By: Robin Svedi

In order to better understand what an herb garden is, you’d have to first know what an herb is.

What is an Herb?

Herbs are defined as plants that are useful to humans. Not quite the same as a vegetable or a fruit, an herb is something we value for a variety of different reasons. An herb can be useful to us for its flavor, its scent, its medicinal properties or its use as an insecticide. Some herbs are used as coloring for dyes or for industrial uses. Herbs have been used for thousands of years in teas and balms to relieve physical ailments, such as upset stomachs and stress-induced illness.

Herbs are not only useful to humans, but they are attractive as well. Gardeners use them as borders for their landscaping, along walkways, and mixed in with their flowers and shrubs.

Cooks use them for the unique flavorings that they bring to food. Spices are plants that are used in many of the same ways as herbal plants but come from the tropical regions of the planet. Spices are difficult to grow. Herbs, on the other hand, can grow quite nicely almost anywhere that has a growing season.

Herbs can be found as annuals (plants that live for one season); biennials (plants that live for two seasons); or perennials (plants that come back year after year).

What is an Herb Garden?

An herb garden is basically a garden that is being used solely to grow herbs. A better description of what an herb garden might be is a beautiful and relaxing place where you can find plants that are not only useful but also beneficial to the enjoyment of life.

An herb garden can be any size or shape and can contain many different types of herbs or just a few. An herb garden may control an entire yard or be simply planted in a small window-box container. Herb gardens can be kept indoors on a sunny windowsill, or outdoors in the open breeze. An herb garden also can be incorporated into a vegetable garden, with landscape shrubbery, or mixed in with your flowers.

There are many different types of herb gardens, each with character and charisma.

Distinctive Herb Gardens

A culinary, or kitchen, herb garden will consist of only herbs used for flavorings in cooking. It might contain parsley, basil, chives, oregano, rosemary, and thyme.

An aromatic herb garden will consist of herb plants that are highly noted for their fragrance and used for cut flowers, aromatherapy, or for making potpourri and scented candles. It might contain lavender, lemon balm and scented geraniums.

An herbal tea garden will consist of herbs such as chamomile, anise hyssop, and assorted mints that can be brewed into delicious teas.

A medicinal herb garden will consist of herbs used for soothing and comfort, where you might find aloe and feverfew. A word of caution on using herbs for medicinal purposes: while some herbs have been found to be helpful, other herbs can be harmful if ingested or used improperly. Always check with a doctor before starting any herbal remedy.

Ornamental herb gardens are prized for their beautiful flowers and unusual foliage. An ornamental herb garden might contain southernwood, sage, and germander.

The most popular type of herb garden consists of many different varieties of herbal plants, some for cooking, some for fragrance, some for beauty, and some just for soothing your soul. With so many wonderful herbs to choose from, the question shouldn’t be what is an herb garden, but rather what is growing in your herb garden?