The life cycles or growing periods vary with different herb plants. In order to make nice decisions, it is important to know the growing period of your herb plants. When you go shopping for your herbs, you’ll need to know their life cycle. The 3 primary categories are:

• Annuals: These flowers start from a seed. They grow, flower and die all in the same growing season. There are a number of good annual herbs: cilantro, chervil, basil, borage and dill.

• Biennials: Biennial flowers grow for two years and usually bear a “fruit” in the second year (like caraway). Some herbs (like parsley) will produce leaves during both years but die early in the second growing season. Angelica, chicory and Queen Anne’s lace are just some of the many biennials to choose from.

• Perennials: These herb plants generally come back for more than 2 growing seasons. Whether or not they come back or for how many years they will come back depends on the zone where you live. Of the many perennials available, some you might like are lemon verbena, rosemary, scented geranium, mints, thyme, yarrow and lady’s mantle.

My favorite herb plants are perennials because I only have to buy and plant them once, but I also have fun raising annuals and biennials. Be cautious of how much cold your perennials are exposed to because too much will harm them. You can extend their growing cycle by bringing them in during winter months.

These are some good ways to prolong the life of your herbs:

• The garage, basement or cellar is a good place to store a few perennials that need to be trimmed back and have the bulb, roots or rhizome unearthed for the winter.
• Using pots is a fantastic option for those herb plants that you need to over-winter inside your house or garage.  If you want to plant these herbs in the ground, a good trick is to plant them pot and all. They simply remove the whole container at the end of the season and store them during winter months.
• Plant your biennials in middle of the summer so that you can get lots of flowers in the second summer.
• A few herbs are self-sowers, which means that they can sow their own seeds for the next growing season. Mustard, borage and catnip are just some of the herb plants that are self-sowers.
• A great way to boost a short-lived annual’s growing cycle is to remove any flowers that have faded. Depending on your area’s climate; your annuals may self-seed if you clip the plant back at the end of the summer.
• If you have some unexpected cold weather be sure to cover your herbs with a blanket, towel or sheet which can prevent the frost from harming your plant. Herbs that are in pots can be moved under a covered porch for protection.

My wish for you is that these pointers can come in handy when you begin your own herb garden planning. It will be hard sometimes to get it like you want it. Even I make flubs after all these years, but just keep in mind that you can take out what doesn’t work and try try again!

Here is more information on Herb Garden Information. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.

Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.