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Photo Credit: Linnea Thornton

There are many varieties of mints you can try. This spearmint would make a great herbal tea!

Basil (or, if you’d like to impress your friends, Ocimum basilicum) is an annual. This flavorful herb is easily propagated from seed. It’s important to keep snipping off the flowers or the plant will get very woody, and don’t let the growing medium get dry and crumbly. Make some room for this guy, because basil can grow up to 2 feet tall!

Parsley is a biennial and member of the genus Petroselinum. It grows in clumps and reaches about 5-8 inches tall. (The plant needs a pot deep enough to accommodate a taproot.) Parsley tolerates shadier conditions than some of the other herbs listed here, and planting it from seed requires somewhat warm conditions. Be sure to snip parsley leaves regularly before they yellow.

Basil and parsley require frequent watering every two or three days. The next two herbs require rather consistent moist conditions:

Chives are perennials, and they go by the botanical name Allium schoenoprasum. They can be started from seed and reach 8-12 inches tall. Snip chives with scissors when you’re ready to harvest. These plants like to go dormant in winter, so move them to a cool location.

Mint is a perennial and a part of the genus Mentha. There are many species of mint, and most them are used for flavoring. Peppermint (M. × piperita) is a manageable container plant. Since it’s a hybrid, it can’t be grown from seed. In fact, all mints are best propagated from cuttings. The nice thing is that mint does tolerate some shade.