Walk into any Italian restaurant and you are immediately assaulted by the most wonderful smells. Italian herbs make Italian cuisine among the best in the world because these special herbs are a unique blend that not only add flavor to food, but also make a wonderful addition to garden designs.
Some of the most popular herb garden plants for lovers of Italian food are basil, fennel, rosemary, oregano, parsley, and garlic.
Basil is a warm-season annual herb that is sensitive to cold weather. It is relatively easy to grow and has the interesting characteristic, unknown to many gardeners, of adding flavor to vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, and a few other plants it grows next to. If you’re planting basil seeds indoors, make sure the soil stays warm to encourage germination. When the plants are about two inches tall, move them outdoors to an area that gets plenty of sun.
Fennel is a perennial plant and has a wide range of uses, including that wonderful accompaniment to spaghetti, as an herb used in Italian sausage. It can also be used in herbal teas and tinctures, and is said to aid digestion. Fennel is propagated from seed and, like basil, it needs a lot of heat to stay healthy.
Rosemary is a hardy perennial plant. It does well in virtually any climate, but is sensitive to frost. Rosemary can be grown in pots or in the ground, and it will sprout small blue flowers that can be used in salads and as a garnish.
Parsley takes its own time to germinate, sometimes several weeks. If you want to tackle parsley, soak the seeds overnight before planting. Sow outdoors in early spring and choose an area that gets plenty of sun or at least only partial shade.
Oregano is easy to start from a cutting. Its small blue flowers are not only decorative, but also indicate that the plant can be harvested. Oregano really likes sun and warm weather, and it will spread all over the place. So keep this in mind when deciding whether to restrain the plant in pots or let it loose in your garden.
Garlic is a must in any Italian herb garden. After you have planted the cloves, the plants will thrive with little attention. Unlike some herbs, this is a “low maintenance” plant.
There are many other herbs that can be included in an Italian herb garden, but these are the most common. Start here and scale up based on what your favorite Italian dishes call for and the growing conditions each plant requires.
