[Ag-eq] 5 Easy-To-Grow Herbs That Are Nearly Impossible to Kill

[dogwood farm]

5 Easy-To-Grow Herbs That Are Nearly Impossible to Kill
No green thumb? No problem!
By Amy Jeanroy

Amy Jeanroy is an herbalist and professional gardener with several
years of experience.
  Updated 03/29/19

Growing an herb garden can be easy enough for a child. But if you are
worried that you will kill any herb you plant, here are some herbs
that will stand any abuse you throw at them.

Even if you are pretty good at keeping your herbs alive, we all have
places that are difficult to tend to, for example high up or
out-of-the-way locations that you forget to fuss over. These herbs can
be planted in less-than-optimal locations and stand some neglect.

1.  Mint
The very thing that annoys one gardener about mint is just what makes
it top-of-the-list for a hardy herb garden. Mint is hard to control
and hard to eradicate from unwanted spaces. When you plant it in an
out-of-the-way place, it can go crazy without dying back from neglect.
Often, it seems that mint thrives on a little bit of abuse.

Allow it to get some water when it starts to look crispy, and it will
come back from near death even. If it doesn't get pinched back, mint
will get a bit leggy (grow long stems with a puff of leaves on the
ends of the stems, as the leaves fight for the most sun), but this may
be acceptable if you are not growing it to impress anyone.

Mint can be sheared off if it starts getting crazy looking (or when
you suddenly remember that it's there), and will grow back
beautifully. Mint is perfect for the garden-shy beginner.

2.  Thyme
Thyme is a wonderfully forgiving herb. It tolerates neglect, drought,
being stepped on, mowed, hard pinching, no pinching, no fertilizer,
you name it. Thyme can be placed in locations that you often forget to
tend. It also does well if left to creep along a pathway, finding a
hold in between pavers.

Thyme is so hardy, it can be tucked into crevasses of rock walls and
anywhere that the roots can manage to take hold. Really, you would
have to work to kill thyme.

3.  Chives
Chives are one of those herbs that are so rewarding to grow in the
garden, they should be the first herb you turn to when trying to build
an herb garden that can withstand some abuse. Chives are certainly
hardy. They live through cold winters with no protections, grow all
season long no matter how many times you cut them back, and bloom with
the most amazing blooms.

Chives can be used in the garden landscape as well. They are a
clumping herb, meaning they will grow large plants, but not pop up in
unexpected areas. The plants just have a larger footprint each year,
and you divide them every 3 years. Easy!

4.  Lemon Balm
Being in the mint family, lemon balm is a great herb for those who
seem to have no luck gardening with herbs. The bright, lemony flavor
is fun to brush up against and picking a leaf to nibble becomes a
right of passage for any little gardeners who are trying their hand at
growing.

You can grow lemon balm all season and cut it back only if it starts
to bloom or if you are ready to take apart the garden for the year.
This makes it easy to have lush areas of herbs in places that get
forgotten. Lemon balm is a rewarding herb for the beginner to grow.

5.  Sage
Sage is a wonderful herb for the less-than-confident gardener. It
grows fuzzy, soft leaves and tolerates less-than-optimal care. The
only concern would be planting your sage where it gets too much water
all the time. It is prone to root rot if left to sit in wet for long
lengths of time.

For most gardeners, however, the opposite issue is of concern.
Forgetting your herb garden usually means the herbs dry out. Sage
won't be bothered by this at all.

If you are going to keep sage over as a perennial, it will have to be
cut back and eventually replanted when it grows woody, but for many of
us, ​it is planted as an annual with no cutting back necessary.

Susan
dogwoodfarm62 at gmail.com