Each plant variety has its own growing period. In order to make good choices, it is important to know the growing period of your herbs. When you go shopping for your herbs, you’ll need to know their life cycle. The 3 primary categories are:

• Annuals: These flowers start from a seed. They grow, flower and die all in the same growing season. There are a number of good annual herb plants: cilantro, chervil, basil, borage and dill.

• Biennials: This variety of flower can grow for 2 years and can generally bear “fruit” after the first year. Some herbs (like parsley) can produce leafage during both years but deteriorate early in the second growing season. Angelica, chicory and Queen Anne’s lace are just a couple of the many biennials to select from.

• Perennials: Herbs that tend to survive for more than two growing seasons are called perennials. Whether or not they come back or for how many years they will come back depends on the climate where you live. Some perennials you might like include yarrow, lemon verbena, mints, rosemary, scented geranium, thyme and lady’s mantle.

My favorite herbs are perennials because I only have to pick-up and plant them once, but I also have fun growing annuals and biennials. Too much cold will kill your perennials, so beware. Bringing your perennials in during the colder time of year is a nice way to extend their growing cycle.

There are several other things you can do to lengthen the life of your herb plants:

• The garage, basement or cellar is a nice place to store some perennials that need to be trimmed back and have the bulb, roots or rhizome unearthed for the winter.
• Using containers is a great method for those herbs that you need to bring in your house or garage.  Some folks even plant their containers in the ground, covering them up to the rim. This makes it a cinch to keep them during winter—just unearth the pot at the end of the season.
• Plant your biennials in middle of the summer so that you can get plenty of flowers in the second summer.
• A few herb plants are self-sowers, which means that they will sow their own seeds for the next year. A few great self-sowers include: mustard, borage and catnip.
• Clip off faded flowers to extend the growing cycle of short-lived annuals. Depending on your area’s temperatures; your annuals may self-seed if you clip the plant back at the end of the summer.
• If you have some unexpected cold weather don’t forget to cover your herbs with a blanket, towel or sheet which will prevent the frost from harming your herb. If you have your herb plants in pots, you can always move them under a covered patio.

I hope that these tips can help you with your herb garden planning. It can be hard at times to get it like you want it. Even I make flubs after all these years, but just keep in mind that you can dig up what doesn’t work and try try again!

Here is more information on Herb Garden Information. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.

Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.