Live Well
Updated: April 21, 2022
Herb-alicious: 5 Best Herbs to Fill Your Indoor Garden
Freshly picked herbs are loaded with rich flavor and add an infusion of spice to soups, stews, and salads. All the best kitchens will have a variety to take your cooking to the next level.
If you’re looking to cultivate your own herb oasis to have fresh, delicious, zest on hand, here are our choices for the best fresh herbs to grow at home.
Rosemary
Rosemary is divinely flavored and perfect when roasted with poultry, meats, and vegetables. Incredibly fragrant, this plant is popularly used in floral arrangements due to its aromatic appeal and is often a whimsical garnish to add character to your dish.
Rosemary thrives in dry soil so avoid overwatering. Given enough time to flourish, and is sure to give your kitchen a woody, lemony aroma year-round.
Mint
Possibly the queen of versatility, mint is a must-have for any herb garden! Famous for its cool and bracing aroma, mint is a perfect infusion in drinks like mint juleps or a summery ice-tea. Mint also serves as a popular ingredient for fresh breath and a perfect balm in calming an ailing stomach.
In planting, keep in mind mint is invasive and can rule your garden. It is best kept in its own container.
Basil
The hero of herb gardens everywhere, Basil’s presence in popular Italian and Mediterranean dishes such as pizzas, salads, sauces, and pesto, assures that it a signature ingredient no kitchen should be without. Healthwise, Basil is loaded with antioxidants and capitalized as a defense against low blood-sugar.
Ensure basil is in well-drained fertile soil, and a warm, sheltered position that rests out of direct midday sun.
Thyme
This peculiar-looking plant, with very delicate leaves, packs a heavy punch when paired with creamy poultry, lamb, fish and vegetable dishes as well as soups and stews. For centuries this Mediterranean leaf has been improving the flavor profile of provençal cuisines!
Thyme greedily appreciates full sunshine and loves heat! Keep it in soil that drains well and let it rest next to sunny windows.
Chives
This funny-looking garlic is often regarded as a perfect, fresh duo to sour cream. Chives are a handy flavoring and are seen as one of the finest herbs in French and Chinese cuisine as well as a perfect garden companion to deter pests.
Chives love sun and prefer their soil to be moist but well-draining.
Do you raise your own herb garden? How do you use fresh herbs? Share with us via our social channels @FostersCayman on Facebook and Instagram.
