To bypass the dangers of incorrectly identifying herbs in the wild, and to get started using fresh herbs without a botany lesson, you always have the option to grow your own. You can start by visiting a nursery that grows herbs and purchasing your own seeds (rather than collecting seeds from the wild, which will again involve the problems with misidentifying).
The biggest benefit of growing your own herbs is that because you have purchased your seeds, you will be able to correctly identify the herb that grows. Most plants you grow at home will be mild because of the pampering you give them and will be safe to use for occasional medicinal purposes — they’ll be especially useful for spices and cooking.
If you look at your thumb and see that it is more orange, purple, blue, or anything but green, but you still desire to grow a few of your own herbs, then we should cover a couple of the basics here first. First of all, you might want to consider planting perennials instead of annuals; or, if you are patient, try biennials, which take two years to bear fruit or flowers.
Terms related to herbs or holistic health
Perennials are plants that have a life span of more than two years — if you are lucky, these plants come back over and over again for years. Annuals are plants that live and grow for only one year or season and then die. Biennials are plants that usually require two years to reach maturity; these bloom in the second year before dying.
You don’t need to be a country boy or girl to grow your own herbs; even city-dwellers can grow herbs in a windowsill flower box, or in small pots set by a window. Whether growing indoors or outdoors, take a look at the following table for 10 popular herbs to grow, with their category and some uses. This chart will help you if you are feeling stood up because you have been waiting patiently for your basil (an annual) to re-grow again, but it never shows! (Don’t take it personally — this is basil’s nature.)
Popular Herbs and Their Uses
| Herb | Latin Name | Type | Uses |
| Anise | Pimpinella anisum | Annual | Taken by nursing mothers to produce lactation; seeds sooth stomach. Used as a spice (licorice-type flavor) and to flavor liquors. Leaves are used in salads. |
| Basil | Ocimum basilicum | Annual | Used as a spice mainly to flavor tomato-based dishes, spaghetti sauces, and Italian dishes. The fresh plant is said to repel mosquitoes and flies. |
| Chamomile | Matricaria recutita | Annual | Tea or capsules are used to calm nerves and settle the stomach. Used in shampoos for blond highlights. Great ingredient in eye pillows. Fresh plant is an insect repellent. Use in potpourri. |
| Catnip | Nepeta Cataria | Perennial | Soothes stomach; moms find it helpful for colicky babies. Cat’s love to eat it, so keep it away from them when trying to grow it; the dried herb stuffed into a cat’s toys will serve as entertainment for you and your cat (it makes cats act intoxicated and silly!). |
| Chives | Allium Schoenoprasum | Perennial | This herb from the onion family is popular as a topping on baked potatoes or any foods you would add onions to for flavoring. Folklore used hanging chives to chase away evil spirits. |
| Parsley | Petroselinum crispum | Biennial | Aids digestion and urinary tract. Decorates food plates. Attracts a caterpillar that will turn into a black swallowtail butterfly—an endangered species! |
| Sage | Salvia officinalis | Perennial | Used as a seasoning for meats. Used medicinally for sinuses, nerves, bowels, and the bladder. |
| Clary sage | Salvia viridis | Biennial | Decorative with blue and white flowers. Attracts hummingbirds. Oil is used to balance hormones in women, and some use it as a perfume. |
| Thyme | Thymus vulgaris | Perennial | Used as a spice. Medicinally has been used to boost the immune system. Many different types of thyme are available, some very decorative for growing; ask your nursery specialist. |
| Valerian | Valeriana officinalis | Perennial | Used as a sedative. Grown for sweet fragrance, but the root (the medicinal part of the herb), is repulsive to humans, yet irresistible to cats! (Then again, most of us are not fond of mice either!) |
Harvesting is tricky business because it will vary depending on where you live and what your climate is like. It will also depend on what use you will have for the herb you harvest and which herbs you are harvesting. For instance, the medicinal value of ginseng root is not effective until it is at least five years old. Some manufacturers will sell ginseng that is immature and therefore not very potent. Again, be sure you know or trust your source, especially when purchasing ginseng because this is one of the more expensive herbs.
About overcoming an ailment with herbs
When growing parsley indoors from a seed, the herb should not be exposed to sunlight until it sprouts from the dirt. To avoid unintended light, cover the pot lightly with some newspaper until you see it sprout
As a general rule, my herb-growing friends tell me that you should harvest your flowering culinary herbs (herbs you are using for spice and food additions) just before they flower to preserve the essential oils (which give them their strong flavor and smell) — unless, of course, you are growing the herbs for the use of their seeds, such as with fennel, anise, or dill.
After you learn when to harvest your herbs for your purposes, you will need to learn how to dry them. Again, this will vary depending on what type of herb you are harvesting and what you are going to use it for.
In general, you can bunch most of your herbs and place them in paper sacks. You should mark on the outside of the bag what the herb is so you don’t get them mixed up. Some herbs should be bunched and then hung upside down from a string, and still other herbs can be placed directly into vases as decorations and left to dry as a dried flower decoration.
About overcoming an ailment with herbs
Some pretty flowers that you can add to your herb bunches are very beautiful fresh or dried, but are not well known for any medicinal qualities; these include marigolds, pansies, roses, and bachelor buttons.