12 Most Fragrant Herb Plants To Plant In Your Garden

Herbs are often used in cooking, and can also be found as part of the landscaping for a garden. Some herbs have a stronger smell than others, but they all add flavor to food and help keep pests away from your plants. We’ve compiled a list of 12 herb plants that you may want to consider planting in your garden. 

Oregano

Oregano
Image by photosforyou from Pixabay

Oregano is one of the most flavorful and aromatic herbs. This perennial herb is found in warm environments like Latin America, India, and Mediterranean areas. The Greeks and Romans used oregano in wine, food, cosmetics, and even medicine. Even though the most common uses of oregano are for culinary uses, it has also been shown to have medicinal qualities.

One of the first uses of oregano was as an antibiotic. During the Bronze Age, Greek soldiers would carry chopped up leaves of the herb home to use for pain relief. Later during the Middle Ages, Italian herbalists would use extracts of the leaves in poultices to treat skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema. In Europe, culinary uses of oregano continue to this day. Modern recipes include everything from bread to pizza sauce to pasta sauces. Oregano can also be extracted for use in flavorings for a wide range of foods, salad dressings, meat spreads, and more.

To make a delicious pizza sauce, crush fresh oregano leaves and combine with tomato sauce. Alternatively, crush red and green peppers, combine with garlic, onion, and salt to make a delicious pesto sauce. The great thing about using oregano for flavored cooking is that the plant has so many uses.  For those who appreciate the health benefits of spices, and who also like to enjoy Mediterranean cooking, oregano is a natural choice.

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Mint

Mint
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Mint is often used as a flavored herb or spice in cooking. It is often confused with the more well known marjoram. This article will describe culinary uses of mint, which has been used for hundreds of years, both in the East and in the West. In fact, it was used as a perfume in Roman times.

If you want to enjoy culinary uses of mint, there are several good choices. Mint is very aromatic and sweet, and it has a natural sweetness that makes it an excellent choice to add to food. It’s also a popular addition to tea, especially with citrus flavors. For a lotion that is light, unscented, and leaves behind a wonderful scent, choose mint plant, mentha piperita, or mint leaf, all of which are very young and relatively light varieties.

You can also grow mint in flower garden style; however, mint plant is best cultivated as a perennial, which will produce young plants blooming in the fall. Your first choice for a great location for growing mint should be the trunk of a tree, as they tend to have many runners growing amongst them, which are very easy to prune.

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Lavender 

Lavender
Image by pasja1000 from Pixabay

Lavender plant is a member of the mint or lily family, Lavandula, with a common description of a plant of lavender-smelling flowers. Lavandula is an important genus of more than 47 recognized varieties of flowering plants from the lily family, Lamiaceae, which is native to the Old World. It’s found in Cape Verde, southwestern Spain, the Canary Islands and also from southern Europe, central Asia to north-eastern India, south-west Asia to central Africa.

Lavender is a beautiful and useful plant, which grows easily in most kinds of soils and has a large distribution even throughout the tropics. Lavender is cultivated for its lavender flowers, which are Blue, Pink, Purple, White, with stamens, petals or male and female flowers having varied styles and colors of hairs. The stamens secrete a strong, sweet and spicy scent, which attracts bees and butterflies.

Bees and other insects make honey from the flowers and this honey is then used in sweet recipes around the world. Flowers can be chewed and tastes bitter, or even mixed with other ingredients in smoothies, tea or desserts. In humid climates, lavender is used as a spice, while in temperate climates, it is added to marmalades or sauces for flavoring.

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Basil 

Basil
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Basil, better known as good basil, is an aromatic culinary herb of the mint family Lamiaceae or mint plants. It is native to east and southwestern Mediterranean areas and is cultivated in Portugal, France, Greece, Italy and Spain. It has very aromatic leaves that are juicy and have a long shelf life. It has been used historically for its culinary uses, but it has gained popularity for its fragrant oils that are used in aromatherapy and potpourri.

Before you plant basil you need to prepare the soil that will be needed for your new plant. Any type of soil, whether sandy, loose gravel, or well drained clay can be used, but it should be one with good drainage. The reason for this is that you want to ensure that your basil will get all of the moisture it needs, especially during hot summer days.

When growing basil in containers, you want to plant it in full sunlight to get all the sun that it needs. The culinary uses of this herb are so numerous that any kitchen with a windowsill or a countertop that is exposed to a lot of light will have plenty of basil to use. Sweet basil is great for making delicious desserts, breads and sauces, while spicy and tangy, it also works great in other dishes as a hot sauce or in soups and stews.

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Rosemary 

Rosemary
Image by Couleur from Pixabay

Salvia rosmarinus, also known as Rosemary, is a deciduous shrub having fragrant, aromatic evergreen leaves and purple, pink, blue, or white flowers, indigenous to the Mediterranean area. Since ancient times, it has been used medicinally in aromatherapy and culinary preparations. It has been shown to have healing properties, and its flowers contain terpenoids and flavonoids that may be beneficial for human health.

Until recently, it was also known by the medical name Rosmarinus Officinalis, which is now a synonym for Salvia species.Rosemary plant varieties can be grown from cuttings taken from the main trunk of the plant, or it can be grown in a pot form from the trailing stems. Most Rosemary plants are drought resistant.

Rosemary thrives both in full sunlight and partially shade. Because of this, it can be found growing in many locations, such as: backyards, sidewalks, roadsides, parks, and front porches. Because of the perennial habitation, It can be grown as a vine, which requires frequent trimming. It thrives in soil that is well-drained and fertilized. A spade will be needed to dig up the soil, but it can be turned into mulch once the root ball is filled with topsoil.

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Wormwood

Wormwood
Image by youngki son from Pixabay

Wormwood plant is an aromatic shrub, a composite genus of three herbs, with the common name wormwood. Artemisia Absinthium is important species of Artemisia, a family of plants from the Verbenaceae or edible woody plants. In fact, it is the most commonly cultivated plant in the world. The genus contains about one hundred and twenty different species, of which Wormwood is the most ornamental and commonly used in flavoring and food preparations. It is also grown as an ornamental plant for its edible leaves, woody stems and aromatic leaves. Although it is widely used, its culinary uses are not very widespread.

Artemisia Absinthium has a long tradition of being used in culinary dishes. The plant’s fleshy, leathery leaves are dried and then used to flavor fish, sausages, salad dressings, vegetable dishes, desserts and confections. In addition, it has been used to flavor juices, vinegar and many kinds of candies. This is because the succulent, pungent leaves have strong aromas that can enhance and enrich food. Its fragrant flowers also have an intriguing floral scent that makes them ideal for floral arrangements, vases and baskets.

The culinary use of this plant is not only limited to cooking. It also has applications in medicine and herbal treatments. For example, the bark of the plant is often applied as a purgative for internal organs, particularly those in the kidney and liver. Artemisia Absinthium also serves as a laxative and stimulant for the human body, especially for those who suffer from poor digestion due to age or chronic constipation.

Bee Balm 

Bee Balm
Image by Theo Dawson from Pixabay

Bee balm plant, a member of the mint family, is among the most common and attractive perennials chosen for flower gardens. In fact, many people choose this species for their home garden or for culinary applications. As a member of the mint or spice family, bee balm plants are often planted in flower gardens to add color to the beds and to improve air quality throughout the entire garden.

The aromatic oils of this species have been found to have culinary uses as well. Since these flowers bloom in May through August, the timing of the crop sowing is usually in the late summer months. However, because of the time spent pollinating, the flowering time of these perennials is quite short-lived. When picking out this species for culinary use, be sure that you purchase blooming plants that still have young leaves or very young blossoms.

Since the flowers drop from the stems in approximately two weeks, it is not necessary to water these plants excessively during their first two weeks of growth. If you are growing these plants from seed, however, it is imperative that you fertilize them each month starting in February. Do not allow water to accumulate on the leaves or the stems, and make sure you do not over-fertilize.

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Sweet Marjoram

Sweet Marjoram
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Sweet Marjoramis is a Mediterranean perennial shrub or groundcover with distinctive spicy aromas and fleshy flavor. This fragrant herb is cultivated for its aromatic foliage and flowers, which are small and white with pink or red-colored petals. Marjorams are cultivated in tropical areas and are often used as an accompaniment to cooking since it has a sweet taste.

In Arabic cuisine, sweet marjoram has a distinct odor and flavor and can be used both fresh and dried; however, the flavor tends to be more tart than when the herb is consumed in its entire state.Marjorams can be grown as a houseplant or as part of a landscape.

In the growing garden, they require constant watering because their leaves tend to wilt after a day of being in the sun. Since Sweet Marjoram plants are rather difficult to grow in many outdoor gardens, they are often grown indoors. For the best results, however, you should keep cuttings from taking root and just cultivate new plants from cuttings taken from different locations.

Cuttings taken from the same location can produce significantly larger plants. Cuttings taken from different locations will also have to endure some extreme conditions of mildew and the dryness.

Related Post:How to Grow Sweet Marjoram Herb at Home? Step-By-Step!

Catmint 

Catmint
Image by Ian Lindsay from Pixabay

Catmint plant is an aromatic perennial vine or grass with blue flowers that are used as a scent. Catmint is actually many native species of herbal plants in the Lamiaceae family. The most popular medicinal plant for catmint is the annual Nepete catmint, which is known for its strong odor. While the scent is good for catnip, the leaves are not so favored since they have a bitter taste. Nepeete catmint is usually planted in flower pots or hanging baskets because it can survive only in dry soil.

For the best results, plant the flowers in a location where they receive morning sunlight during early fall, as they will become pollinated by late summer to early autumn rains. Catmint is an excellent choice for gardens in hot climates because it grows well whether it is planted in soil or placed in a pot or container.

It is also an excellent choice for growing in sunny window ledges because the plant tolerates partial shade and prefers full sun for blooming. This plant likes to be planted in full sun, as it is very hardy and rarely needs to be treated with insecticides. It is not unusual for a mature plant to exceed four feet in height.

Pineapple Sage 

Pineapple Sage
Image by Beverly Buckley from Pixabay

The Pineapple Sage plant has many culinary uses and is a natural ingredient in salsa. The fragrances in this plant come from the green resin found on the interior leaves. It is used for cooking and for making soap. It is a common ingredient for the creation of recipes such as Salsas, Margaritas and Burritos. This plant grows quite tall and is used mainly as a landscape plant or as a houseplant.

There are many culinary uses for the Pineapple Sage plant as well including using it in Salsa and other Mexican dishes. The scent from this plant is also used to help people feel more refreshed after a day’s hard work. It is very easy to grow and will grow to about four feet.

The pineapple sage plant can be placed in the garden and will provide you with a lot of blooms. You should be able to easily care for this plant and you will enjoy the many culinary uses that it offers. It is a low maintenance plant and you will be able to enjoy its many uses. If you are having problems growing this plant then you should try to prune it.

Lemon Balm 

Lemon Balm
Image by Katharina N. from Pixabay

Lemon Balm, is a beautiful perennial herb that offers many culinary uses. Although most culinary uses are centered on the use of Lemon Balm as an herb for flavor, scent, aroma, or cooking, it is also a helpful plant for pest control. It is a perennial which is best to be planted from spring through late summer and will tolerate most soils and conditions. It grows up to three feet tall and prefers rich soil that has good drainage.

Lemon balm can quickly develop into an invasive species if not careful. Generally, if you want to grow a Lemon Balm, it should be planted in a location that has some cover, as Lemon Balm likes full sun, but there are some varieties that do need partial shade to function properly, generally those grown in sunny climates.

Lemon balm is very helpful for protecting the home from pests and is used in a variety of dishes including breads, dips, juices, and cakes. The culinary uses for this beautiful herb are many, and they all have a practical use: to add a pleasant flavor to food or to mask a less than perfect aroma. It can also aide to those who suffer from urinary disorders, it serves many functions and is a great treatment for those with Candida (yeast infection). The essential oils found in the leaves make these remedies particularly nice for treating fungal infections.

Common Sage 

Common Sage
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Common sage plant is a deciduous, aromatic subhybrid, with grayish-green leaves, woody green stems, and pink flowers. It’s a member of the mint genus Lamiaceae and is native to the Mediterranean area, though it’s been naturalized elsewhere in many parts of the world, as well. Most likely, this herb was used by early settlers in America for various culinary and medicinal uses, because it had a fresh smell and a soothing effect when applied topically. Its fragrant leaves contain a substance called thymol, which is known to have analgesic, sedative, and anti-inflammatory properties.

Today, sage is used both for culinary and medicinal purposes. Common sage is used as an essential ingredient in hundreds of recipes across the world, including breads, desserts, salsas, sauces, teas, ice cream, beverages, vegetable dishes, gravies, potato dishes, salads, pasta dishes, desserts, breads, snacks, sauces, gravies, cereal dishes, and more.

Many people also find sage useful for cooking, as it adds a delicate touch to dishes that don’t have much flavor. Today, culinary experts are discovering culinary uses for sage that had previously been unknown. Because sage tends to grow slowly and is impervious to frost, it makes it excellent for hardscapes.

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Author

  • Vince S

    Hello, I'm Vince, and I bring over 25 years of dedicated experience in the world of herb gardening. From cultivating fragrant basil to nurturing hardy rosemary, my journey as a passionate herb enthusiast has allowed me to explore the wonders of these versatile plants. Through diyherbgardener.com, I'm thrilled to share my knowledge, tips, and insights to help you embark on your own herb gardening adventures. Let's grow together!