There are a many possibilities when it comes to beginning to grow your own herbs in an Italian herb garden. Italy is known for some of the best, most famous and tastiest herbs in the world. Italy’s cuisine world famous and their fresh herbs play a big part of that.
Many Italian recipes contain basil; a well known Italian herb has many additional benefits for the health of your herb garden. Other plants in your garden will benefit from the basil while adding flavor to your favorite Italian dishes. The flavor of your tomatoes and peppers will improve if you plant basil nearby. Flies and mosquitoes won’t come around a garden with basil in it.
Parsley can be used in your Italian dishes and other types of cuisines as well, but it isn’t an easy herb to grow. Before there were breath mints, generations ago, if you had eaten a flavorful cuisine, eating fresh parsley, raw, afterward would get rid of your bad breath. Because of this, people began serving parsley on the side of the dish as a tradition. This is why in almost all of your meals, you will find parsley used as a garnish.
Another flavorful and decorative herb is oregano. You will know that your plant is fully mature when purple flowers, that are quite pretty, begin to sprout. When you see these flowers, you know that the plant is most flavorful and ready to be harvested.
Italian sausage is often flavored with and enhanced by fennel seeds. As the plant matures, it loses flavor, which is not the norm when it comes to most herb plants. Every few years, to enhance the flavor, you should divide and replant this perennial herb.
Another herb that will enhance your garden as a whole, like basil, is rosemary. This large shrub will sprout blue flowers, as it grows, and is also very aesthetically pleasing. Bees will be attracted, therefore your garden will grow better. This evergreen perennial is very tough, though frost can hurt it severely.
Garlic is the most common herb that is used in Italian dishes. Your Italian herb garden could be considered incomplete if you left out this herb, which is quite useful. Garlic requires very little attention and when planted in almost any garden, it is sure to thrive. You can store garlic to use down the line if you freeze or pickle them, making them convenient to harvest at anytime, knowing that they will never go to waste.
From meats to salads, sage is used in many different types of Italian meals. Keep your sage plants trim and don’t let them get too woody, because new shoots of the plant hold the most flavor. You will notice that new shoots will grow much easier. After sage blooms, you can harvest it.
Seriously consider which herbs you will choose for your Italian herb garden because there are quite a few herbs you can choose from. You need to know that you will be able to provide for your plants needs and that you have good growing conditions for it. Look at your Italian herbs as something more than a flavor enhancer for your dishes.
Your landscape will also benefit from such a beautiful garden. The herbs color and aroma will add to the outside of your home. You will feel like you are standing in a garden in Italy, once you plant some Italian herbs among your other vegetables. You will easily be able to imagine a walk on a hill in Italy.
