Herbs to Grow in Your Garden: Fifteen Essentials

Above: the garden Homer Kizer built for me in Kinde, Michigan.

Some time around the year 800, Charlemagne’s court drew up a list of plants to be grown on every royal estate, and it is still a good guide to the herbs to grow in your garden. Sage, rosemary, lovage and fennel are all on it.¹ A ruler with an empire to feed and an army to keep on its feet wanted useful plants within reach, and that is still the best reason to grow herbs.

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This guide covers fifteen herbs that earn their place in a home garden. For each one you will find how to grow it, how it is traditionally used, and the caution worth knowing before you use it. If you are new to herbs, read How to Start Using Herbs Safely as well.

Why Grow Your Own

• You know what you have. Homegrown herbs have no hidden fillers, and you decide what goes on the soil.
• You get to know the plant. Watching a herb through a full year teaches you more than any label: how it smells in the morning, when it flowers, what it does after rain.
• It saves money. A single sage plant gives more leaves in a summer than most households can use.
• Your garden feeds the bees. Most of the herbs below are generous with nectar.

The Fifteen Herbs

Garden Sage (Salvia officinalis)

Sage is on Charlemagne’s list,¹ and it comes first in the little garden poem of Walafrid Strabo, abbot of Reichenau, who wrote: “There in the very front glows sage, sweetly scented.”² Cut it back by about a third after flowering to keep it bushy rather than woody. My sage monograph covers its uses in depth.

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus)

Rosemary is on Charlemagne’s list too.¹ Botanists recently moved it into the sage genus, so you may see it labelled Rosmarinus officinalis in older books. In a Creuse winter it needs a sheltered, sunny wall and gritty soil, or a pot you can move under cover.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

Another of Charlemagne’s plants.¹ Keep it away from dill, or the two will cross. Cut the seed heads when they turn from green to brown and dry them in a paper bag. My fennel monograph has the details.

Lovage (Levisticum officinale)

Lovage was on Charlemagne’s list as levisticum.¹ One plant is enough for most families. Use the young leaves in soups and stews wherever you would use celery.

Peppermint (Mentha × piperita)

Mints of several kinds were grown on Charlemagne’s estates.¹ Peppermint tea appears to be safe for most people; the concentrated oil can cause heartburn and nausea.³ Cut it hard in midsummer for a second flush of fresh leaves.

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)

Chamomile belongs to the daisy family, so anyone allergic to its relatives should take care, and interactions with warfarin have been reported.⁴ Pick the flowers on a dry morning when the petals are fully open, and keep picking every few days through summer. My chamomile monograph has more.

Calendula (Calendula officinalis)

Deadhead often and it will flower from June until the first hard frost. Dry the whole flower heads, not just the petals, for oils and salves. My calendula monograph covers it fully.

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)

True or English lavender is the hardiest, and the best for the stillroom. Topical lavender products can cause allergic skin reactions in some people, and its safety in pregnancy is not well established.⁵

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

Its Latin name comes from the Greek for “bee,” and beekeepers once rubbed it inside empty hives to attract a swarm. Use the leaves fresh where you can, because much of the scent is lost in drying.

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

Thyme is happiest in the poorest, driest corner of the garden. Harvest just as it begins to flower, when the scent is strongest.

St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

A lovely plant to grow and a serious one to take. St. John’s wort can weaken many important medications, and large doses can cause severe skin reactions after sun exposure.⁶ Never take it internally without checking with your doctor or pharmacist. My herb–drug interactions guide explains why.

In parts of the American West it escaped into rangeland and became a troublesome weed, so check your local rules before planting it there.

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)

Dig the roots in autumn of the second year. They smell strongly, and not pleasantly, once dried. Valerian should not be taken with alcohol or sedatives, and very rare liver injuries have been reported, mostly with herbal mixtures.⁷

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Its name honours Achilles, who in legend dressed his soldiers’ wounds with it. Grow the plain white wild form for the stillroom rather than the coloured garden varieties.

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium)

Feverfew should not be taken in pregnancy, because it may affect uterine contractions, and it may slow blood clotting.⁸ People sensitive to ragweed may react to it as well.⁸

Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea)

A North American prairie plant, so not one Charlemagne would have known, but it grows well in French gardens. Its most common side effects are digestive, and some people have severe allergic reactions to it.⁹ Wait until plants are three years old before digging any root.

Suggested Gardening Books

Growing Tips That Apply to All Fifteen

• Give the Mediterranean herbs sun and drainage. Sage, rosemary, thyme and lavender die of wet winters far more often than of cold ones.
• Keep spreaders contained. Mint, lemon balm and St. John’s wort will roam if you let them.
• Skip chemical sprays entirely. You are growing plants to put in your body. Compost and a mixed planting do most of the work.
• Harvest on a dry morning, after the dew has gone and before the midday sun drives off the scent.
• Dry herbs in the shade, in small bundles or on screens, then store them in labelled glass jars away from light.

For a full planting layout, see How to Create a Herb Garden Plan. For what to do with your harvest, see The Stillroom: Five Traditional Herbal Preparations and Making Herbal Tinctures at Home.

Making Herbal Preparations at Home

Supplies

• Pint and Quart Size Canning Jars With Lids (Check Thrift Stores)
• Cheesecloth
• Mesh strainer
• Graduated cylinders
• Knives
• Cutting boards
• Large bowls I prefer stainless steel
• Funnel for filling your tincture bottles
• Natural waxed paper for putting between lid and jar to protect metal lid
• A kitchen scale for accurate measurements
• A mortar and pestle for grinding herbs
• Set of glass jars for storing dried herbs and tinctures
• Good quality tea infuser
• Double boiler for making salves and infused oils are valuable additions.
• Small 1 or 2-ounce glass bottles – ideally dark-colored glass
• Raw wildflower honey – local is best
• Apple cider vinegar ~ raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar is best because it contains enzymes, proteins, and beneficial bacteria
• Olive oil ~ cold pressed, extra virgin
• Glycerin ~ food grade
• High proof brandy or vodka ~ For the majority of tinctures made using dried herbs, any type of alcohol (vodka, brandy, whiskey, gin, etc.) that has a 40-50% alcohol content will suffice (Herbal Academy Blog).

Frequently Asked Questions

Which herbs are easiest for a beginner to grow?

Calendula, chamomile, lemon balm and mint are almost impossible to fail with. Sage and thyme are easy too, as long as the soil drains well.

Can I grow these herbs in pots?

Most of them, yes. Mint, thyme, sage, rosemary, lavender and lemon balm all do well in containers. Lovage, fennel and valerian are too large for most pots.

When should I harvest?

Leaves are usually best just before the plant flowers. Flowers are best just after they open. Roots are dug in autumn, once the top growth has died back.

Is a herb safe just because I grew it myself?

No. Growing a plant does not change what it does in the body. Check the cautions above, and talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you take any medication.

A Garden Worth Keeping

Charlemagne’s stewards were told what to plant, but they still had to learn each plant by growing it. That is the real gift of a herb garden: the knowledge comes up with the leaves, one season at a time.

© 2024 Carolyn Smith-Kizer

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Notes

1. “Capitulare de villis,” c. 70, in Capitularia regum Francorum, ed. Alfred Boretius, vol. 1, Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Leges, sec. 2 (Hannover: Hahn, 1883), no. 32.
2. Walahfrid Strabo, Hortulus, trans. Raef Payne, commentary by Wilfrid Blunt (Pittsburgh: Hunt Botanical Library, 1966).
3. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “Peppermint Oil,” NCCIH Herbs at a Glance, accessed October 15, 2026, https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/peppermint-oil.
4. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “Chamomile,” NCCIH Herbs at a Glance, accessed October 15, 2026, https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/chamomile.
5. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “Lavender,” NCCIH Herbs at a Glance, accessed October 15, 2026, https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/lavender.
6. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “St. John’s Wort,” NCCIH Herbs at a Glance, accessed October 15, 2026, https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/st-johns-wort.
7. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “Valerian,” NCCIH Herbs at a Glance, accessed October 15, 2026, https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/valerian.
8. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “Feverfew,” NCCIH Herbs at a Glance, accessed October 15, 2026, https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/feverfew.
9. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “Echinacea,” NCCIH Herbs at a Glance, accessed October 15, 2026, https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/echinacea.