Even though this small herb is native to the tropical Pacific islands, you cannot look at a French, Greek or Italian menu without seeing basil over and over again. I’m not sure how basil got to Europe, but I am glad it did. One of my favorite dinners is pesto, which is a easy green sauce made by chopping a whole lot of basil and mixing it with olive oil. Scrumptious!

Just a few of the many varieties of basil that you can select from are:

• Sweet Basil: This kind is the most popular one for recipes. Sweet basil has glossy leaves and provides the full basil taste.
• Lettuce-Leaf Basil: For a milder taste, you might want to choose this variety which has broad leaves. Green Ruffles, Napoletano and Mammoth are only a couple of the numerous varieties of this type of leaf.
• Bush Basil: Tiny Leaf Purple, Bush, Piccolo Fine Verde, Spicy Globe and Green Bouquet are just some of the many types of this shorter basil which is great for edging.
• Lemon Basil: This lemon scented variety has short, little leaves. Herbal tea, fruit salad, vinegar and poultry and fish dinners are just some of the things these leaves can be used for.
• Purple Basil: Like its name might suggest, this kind has wide, purple leaves and pink flowers. This variety is best in vinegars and Greek dishes.
• Thai Basil: This kind of basil has long, thin leaves and is (of course) from Thailand. It also has a slight licorice taste that adds extra taste to Thai and Indian dinners.

Even though some people may prefer to buy their basil plants at the nursery, buying seeds is also a good way to begin. Regardless of how you start, your plants should reach about 20 inches high as long as they have plenty of sun and well-drained sod.

I snip off the white blossoms that will start showing up during the summer. The reason I do that is because I am not in it for the blooms; I want those nice one-two inch leaves. Pinching your plant back makes the plant grow fuller (more leaves).

Harvesting your basil is as easy as one, two, 3: simply cut the stem just before the blossoms, pick off the leaves and dry them. The leaves can be stored in a freezer bag once you dry them. If truth be told, you do not have to dry them, they can go straight away into your freezer. You can even put them in a container and cover them with olive oil, which can release all their flavor. They’ll last like that for several months.

You may raise basil inside, but I cannot recommend it. I attempted to over-winter my basil a few years ago with no success. It really requires about 5 hours of direct sunshine a day with moist soil to grow and succeed. I just did not have the right amount of natural light in my kitchen.

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

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