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<< Previous   of   Next >> Michael O'Leary/ The Herald  (click to enlarge) Basil likes full sun and regular water.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, May 22, 2008 For favorite seasonings, look on the kitchen doorstep By Pat Rubin Sacramento Bee Whether you pronounce herbs with a hard "h" or leave it off, don't forget to put them in the garden. Here are a few herbs that can be planted now. Some, like basil, will last until the first frost while others, like rosemary and oregano, will live for many years. Basil (Ocimum basilicum): Summer annual. Grows to 3 feet tall. Full sun. Regular water. Produces masses of aromatic leaves all summer. Snip off flower stalks as soon as they appear to prevent the plant from going to seed. There are dozens of varieties of basil available: purple basil, lemon basil, licorice basil, Thai basil and more. Basil is easy to grow from seed. Low temperatures and cool soil are enemies of basil seedlings, since the combination leads to damping off, and basil is very susceptible. Plant when the soil is warm, or use heating mats if starting seed indoors. Chives (Allium schoenoprasum): Perennial. Grows to 12 to 18 inches. Sun. Regular water. Chives are related to onions and have a similar flavor and fragrance, but milder. Each spring, they send up stems topped with light-purple flowers. I clip the flowers away and use them in flower arrangements. That way, I prevent the plant from going to seed and spreading itself everywhere. A small plant easily grows into a fat clump about a foot wide. You can divide the clump to make more plants. Keep snipping chives and they will keep growing. Mint (Mentha): Perennial. Grows to 12-18 inches tall. Part sun. Prefers lots of water. Mint is a thug. It will take over the garden, so be careful where you plant it. Give it boundaries. There's the typical light green, crinkly-leaf spearmint and the purple-flushed leaves of peppermint, but take a look at the herb section of any nursery, and you'll likely find pineapple mint, apple mint, chocolate mint and more. You have to really use your imagination to discern some of the exotic scents. Pick the leaves any time. If you're going to dry mint, it's best to pick the leaves just before it flowers. Oregano (Origanum vulgare, O. heracleoticum): Perennial. Grows to 18-24 inches. Sun. Limited water. Snip and use fresh throughout the season. To dry, pick just before flowering. I strip the leaves from the stems and put them in a paper bag. Four or fives times each day I shake the bag to redistribute the oregano leaves and keep them from accumulating moisture. When thoroughly dry, store in sealable plastic bags. I prefer Greek oregano (O. heracleoticum). A warning: The purple-flowering oregano reseeds itself prolifically, so cut flowers before they go to seed if you plant this one. Marjoram is a type of oregano, although it is milder and not as hardy in winter. Parsley (Petroselinum crispum): Biennial usually grown as an annual. Grows to 12 inches tall. Full sun. Regular water. Parsley produces leaves its first year. In its second year, it produces yellow flowers and seed, then dies. It's famous for being finicky to start from seed, so buy starts from the nursery. It comes as curled or flat-leaf varieties. Both have the same fragrance. Rosemary (Rosmarinum officinalis): Perennial. Prostrate types grow to about 2 feet tall. Upright forms can grow to 5 feet. Sun. Limited water. Rosemary has become part of most ornamental gardens. It looks great spilling over a wall, it is tough and carefree enough to cover large expanses of difficult-to-garden areas, it is covered with cheerful blue flowers most of the year and it has a heavenly scent. Its leathery, slightly sticky leaves are narrow and dark green, slightly reminiscent of Douglas fir needles. Give rosemary as much sun as possible and water sparingly. It can take regular watering but doesn't like wet feet. Sage (Salvia officinalis): Perennial. Grows to 2 feet tall and as wide. Sun. Limited water. Sage's wooly gray leaves are gorgeous. And they come in purple, green and gold as well as tricolor (purple, white and green). The plain green one is the typical culinary sage and the hardiest. Sage has no trouble with winter in my garden (elevation 1,250 feet). It sends up spires of blue flowers in summer that are beautiful in arrangements. Cut it back every spring to encourage new growth. However, sage tends to get quite woody after a few years, much like lavender, and needs to be replaced every three or four years. Thyme (Thymus vulgaris): Perennial, 6 to 10 inches tall; can spread wider. Sun. Limited water. Thyme is a versatile plant. It can be a ground cover that creeps and crawls along the ground, smothering weeds. It's the perfect herb for soups, stews and poultry. It also looks good among roses. Some gardeners use it as a lawn substitute or let it grow among the grasses in a traditional lawn. It comes in many flavors, including lemon and lime. In fact, there are hundreds of varieties of thyme. It, too, can get woody, but responds well to being sheared to the ground.

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