Herbs 101, Jim Long

Whether a beginner in the herb garden, or an experienced gardener, you will find this book filled with exicitng ideas for growing and using herbs.

Your herb garden can be your own personal expression, a private spot for meditation, or a family project. Your herb garden can be as small as a patio planter or as big as a field - the choice is yours. Your garden can be simple and precise, or elaborate and wildly imaginative. Whether you want an attractive herb garden, or prefer to grow cooking herbs in containers on your deck or patio, you will find lots of good ideas and information here.

Before beginning your garden, decide how you plan to use the herbs from your garden. Admittedly, most people getting into herbs are interested in the culinary herbs to cook with, but the possibilities don’t nearly stop there. You could have a fragrance garden for sharing with birds and butterflies. You might want a cosmetic or medicinal herb garden to grow herbs for beauty and health. Or perhaps you imagine a tea garden, or a pizza garden for your kids or grandkids. There are so many options, and all of them good. You’ll delight in discovering many of your herbs are multi-purpose.

Your herb garden can be planned on a shoestring budget or carried out on a grand and elegant scale. The plants and seeds cost almost nothing; the ideas are free. The highest costs will likely come from how you carry out your design. In the following pages I offer several simple design ideas for you to choose from and expand upon in your own garden.