Growing Guides

Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea), better known as purple coneflower, is one of the most dependable perennials you can grow from seed, and once it settles in it comes back on its own for years. Expect big, rosy-purple daisies that bees and...

Anise (Pimpinella anisum) is the true source of that warm, sweet licorice flavor bakers love, and it is easier to grow from seed than most people expect. This lacy little annual gives you fragrant seed for biscotti, breads, and after-dinner...

Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) is a beginner-friendly herb that hands you cheerful little daisy-like flowers all summer for a soothing homemade tea. It is easygoing, drought-tolerant, happy in a bed or a pot, and it reseeds itself year after year. The...

Borage (Borago officinalis) is one of the most rewarding herbs you can grow from seed: sow it once and its brilliant blue, star-shaped flowers keep coming all summer, then it drops seed and comes back on its own the next...

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a hardy perennial with soft, lemon-scented leaves and a long, gentle place in the tea garden. It is easy to grow and quick to become a favorite, though the seeds ask for a little patience...

Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum) is a hardy North American native perennial with a cool, spearmint-like scent and frosty, silver-white summer blooms. Few plants pull in as many bees, wasps, and butterflies, yet it stays in a tidy clump instead of...

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is a low, hardy perennial that carpets an herb bed in fragrant, tiny leaves and returns year after year, flavoring soups, roasts, and slow braises. Its seed is nearly as fine as dust, so sowing it takes...

English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is a tough, fragrant Mediterranean shrub that hums with bees all summer and dries beautifully for tea, honey, and sachets. Growing it from seed takes patience, and germination is slow, but once it settles in it...

Garden sage (Salvia officinalis) is a hardy perennial with soft grey-green leaves and a warm, savory flavor that is classic in stuffing, sausage, and browned-butter sauces. Of the woody Mediterranean herbs, it is one of the easiest to start from...