Growing Guides

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...

Oregano (Origanum vulgare) is one of the easiest herbs to grow from seed and one of the most forgiving once it is established. This hardy Mediterranean perennial wants sun and lean soil, comes back year after year in most of...

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a fragrant, evergreen Mediterranean shrub that flavors roasts, breads, and potatoes and stays handsome year-round. Be warned that it is slow and uneven from seed, so this is a project for patient gardeners, not a quick...

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...

Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is one of the easiest perennials you can start from seed, and this guide walks through how to grow catnip from sowing to harvest. It is a member of the mint family that forms a bushy, silvery-green...

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...

Sweet marjoram (Origanum majorana) is oregano's gentler, sweeter cousin, and one of the friendlier woody herbs to grow from seed. It is frost-tender, so treat it as a warm-season plant in a sunny bed or pot, where its delicate, floral...

Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) is one of the quickest herbs to grow, and a single plant gives you two things: the fresh leaves you snip for salsa and tacos, and the dried seed we call coriander. The catch is timing. Cilantro...