Growing Herbs

Is It a Cooking Herb or a Spice?

f you are really interested in growing great herbs indoors, we found some lovely sets at Direct Gardening

The first thing to know in selecting which herbs to grow is the difference between cooking herbs and spices. The cinnamon stick you put in your hot chocolate or apple cider is a spice while the parsley on the edge of your plate is an herb.

Cooking herbs are usually the fresh or dried leaves of plants while spices are the ground seeds, roots, fruits, flowers, and/or bark.
Herbs grow very well in temperate zones, while spices generally come from tropical areas.
Herbs add subtle flavor, whereas spices are generally more pungent and add more robust flavor.

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Is it an herb or a flower?

Many herbs produce beautiful summertime flowers and many of the flowers that delight us during summer make fragrant additions to our kitchens as well as colorful and tasty additions to our recipes. Flowers like scented geraniums, hibiscus, bee balm, and roses are perennial herbs with flavorful flowers.

Although nearly all herbs start from seed, herbs run the gamut of about 70 cultivars, broken into categories of medicinal, ornamental, and aromatic as well as culinary (cooking) herbs. Many herbs fit into more than one class, making any herb garden a source of attraction, fragrance, as well as healthy and flavorful eating.

What kind of herb garden will you grow?

Deciding from over 70 herb cultivars can be difficult, but you can grow a special herb garden by choosing herbs according to class. One word of caution - many herbs fit into more than one class! However, that may be a bonus!