Your Name Doesn't Have to be Martha Stewart to Cook With Fresh Herbs From Your Own Garden!

Hey!  It's Summertime and I want to share with you one of my passions!  It is cooking with fresh herbs.  For years, I thought that I could never grow my own herbs and would by those packages from the store of scrawny, shriveled up little plastic containers that I practically spent my entire grocery budget on.  I dreamed of having an herb garden much like the ones that are featured on the magazine covers at the check out stand.  I can't be the only one who bought the shrunken basil to add to my pasta.  When I would get a compliment, I would toss my hair and say, "Oh, it must be the fresh basil!"  Or maybe you have thought about growing lavender, but noticed the carefully planted fields on the cover of....well, just about any food or gardening magazine.  You could never have your own stock of fresh lavender, right?  Wrong!  Container gardening is so simple and you can enjoy fresh herbs for your dishes all summer long!  And while you are at it, don't plant pots of herbs alone.  Mix them with your flowers!  I have rosemary intermingled with rose moss and sweet potato vines.  Lavender works well with perennials.  Plant some tarragon in a pot and move it to a protected area in the winter and next spring, voila!  A beautiful pot of tarragon with no effort at all!  Thyme is a perennial so stick a plant in a pot and enjoy it for years to come!  Don't forget to add these wonderful sprigs of herbs to your flower arrangements.  Not only do they add some beautiful foliage, but they bring a wonderful fragrance to any room!  I hope this inspires you to try an herb in a pot the next time that you want to plant something striking for your patio!