Herbs are great to add in your salads and to add that extra flavour and fragrance to your food. Not only do they work wonders for your food, they work wonders for your health too. Herbs are known to be effective for certain illnesses and also for keeping up your health. Now, when you are thinking about gardening and about herbs, what could be better than herb gardening?

Sage

It is simple enough and these few ideas will help you set up your own herb garden.

First, you need to do some planning for your garden. Think about what kind of herbs you wish to have in your garden. Give a thought on their kinds. For example, decide upon whether you want annuals, perennials or biennials.

Basil

Then, you will have to think about the amount of space they need and how much space you can afford. You can even educate yourself with a book that deals with such information about the specific herbs that you plan to grow.

You can start by listing or drawing a sketch of your garden. You can divide the annuals and the perennials. This will keep you from disturbing the perennials when the time for removing the annuals comes. Perennials are best placed on the garden edge. This will give you ease in tilling your garden.

Marjoram

Besides that, you will need to place your tall plants to the back while allowing the shorter ones at the front. Give your plants enough space so that they can grow well. Placing them in proper positions will help them grow better.

When thinking about bed shapes, a square bed for herbs will work fine. You can divide it into four using two paths that cross each other at the centre. You can then border these paths using brick or stone.

Parsley

A simple wooden ladder might also be helpful here. You can plant the herbs in between the rungs. If you want something more innovative, you can go for a wheel bed, planting between the wheel wedges.

Now, when it comes to growing your plants, you will have to cater to different plants according to their needs. This is the main reason you select your herbs right in the beginning. Different herbs need different kind of care.

Compared to other plants, herbs are relatively easy to grow. As a result, you do not have much of a problem here. All you need to do is give them enough space, sunlight, moisture along with fertile nutritious soil and they will do fine by themselves.

There are 3 different herbal plants types. Before going towards herbs growing tips, it’s important for you to learn about these 3 different herbal plants types:

Annual
These types of herbs live for only one season. This group of herbs includes chives, mint, lemon, oregano, sage, rosemary, basil and etc.

Perennial
These types of herbs live for many years. Although in winter season they shake leaves but their roots remain alive and in spring season they again bloom into new foliage. This group of herbs includes balm, marjoram, catnip and etc.

Biennial
These types of herbs live for two years. The first season is for growing and in second seasons seeds are formed. At the end of second season they die. This group of herbs includes plant like parsley and etc.

After discussing the types of herbs lets come towards herbs growing tips. With the help of following tips you can easily grow your own herb garden.

Location
First important herbs growing tip is the choice of location. This is considered most important before growing herb garden. Choice of location purely depends upon the types of herbs which you want to grow in your herb garden. Most of the herbs need exposure to sunlight for six hours per day. While on the other hand some herbs grow in shady area like mint, dill, chives and etc. So selection of location completely depends upon the types of herbs which you want to grow in your herb garden.

Soil
Next herbs growing tip is you must plan the soil type before planting your herb garden. Soil requirement of particular herb might differ from the others. Make it sure that your soil must not be over fertilized. It will reduce the essential oil content of the herbs and also kills the flavor of the herbs. You must prefer moderate rich soil.

Drainage
For proper care of your herb garden you must design a proper drainage system for your herb garden. Make sure that your soil does not contain extra water as it can be dangerous for your herbs.

Taking Care Of Your Herb Garden
Last thing you must do is take good care of your herb garden. Normally herbs require an inch of water per week. So you must assure that you are providing them sufficient amount of water daily as well as weekly. Although herbs have the inherent ability to safeguard themselves from pest and disease attack but still they can be attacked by insects like aphids and etc. Make sure you safeguard your herb garden from these insects.

Above mentioned were some important and relevant herbs growing tips through which you can easily grow your own herb garden in the backyard.

Garden sage is also grown in the drier regions like Mediterranean; it has two characteristics like resisting drought ant its capacity to survive in alkaline soil. This boosts the value of these sages in this dry region. Garden Sages require some special care like cutting off tips of plants that helps in dense growth of plants, but are easier to grow.

Ornamental Everywhere Everytime.

Besides the herbal/medical instincts, Salvia officinalis is an ornamental plant throughout the year irrespective of the place it is grown-up which may include herb garden or flower beds. The shrubbery is fine and wonderful for the entire year with its blue and purple coloured flower can be used for a nice bordering. It even smiles in the season when other flowering plants in the flower bed need to be cut down.

For decoration purpose or garden design one can use combination of the 1000 species of the Garden Sage. Popular varieties like purple colour leaves, the famous TRICOLOR species (that has a greyish leaves with irregular cream border), the multicoloured plants besides the default grey-green shrubbery. They all look brilliant and beautiful in the garden.

Medicinal and Dietary Prospects

The Garden sage leaves have usages varying  geographically across the world  with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean people using them with salads while in Europe and North America they are used as a flavour in gravies, meat and others.

Tips to use sage leaves in salads -  Add some fresh sage leaves in a plate decorated with sliced cheese, sliced tomato, a drop of lemon juice (and  Olive oil) and little bit of salt and pepper. Also remove the leaves before it makes the salad too bitter and it is instructed to remove after 20 minutes.

Garden Sage is even thought as a plant with more than the researched medicinal values; as the oil contained in the leaves of plant has antiseptic properties and to get these benefits, we need to immerse these leaves in a boiling pot of tea for 10 minutes and then apply on our body. Many of its claimed medicinal properties have not yet been proved.

Virtual Pesticide

Salvia Officinalis attract bees to gather honey from its flower and it repels pest insects from its nearby areas thus keeping the garden free from diseases and pathogenic insects. Also people don’t like to grow sages in their garden fearing a bee attack; but we know they help in pollination keeping the garden at its best and don’t harm if we don’t mess with them. So always it is a preferred idea to border the garden or plants with the Garden Sages so that the pests and insects are fend off and the beauty prevails as well due to the great flowers it bores.