How to Start an Herb Garden (Indoors or Out)

Herbs are the highest-reward, lowest-effort plants you can grow. Snipping fresh basil, mint, or thyme straight into a dish beats anything in a dried jar, and most herbs are tough, forgiving, and happy in a pot on a windowsill. People have grown them for flavour, medicine, and even "magic" since ancient times — and you can start yours this weekend.

A little planning up front makes an herb garden that lasts. Here's how to set it up right.

Plan before you plant

Decide which herbs you'll actually use, and learn their type — annuals (basil, cilantro), biennials (parsley), or perennials (rosemary, thyme, mint). It matters for layout: keep annuals separate from perennials so that when you pull spent annuals each year, you don't disturb the perennials. Plant perennials along the edge so they're safe when you till. Sketch the bed on paper first — a herb garden book is a cheap way to learn each plant's needs before you commit.

Give them sun, space, and the right spot

Most herbs love sun and good drainage. Plant the tall ones at the back and shorter ones in front so nothing gets shaded out, and give each plant room to spread. Starting from herb seeds is cheapest; starter plants get you cooking sooner. Either way, a quality potting soil sets them up to thrive.

Contain the invaders

Here's a lesson every herb gardener learns once: some herbs — mint especially — are aggressively invasive and will take over a bed. Keep those in pots, or use a tiered strawberry/herb planter (a tall container with several openings). A neat trick for those stacked planters: put the herb that needs the most water in the bottom opening and the most drought-tolerant variety up top, so each gets the moisture it wants.

Indoors works beautifully

No garden? A sunny kitchen window grows a surprising amount. A row of small pots or a windowsill herb kit puts fresh herbs within arm's reach of the stove. Give them the brightest window you have (south-facing is best), don't overwater, and pinch them often — regular harvesting actually makes most herbs bushier and more productive.

What I'd skip

Skip planting mint (or other spreaders) loose in a bed — it'll bully everything else; pot it. Skip cramming herbs together; airflow and space keep them healthy. And skip overwatering, the most common way to kill a potted herb — most prefer to dry out slightly between drinks.

The honest answer

An herb garden is the easiest, tastiest win in gardening: plan by herb type, give them sun and space, pot the invasive spreaders, and harvest often. Whether it's a backyard bed or a few pots on the sill, you'll never go back to dried herbs once fresh ones are an arm's reach away.