As you grow your herbs, you’re growing plants that may be culinary, aromatic, and ornamental.

A culinary herbs produces herbs that have a wide range of uses in cooking. Popular culinary herbs include chives, savory, marjoram, mint, thyme, parsley, sage and basil.

The aromatic herbs produce herbs which have pleasant smelling flowers or foliage. Oils from aromatic herbs can be used to produce perfumes and various scents. Some common aromatic herbs include mint, marjoram, rosemary, and basil.

An ornamental herbs have brightly colored flowers and foliage. Many have white or light-colored flowers. Such herbs as variegated thyme, mint, lavender, and chives produce colorful foliage.

Designing An Herb Garden

Herb garden landscaping needs a bright, sunny spot. Your garden will do best separated from the rest of your landscape, such as near walkways, walls, or fences.

A kitchen garden can be an area about 20 by 4 feet. Individual 12 x 18 inch plots are adequate for separate herb garden landscaping.

It’s a good idea to keep annual and perennial herbs separate. Simple designs are best for herb gardens.

For visual effect, make the boundaries between various parts of the garden clearly visible. Bricks work well for this, and they blend nicely with the texture and colors of the herb foliage.

Growing Your Herb Garden

Here's the best part... most herbs are easy to grow! Prepare your garden in well-drained soil. In fact, drainage is the most important factor for a successful garden. Most herbs grow best in soil that is not too rich, so avoid too much fertilizer, manure and compost. Highly fertile soil in an garden produces excessive amounts of foliage with poor flavor.

Many herbs are annuals and the seed must be sown each year. In small gardens, it is best to sow the seed in trays and transplant the seedlings. Perennial herbs can be grown from seed, cuttings or divisions.

Perennial herbs can be grown from seed, cuttings or divisions. Again, in the designed garden, it is best to use established plants rather than seeds.

To help you learn about herb gardening, we've put together a list of popular and easy-to-grow herbs to plant in your first basic garden. Check it out!