“Sooner or later, every person feels this desire to plant something. It is the return to Eden, the return to ourselves after the long estrangement of our artificial lives.” ~Liberty Hyde Bailey

I think we all come to a place at some point in our lives where we want to return to the natural and simple. There’s something about gardening that evokes that simplicity. The more I garden, the more I have a great appreciation for herbs.

We recently took a trip to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia (I could easily don the bonnet and live in that place!) and I learned that in Colonial times, gifting a new bride the gift of an herb garden was a common practice. Apparently herb gardens were so treasured (and commonplace) that starting herbs was just part of starting a new family. Perhaps like they did, I love my herb garden not just for the flavor and visual interest it brings to my meals, but for the medicinal purposes that those tiny, but mighty herbs carry with them.

If you’ve ever dreamed about starting your own garden, but are overwhelmed by the idea of soil testing, composting, companion plants, and drip lines, then an herb garden is the perfect place to start.

And there’s no better time to start it than right now.
 

An herb garden is a great way to get started with gardening

If the vision of a beautiful plot of land filled with kales, carrots, and radishes makes your heart flutter, but the reality of it is a bit harder to take in (think: land, time, soil testing, etc), I get it. I was there once too. 

I started my little gardening journey almost a decade ago and had absolutely no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that I wanted to cook at home more intentionally, create more savory, original dishes, and stop spending close to $4 for a couple of twigs of rosemary at the supermarket. 

I started YouTubing and Googling and eventually landed in the local library for books on gardening. I decided the only way to actually learn something, apart from reading about it, was to just do it. I headed to my local organic nursery and purchased a few transplants with literally no place to plant them when I got home. I clearly didn’t think things all the way through in the beginning.

It wasn’t long though before I had a small garden box in the backyard with about 10 different herbs growing. The herbs quickly outgrew their space. My sweet husband created a few raised beds for me and my herbs slowly grew to include vegetables and cut flowers. It was heavenly. Starting with herbs allowed me to see that they were not only an easy entry point to loftier hopes of green thumbs, but that now I didn’t have an excuse for not creating more intentional, aromatic meals for my family. 

Herbs are easy to grow and don’t require a lot of space

Admittedly, there are some herbs that like a bit more area in which to expand, but generally speaking, herbs are super easy to start in a small space. You can even begin them indoors, particularly during the winter months, allowing you a jumpstart on the growing season. Sage, lemon balm, and oregano are hearty herbs that do well in small spaces and can later be transplanted in an outdoor garden box. Even basil, which can grow particularly tall and loves the sunshine, can be grown indoors.

Involving my son and even delegating the watering and care to him as a household chore is one of the reasons I really like to start herb growing indoors. When the herbs reach a height and width that I would like to expand, my son’s investment in their care also makes for easy transplanting. His hands have been in the soil since he was a toddler, and getting his help in the garden creates purchase in what we grow as food.

Herbs can be used to add flavor and nutrition as well as natural remedies and beauty products.

I like to categorize my herbs into two types: medicinal and culinary. There are some overlapping traits, but the simple fact that herbs in and of themselves can not only enhance and take the flavor of a dish to another level, they can also be used in a base for tinctures, salves, and other beauty products. Many of them also have amazing nutritional value (like parsley, which is packed with Vitamin C and has more Vitamin C than an orange!).

Rosemary is one of my favorite (and one of the easiest) herbs to grow both indoors and out. Maybe I should have started out with an ode to rosemary, but this mighty herb is one of the versatile for both food and beauty products. Every few weeks I create a rosemary water rinse by steaming a few rosemary stems and adding the water to a spray bottle with a few drops of peppermint oil. Shiny (and pretty-smelling) hair is just a few sprays away. 

When I have a bit of sourdough discard left, I can create dough to rise, add chopped fresh rosemary, and roll out sourdough crackers to bake. My son can literally eat them in one sitting and even feels a bit of pride and accomplishment knowing that he was the one to tend and care for the rosemary bushes in the garden. 

Save money on groceries

So just a few weeks ago, we had an epic freeze here in Texas. It’s not unusual to find ourselves in bare feet and short sleeves in the middle of December, so the cold snap surprised even the heartiest of us. I was down with the flu for about a week during this weather change and didn’t cover my garden properly, particularly the herbs. 

The thing with Texas weather is that it changes almost daily. Not but two days after the start of the freeze, the weather again changed and the warmth and humidity came back. Because I didn’t tend to herb garden properly, I lost them all—every last bush of rosemary (and I had several, cultivated over a few years), lavender, sage, thyme, basil—it was all gone.

I don’t think I need to tell you the prices in the grocery store are not what they used to be. I had to go to the supermarket to buy a small herb box of sage at nearly $4. Having to purchase something that was in my garden just but a few weeks ago makes me even more determined to not just start over, but help you start your own herb garden.

I’ve also noticed that I seem to be getting less of things in the grocery store for a higher price point. Instead of a nice, lush little box of sage for that price, there was a small, thin, twig. I had to purchase two boxes in order to get the potency of flavor that I wanted for the dish I was cooking. But, I’m starting over (and I hope now that you will too), and I’ll soon be going back outside to snip them from my own garden instead of having to make it to the market and overpay.

Having an herb garden is a tie to nature

So many of us spend our days indoors in front of monitors or screens (or in a long commute to and from the office). I work from home, but just like everyone else, I often have to remind myself to connect with the outside in order to rebalance. 

While I still encourage you to step outside everyday, having a small herb garden and watching its progress can so easily remind you of all the good and beautiful that exists outside your 4 walls. Whether you start it on the kitchen countertop or in a small raised garden bed outside your back porch, your herb garden can be fascinating—watching growth from a bit of water and sunshine. Not too different from us, I suppose.

I put together a quick-start checklist on the easiest herbs to grow indoors. Click here to grab that list and tag me on Instagram so I can see your indoor (or outdoor) herb garden ideas!