

Check out the Green Room also. :)

I believe Chia also makes the herb gardens that are relatively easy to grow...

[Nitefalle]

Yes, go with Maggie's advice first. No sense in getting a plant if it won't do well in your hard. I advise things that are easy to grow, such as mints (they are voracious spreaders) and yarrow (it's very hardy). Start off small - if you've never gardened before, find out what kind of time constraint it's going to put on you. For me, it takes me about 30-60 minutes every day of checking over my plants, seeing if they have any bad insects, checking to see if they need water, checking for new growth, etc. Perhaps pruning might be in order. You will also need to check the soil in the space you have picked out to see if it may need to be amended. If you have very thick, clay-like soil, you may need to add lots of organic matter. It takes a lot of work to get a garden started from scratch. Research the plants you pick out and see what kind of growth patterns they have, if they will need a lot of room or if it would be better to start it in a pot. Starting from seed is much more inexpensive, but for me it's a waste of time - all my seedlings always die, I always buy plants and transplant them to my garden. Lots of things to consider.

[Shana-chan]

If you want a 'fun' plant, you could try a 4 o'clock. They're similar to sweet peas, but they only bloom between 3 and 4 o'clock each day, and they're very pretty!

Then, if you gardened every day at 4 o'clock, you'd always see them in bloom. ^_^