What Herb Plants Are Perennial

Soil, water, and nutrients are three key elements for a healthy garden; if any one of these elements are lacking the chances are you will not have any herbs from your perennial plants.

Perennial herbs such as basil, mint, sage, parsley, and oregano grow well in small containers, window boxes or potted plants on a patio or deck, but need to be given room to spread as much as possible in your garden.

Many perennials can be potted into pots for moving indoors. Check out the list below, for the best choices in perennial herbs to grow in your garden.

Oregano

Oregano plant is a perennial flowering plant in the mint genus. It is indigenous to the Mediterranean region and warmer Western and southern temperate Eastern Eurasia.

It was brought to the United States by the Spanish sailors to spice their food and for medicinal purposes. Since then, oregano has become one of the most popular and most grown herb in the world for its aroma and flavors.

Thyme

Fresh thyme has a pungent flavor that is known to be a good alternative to fresh garlic. The dried thyme has a stronger flavor, and you can buy it in whole leaves or in slices as a dry herb. Both the fresh and the dried leaves have lots of flavor, but the dried thyme has a stronger aroma.

The plant is not very difficult to grow, and it produces bright purple blossoms that contrast beautifully with the purple flowers. Thyme is a perennial herb that produces small purple blooms in the spring.

Lemon Verbena

Lemon Verbena,  is a common species of climbing plant in the lemon family Verbenaceae, originally native to South America. It was brought to Europe in the late 17th century by the Spanish and Portuguese and soon became a favorite landscape plant. It is now grown in many places around the world as an ornamental shrub or for potpourri.

Lemon verbena has a beautiful blooming head of purple or blue flowers. These flowers are edible when boiled and then eaten, but when taken freshly they are excellent with a wide range of foods.

Lovage

Lovage plant is a large evergreen perennial plant, also known as wood ash, which is native to Northern Europe and Asia. It’s been long grown in Europe, the native leaves being used both as a herb and as a medicinal plant, the dried leaves as a herb and the fresh leaves as a medicinal plant, particularly in Southern Europe.

It has an aromatic scent that is somewhat like eucalyptus and grows in tropical rainforests and swamps in Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Thailand, and Australia. 

Lemon Balm

Lemon Balm, is a citrus perennial plant in the lemon family (Lamiaceae) and native to Southern Europe, north-west Asia, and Central Asia, though today only naturalized in the western United States and elsewhere. Lemon balms are low-growing aromatic herbs with a lemon peel taste.

Lemon balm can be used as a culinary herb, as an aroma therapy, as a herbal remedy, a tea, as a digestive aid, as an antiseptic, and as a purifying agent.

Parsley

Parsley has been a popular herb for cooking in various countries for centuries, including the early Spanish, French, and English cooks. It is often included in foods not associated with the culinary use of herbs and spices.

It was even more so popular among the nobility, because the royalty ate many small meals daily that included parsley. The flat leaves of the Italian parsley plant have a strong aroma, which is derived from the numerous volatile compounds present in its essential oil. 

Sweet Marjoram

Sweet Marjoram can be dried and used in a variety of recipes such as ice cream, bread, baked treats, candy, cookies, muffins, tea, wine, and even mixed with fruits for drinks such as flavored teas and drinks. Sweet Marjoram owes its name to a Mediterranean settlement where the sweet marjoram plant was cultivated long ago. It grows wild all over the Mediterranean region. It is an excellent landscape plant because of its tolerance to different soils and heat and is less likely to grow wild.

This herb easy to grow and require little maintenance, make ideal indoor herb garden plants. The best time to plant it, is late spring through summer, as the flowers open in early May. Sweet Marjoram prefers a sunny location and if you live in an area with a cool climate, you may want to plant the plant in pots for the winter.

Lavender

Lavender is a famous plant from the Roman culture. It is known as the Queen of herbs and has been a favorite of emperors and royalty for many centuries. Lavender is such an easy to grow plant that most gardeners love to grow them. It comes with beautiful flowers, a heavy smell and great flavor.

Lavender is an evergreen perennial, which means it will grow for a very long time. The best time to plant lavender is late spring or early summer when the temperature is warm but not hot, not when the soil is dry or hard, and the roots of the lavender plant are about to break off.

Sage

The sage plant, Salvia Officinalis is by far one of the most common and easiest to grow herbs. It is one of the easiest herbs to grow since it does not require a large amount of maintenance and is very tolerant of less fertile soil. This is a Mediterranean herb, which originates from southern Spain, Mexico, and North Africa. 

A very common question about this plant, however, is what is sage taste like? Its flavor is quite pungent – not at all like the tangy flavor of cilantro. This plant has a pungent taste, and it has a slightly bitter taste in the center of the leaf. The whole plant is often used in salads because of its pungent flavor. This plant is often used in recipes with a great deal of mustard, such as hot dogs. It is also often added to pickles.

Fennel

The fennel plant is a climbing plant native to the continent of Europe. It’s native to the Mediterranean but is now becoming popular in other parts of the globe, particularly on the coastal plain near the ocean-shore and even on riverbanks. Fennel is very popular in cooking, and it’s used to make spice rubs, Fennel soup, breads, seasoning mixes and seasoning for chicken and beef; the flowers are often used fresh in salads.

The seeds of this culinary herb can be used as an alternative to garlic when you’re on a diet. Fennel leaves can be tossed into salads, chopped into little pieces, and sprinkled on top of cooked vegetables. Fennel is also a great addition to your food preservation arsenal – store fennel bulb in a jar of vinegar and water, add to food during storage, and it will preserve your favorite foods for up to several months.

Mint

Mint plant, is one of the more delicate and pungent herbal plants, grown in every corner of the world because of its ubiquitous flavor and aroma. It’s even used in cooking, for instance in the production of various sweets and pastries. And since it’s actually a flowering vine, it makes an excellent landscaping plant as well. It’s a lovely plant with dark green foliage and shiny, reddish-brown flowers.

Mint is actually native to Egypt and parts of Greece and Rome but is now naturalized in much of North America. Even though mint is an invasive plant, it’s fairly easy to grow in containers. And because it prefers a sunny location, most plants can thrive in either a pot or container garden as long as they’re given adequate light and regular watering.

Chives

Chives have been widely used since Roman times for food and recipes because of its pungent, strong onion flavor and aromatic properties. Although it is used primarily for cooking, it is used in salads and other dishes as well. In fact, it is the ingredient in the common cure for nausea used by young children. The powerful flavor of the leaves can be diluted by cooking the leaves in water or milk, before adding them to soups, stews, or other dishes. For this reason, chives plant is an ingredient found in a wide variety of foods.

Chives is said to have many health benefits; aside from being a popular food with the smell of Garlic. Chives plant contains high concentration of vitamin C and iron; it is also rich in magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. Chives has been proven to help reduce cholesterol levels, preventing heart disease and promoting blood circulation.

Sorrel

Sorrel herb plant is a perennial herb native to Europe and Asia.  It is a very aromatic, evergreen perennial. It is a deciduous grass that produces a reddish foliage with white flowers. Sorrel herbs are usually grown from division or stem of the root. To start a new plant from these divisions, sow seeds in small batches about one cup deep into a shallow pan.

Sow seeds in approximately two weeks prior to the first frost in your region. Space seeds, or thinly sliced plants to twelve to eighteen inches apart. Caring for sorrel is similar to most other annual herbs. They are best planted from seed indoors, in a cool location during the spring. During summer, keep your herbs out of direct sunlight, and don’t plant them in heavy clay soil. 

Chamomile

Chamomile Plant is a composite herb which contains many beneficial and soothing properties that help in improving overall health conditions like nervousness, stress, anxiety, insomnia, respiratory problems, digestive problems, skin rashes, mood swings, and many more. 

Also, while growing your chamomile plant from seed, you must make sure that the growing medium used is free from chemical preservatives and fertilizers, and it must be of premium quality. Once the plant starts growing, keep in mind to give it sufficient amount of water and nutrients so that it can easily attain the required height.

Salad Burnet

The salad burnet plant,  is a succulent plant in the rose family Rosaceae that are indigenous to central, western, and eastern Europe; northwestern Africa and southwestern Asia, and whose naturalization in many areas of North America has diminished over time. This Mediterranean-style herb is a perennial that grows up to two meters tall, produces numerous small fruits (depending on the variety), and prefers full sun to light shade.

The plant blooms in May and June. The plant grows best in fertile, well-drained soil that is somewhat acidic in nature. The plant can be found in many gardens. In addition to being used as a culinary and medicinal plant, this plant is also popular as an ornamental grass in urban gardens.

Winter Savory

Winter savory (Satureja montana), a member of the mint family is a cold tolerant, woody perennial, with large dark green leaves, and summer flowers ranging widely in color from pale pink, to pale yellow to white. Winter savory is a great border plant for a culinary herb garden because of its tolerance to cold, wet soil and shade. This strong hardy perennial can be grown in full sun to partial shade and is quite adaptable even to drier soil conditions.

Winter savory thrives best with a wide range of kinds of soil and grow very well. Tall vigorous plants with dark green foliage make good border plants and they form thickets covering soil floors. They can be easily brushed off the soil and transplanted into new soil locations. 

Cilantro

Cilantro is commonly grown in tropical and subtropical climates all over Mexico and Central America. It has been a popular ingredient in Mexican and Central American cuisine for hundreds of years. Although Cilantro is usually eaten raw, many chefs prefer it cooked with other ingredients, especially spicy Indian and Chinese sauces. The most popular version of Cilantro is usually curly-haired green coriander leaves, about two to three inches long and about one inch across.

Cilantro is frequently added at the end of a dish, such as Mexican fajitas, or as a dressing on corn chips, shrimp, or chicken. Cilantro is also the key ingredient in spicy Indian curries. In Arabic and Turkish cooking Cilantro is often added at the beginning of a meal to give dishes a tangy taste.

Coriander is an ancient perennial herb in the mint family, Apiaceae. It’s also referred to as Chinese parsley or Indian coriander. All the parts of the herb are edible, although the unripe leaves and even the dried flowers are the tastiest parts.

Coriander has been used for many years in India to treat a variety of ailments including flatulence, diarrhea, indigestion, colds, flu, cough, flu, headache, pimples, swelling of the feet, stomach cramps, and vomiting. The seeds of the plant have long been used as a spice by people all over the world. The spice has even been used to help with the treatment of motion sickness.

Rosemary

Salvia rosmarinus, also known as Rosemary, a small shrub with fleshy, aromatic evergreen leaves and pink, purple, blue, or white flowers, native mainly to the Mediterranean area. The most commonly used herb in aromatherapy for depression, the herb has both anticonvulsant and sedative effects. Rosemary is recommended as a remedy for anxiety and depression and has been used in Roman burial rites as well as in religious ceremonies.

Rosemary is regarded as a highly versatile herb and there are several ways to use it. It is often included in cooking recipes with an assertive flavor, though there are also many recipes that omit it.