Cold Climate Herbs

When growing cold climate herbs some plants, like bay, need to be kept warm all year.

Rosemary is an annual if its in a northern garden but there are hardy herbs that actually like the cold weather and come back year after year to enhance the flavors of the dishes made by the gardener. One of these magnificent clod climate herbs is the chive.

growing chives herbs

Chives, sour cream and a baked potato, nothing could be a better addition to a lovely meal. Chives return each year like clockwork and offer not only their delectable stems to the gardener but also their flavorful flower. The flower is a beautiful addition to spice up any salad. When winter arrives, your chives seem to die but the roots continue to grow. Next spring you’ll see the chives emerge again. There’s nothing difficult about growing chives. Simply plant the seed in well turned soil, keep the ground moist and you’ll soon see the shoots appear.

Plant your chives closer to the center of your garden. If you’re growing chives herbs near the edge of the garden close to grass, this causes a bit of confusion. The grass and chives mix and until they’re taller, its’ tough to tell them apart. Once the chives start to grow, they multiply. To give some as a gift or create another area of chives, just dig up a clump and put them in their new home.

Cilantro

Cilantro and coriander are two herbs in one. The seed is the coriander and the ferny leaves are cilantro. These are also very easy to grow annually. They don’t require a long growing season. You can use the leaves as they grow for cilantro but when you’re ready to harvest the coriander, tie the stalks together and put a paper sack over the top. Tie the sack to the plants. Hang these upside down to dry and the seeds fall into the sack.

Fennel

If ever there was an under appreciated plant, its fennel. The leaves are good for diets and its not wonder. They’re tiny ferny little things that couldn’t add many calories to anyone’s diet. The plant, however, is beautiful in the spring. The soft leaves remind you of a furry pet in your garden. You’ll almost want to pet it. The leaves have a licorice scent, as does the bulb of the fennel plant. You use both. Don’t worry weather it lives through the winter. It doesn’t but it scatters enough seed for even more plants the next year.

Oregano as a Cold Climate Herbs

Most people don’t realize that oregano makes it through the winter in colder climates and comes back the following spring. This plant is a lot hardier than it’s given credit. Once the oregano is established, it tends to wander other place you might not want it. You’ll find that it likes sunny areas but also grows well in partial shade.

Mints

If you grow any of the many mints, there are two rules. Rule one: Keep the mints in containers. Rule two: Keep the mints away from each other if they’re different flavors. Rule one prevents your mint from becoming a weed that invades everything around. Rule two prevents the mints from cross-pollinating and creating a new flavor, often not as good as the first two. This is particularly bad if chocolate mint crosses with an orange mint. You then have not an orange chocolate flavor but a plant you want to eliminate.

Lemon Balm as a Cold Climate Herbs

Lemon balm is a member of the mint family and has it’s bags ready to travel to other areas of your garden. This hardy little plant is delightful with cooked pork and as a garnish. You’ll find yourself going to the garden to squeeze a leaf and release the lemony pledge smell from the plant.

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