8 Herbs to Consider For Your French Herb Garden
Now you have made the decision to plant your very own French Herb Garden, it is time to collect up your tools and be ready for some interesting information that will help you to make a start.
Obviously you will first need to decide which French herbs you would like to grow. The best idea is to only plant the ones that you intend to use – it is no good planting a whole host of different ones if they will not be of use to you. Each herb will have a different use, so you should only grow the ones that will fit in with your long term plan for them.
You may be an enthusiastic chef and want to grow herbs for the kitchen. You may be interested in herbal remedies and want to use your herbs for preparing your own medicinal infusions. Or you may want to use them for aroma and decorative purposes. There are a plethora of uses for French herbs and it could be that you will use them for all of the above.
Here is a list of some French herbs you can use in your garden:
- Chives
- Marjoram
- Summer Savory
- Tarragon
- Lavender
- Winter Savory
- Bay
- Chervil
You can also include other different French herbs in your garden to add colour and variety also some people even like to plant flowers and shrubs or perhaps a few salad leaves to add a bit of interest.
Most French herbs would prefer a place in your garden that benefits from a lot of sun, so choose your planting spot carefully. Something else to be taken into consideration before you plant your herb garden is convenience. If you are an aspiring chef and intend to use your herbs in the kitchen, it is a good idea to have your garden somewhere near to the kitchen door. You can just go outside your door and pick some fresh herbs to flavour your dishes.
However, if your herb garden is primarily for aesthetic and aromatherapy use, then plant somewhere that you will visit often and brush against the plants as you wander through the garden. The aroma will be a delight.
If you do not have a huge garden you could plant your herbs in pots and place them on a sunny patio or balcony. If you have the room to plant a ‘secret’ garden of herbs for your own delight, find a comfortable chair to place beside some beautiful varieties of lavender and breathe in the relaxing aroma from this herb. Make sure that the plants have enough room to spread their roots so that they have the best chance of healthy growth. When you water them, encourage their roots to spread by watering a little bit away from the plant.
Each type of herb will have its own requirements as to the type of soil they prefer, how much water they need and how much sun is best. So, do a bit of research before planting to make sure that each herb is being placed in its preferred position to give it a better chance to achieve optimum, healthy growth.
