A mint plant plots how to take over your garden.

If you’re like me, you’re already planning the herb garden you want to plant next spring. Some herbs are lovely in their own right and can fill in a landscape with interesting shapes and colors. Other herbs are delicious fresh in cool drinks, flavorful meat dishes, or pizzas. A few of you ambitious types might even be thinking of growing herbs to dry so you can enjoy them year-round. Whatever your purpose, I hope you’ll make room for a few of these herbs.

An Abundance of Mint

I love the smell of mint. From mint tea to mint-infused baths to mint facial steams, it’s a handy herb to have around. Although you can grow some mint varieties from seed, it’s easier to purchase an already-growing plant. It spreads by runners and is considered invasive, so either have a large area dedicated to it, or use my handy double pot method. Theoretically, you could have an entire mint herb garden, as there are numerous varieties of mint. Pineapple mint has become more popular lately, and there’s even a chocolate mint variety for chocolate lovers. If you want to add mint to drinks, harvest, wash, and chop the leaves. Place leaves and water in ice cube trays and freeze. Pop out a frozen mint cube and add to your favorite drink. You can also dry some of your mint abundance for later.

Flavorful Favorites for Pizza Seasoning

If you’re looking to have herbs on hand for making your own pizza sauce from scratch, grow oregano, basil, and rosemary. I have successfully grown and dried all three. (Confession: I killed the rosemary by underwatering it, bypassing the drying-out stage.) Basil starts fairly easily from seed and my oregano plant is still growing, despite the colder temperatures. I found that oregano spread the most out of those three, so you may want to grow it in some type of pot. On the other hand, you can jumpstart rosemary by buying seedlings or a larger starter plant. Remember that rosemary will not reach its full size if it’s grown in a container. In addition to making pizza, these herbs can be used in a variety of dishes, like basil in pesto and rosemary in lamb or pork dishes.

Tall and Lacy Herb – Dill

Dill grows well in full sun and can grow quite tall (up to five feet!). Just don’t grow it near fennel because it can cross-pollinate. Dill can be used for pickling, potato salads, egg salads, and more. A landscape designer said that he uses yarrow in landscapes, but I have found it taking over my yard by viciously reseeding itself. Yarrow is supposed to attract beneficial insects and can be used for a host of medicinal purposes. Plant at your own risk.

I hope you’ll try growing some of these herbs. If you do, I’d love to hear about it. Happy planting!