10 Best Herbs to Grow in Your Garden or Windowsill

Herbs growing at home — Photo:
Muenz / GETTY IMAGES

Whether you need them to make a pesto sauce or to use as a salad garnish, herbs probably make their way onto your weekly grocery list one way or another. But what happens when you need just one or two sprigs and can only buy it in bulk at your local supermarket? Often the excess is left to wilt in the refrigerator.

Instead, we recommend crossing the mint, oregano, basil, and other herbs off your shopping list and planting some in your garden or in containers instead. Rather than shopping for them every week, you'll be able to simply go out to your backyard or balcony and snip off a few sprigs as needed. From repeat growers and self-seeders to hardy and high-yield plants, these herbs will give you the most bang for your buck in your garden (and in the kitchen!).

Toby Adams, director of the Edible Academy at the New York Botanical Garden
Peggy Riccio, owner of PegPlant.com in Alexandria, Va., who currently serves as Herb Society of America’s Mid-Atlantic district delegate

01 of 10

Thyme

A low-growing ground cover plant with small green foliage, thyme (Thymus spp) is an evergreen plant that stays green and above ground during winter. Its foliage can be harvested at any time, meaning you can use it for cooking no matter what season you're in.

Another bonus of growing thyme? The perennial plant will remain in your garden for many years and is known for being easy to root. "One can either get a division or stem cutting from a friend or make more plants from an established plant," says Riccio.

Thyme is available in many different flavors depending on the variety you grow, giving you more options than you may have when perusing your grocery store's produce aisle for the herb. "Traditionally, English or French thyme is used for culinary purposes but there are many types with flavors such as nutmeg, lemon, orange, or rose that also can be used for cooking or baking," says Peggy Riccio, owner of PegPlant.com in Alexandria, Va., who currently serves as Herb Society of America’s Mid-Atlantic district delegate.

Growing zone: 2 to 11
Size: 3 to 5 feet tall x 2 to 3 feet wide
Care requirements: Full sun; well-drained soil

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02 of 10

Dill

Used for pickling, soups, potatoes, and other dishes, you'll never run out of a reason to keep dill (Anethum graveolens) in your kitchen. Its many uses alone make it a great addition to your garden. Plus, the herb's flowers are edible, so you can use the entire plant for cooking—not just the sprigs you get at the grocery store. "Dill produces a lot of foliage, which can be used fresh or dried," says Riccio. The foliage can be used as a garnish on salads and egg dishes.

Dill has been bred extensively, so there are many varieties, but you should grow the type that is best suited to your needs. "Dill can be grown in a large container for the summer but is usually grown in the ground because of its height and tap root," says Riccio. Dill can self-seed, meaning you may see additional small plants come up next spring, adding to your already abundant supply.

Growing zone: 2 to 11
Size: 3 to 5 feet tall x 2 to 3 feet wide
Care requirements: Full sun; well-drained soil

03 of 10

Basil

Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is a popular herb that's used to flavor sauces, make pesto, garnish salads, and beyond. "As with all herbs, unless you are making a large batch of pesto, basil is used sparingly, and so it makes much more sense to have some plants on your stoop, porch, windowsill, or garden to harvest from instead of picking up a pint at the store," says Toby Adams, director of the Edible Academy at the New York Botanical Garden.

Basil is typically used for its foliage, but it can flower. "For ultimate foliage production for culinary use, prune the plant to encourage bushiness and to prevent flowering," says Riccio.

You can save basil seeds and sow them again the following year, meaning you'll always have a supply in your garden. Plus, it's a companion plant for tomatoes to help prevent thrips, hornworms, and army worms, says Riccio. All the more reason to grow it rather than buy it.

Growing zone: 2 to 11
Size: 18 to 24 inches tall x 18 to 24 inches wide
Care requirements: Full sun; well-drained soil

How to Grow and Care for Basil Plants—Indoors and Outside

04 of 10

Mint

Mint (Mentha spp.) is known for being extremely high yield—once planted, the herb can spread quickly. What's more, the entire plant can be divided to make more, so you'll always have an abundant supply.

Because it's such an aggressive grower, it's best to plant mint in containers rather than in the ground. But you can keep the containers outside during warmer weather to reap mint's other benefits, like attracting pollinators and deterring pests. Plus, mint overwinters easily, so it can make it through a season that many plants tend to struggle during.

There are many different varieties of mint, from spearmint to peppermint, giving you many options when it comes to planting. "Because there are so many 'flavors,' one can use mint for practically anything from savory dishes to baked goods, desserts, and cocktails," says Riccio. You'll always be able to find a reason to visit your garden and snip off a few sprigs.

Growing zone: 5 to 9
Size: 1 to 2 feet tall x 1 to 2 feet wide
Care requirements: Partial shade; moist, well-drained soil

How to Grow and Care for Mint in Your Garden or on Your Windowsill

05 of 10

Chives

A perennial plant that will provide you with fresh herbs year after year, chives (Allium schoenoprasum) have green, spear-like foliage and produce lavender-colored flowers in spring and summer.

In addition to being a repeat grower, chives are easy to divide. "It will multiply but it is not aggressive or invasive," says Riccio. "You can dig up your original planting in the spring and divide it to have more chive plants."

If you end up with more chives than you're ready to cook with don't worry, the herb freezes very well. "From spring to fall, you can snip the foliage to add onion flavor to your meals," says Riccio. Additionally, the low maintenance herb is very pungent, making it resistant to deer and rabbit.

Growing zone: 4 to 8
Size: 18 inches tall x 18 inches wide
Care requirements: Partial shade; moist, well-drained soil

06 of 10

Rosemary

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) is an extremely hardy plant, meaning you can get a lot of mileage out of it in the garden. "The foliage can be harvested any time of the year," says Riccio. "If a hardy plant is grown, it will remain evergreen year-round and grow to a large woody shrub."

Beyond being harvestable all year long, rosemary is drought, deer, and rabbit resistant. The needle-shaped foliage will add structure to your garden, while small lavender flowers add interest during winter when many other plants in the garden are on their way out.

Like some other herbs on this list, rosemary can be propagated by stem cuttings or layering to produce even more plants. Once harvested, the herb is also delicious and flavorful dried, so you don't have to worry about it going bad if you don't use it all.

Growing zone: 4 to 8
Size: 2 to 6 feet tall x 2 to 4 feet wide
Care requirements: Full sun; well-drained soil

07 of 10

Lemon Balm

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) has many uses in the kitchen, making it an herb you'll love having in your backyard when you need an extra layer of flavor. "Use any time you need lemon flavor in cooking, baking, or beverages," says Riccio. "Fresh or dried foliage make an excellent, herbal, caffeine free tea. The foliage also is very textured and can be used to garnish baked goods."

It blooms small white flowers that support beneficial insects and pollinators, like honeybees. Lemon balm can be harvested several times during the growing season and can be divided to make more plants, which you can add to your garden to expand your supply or give to a friend.

Growing zone: 3 to 7
Size: 18 to 24 inches tall x 18 to 36 feet wide
Care requirements: Partial shade; well-drained soil

08 of 10

Lovage

Want to prioritize growing plants in your garden that yield zero waste? Lovage (Levisticum officinale) is the herb for you. The entire plant (from its roots to seeds) is wholly edible. Plus, you can use it to replace celery in your kitchen. "Most gardeners grow lovage for its foliage, which tastes like celery," says Riccio. "Because it is difficult to keep fresh store-bought celery on hand, this is a great plant to have for that celery flavor."

Not only is it practical to cook with, but lovage is also a beneficial addition to your garden. "Lovage adds vertical interest to the garden, it is a great tall herb plant to grow for partial shade," says Riccio. What's more, the small flowers attract beneficial insects and pollinators.

Growing zone: 4 to 8
Size: 3 to 6 feet tall x 2 to 3 feet wide
Care requirements: Full sun to partial shade; moist, well-drained soil

09 of 10

Oregano

Oregano (Origanum spp) is a workhorse both in your garden and in the kitchen. "It produces a lot of fragrant foliage that dries well, its flowers support beneficial insects and bees, and it is drought-tolerant and deer- and rabbit-resistant," says Riccio.

The hardy, perennial plant remains above ground in the winter and come spring, new growth elongates until small flowers form. "It blooms all summer long," says Riccio. "Afterwards, you can cut the flower stalks off in late fall before winter or you can cut them off in early spring to allow the new growth to come through."

Not much needs to be harvested at a time since oregano is a very pungent herb, meaning its supply has a lot of longevity. Once snipped (which should take place in summer) you can use oregano fresh or dry it.

Growing zone: 4 to 8
Size: 1 to 3 feet tall x 1 to 2 feet wide
Care requirements: Full sun; well-drained soil

10 of 10

Sage

Once you plant sage (Salvia officinalis) in your garden the plant can last for years, so you get more mileage out of it than you would by buying it at the store. Sage has gray-green leaves and blooms purple flower in summer. "The plant grows to be woody towards the base—it becomes a small shrub that stays above ground in the winter," says Riccio, noting that the plant makes an excellent ornamental shrub.

Sage has many uses in the kitchen. "Salvia officinalis and the other sage varieties can be used for garnishing, for example, decorating a baked pumpkin pie, piping butter on the leaves to make butter pats, or even grouped with other herbs as place settings during the holidays," says Riccio. The drought-resistant plant is very pungent, so a little goes a long way in the kitchen.