So, this is the year, you are finally going to plant an herb garden.  During the dead of winter you have imagined yourself sipping a steaming cup of lemon balm tea as you stroll through your garden clipping aromatic herbs to add to your evening meal.  Sitting in your arm chair, you can smell whiffs of rosemary as your imaginary walk takes you down a path full of thyme, peppermint, sage and rosemary.   Well, DO IT!  But, where to start...

    If you go to your local extension agent or garden shop guru the answer is likely to be the same--START WITH THE SOIL.  But, that's no fun at all.  Building raised beds, shoveling in soil amendments, turning compost piles--that's hard work.  Instead, buy a plant, or better yet, make that three plants.  Visit several nurseries if you can and find out what herb plants really appeal to you.  Limit yourself to the purchase of three plants that can be easily grown in pots while you toil with soil.  Make it an emotional purchase with a little factual decision making thrown in.  Plants with long tap roots like parsley and fennel really want deep garden soil.  Instead, look for rosemary, Greek oregano, sage, mints or lemon balm.  Think about the season.  Basil needs to be kept above 40 degrees F.  Cilantro is a  cool weather crop in the South.  Only buy a plant if you like its aroma, or even better, its taste, but before nibbling be sure the nursery hasn't sprayed it with some nasty substance.  If you see a little sweet bay (Laurus nobilis) buy it!  Sooner or later all herbies want a bay tree.  These slow growers are a bit hard to find so you might as well make the purchase, even if you have never thrown a bay leaf into a stew in your whole life.  Northern gardeners will want to keep some of the less hardy plants, such as rosemary, sweet bay, pineapple sage and lemon verbena, in pots to bring inside when winter beckons.  Southern gardeners can eventually transplant their "starter garden" into an herb bed, if they wish.

    Get your new herb babies off to a good start by growing them in well draining potting soil.  Use either clay or plastic pots but be warned, accidental drownings are much more likely to occur in plastic pots.  A drink of a dilute seaweed (kelp) solution will stimulate root growth of your newly transplanted herbs.  Place them in a sunny location and water only when dry.  Stick you finger into the dirt to decide if it is time to water.  Feed monthly with fish emulsion or Medina Hasta Gro.  Overfeeding produces a lush, green plant with low levels of the aromatic oils that herbs are grown for.

   You can put plants with similar care requirements all in the same large pot.  For example, rosemary, oregano, sage and thyme will all do well together.  Mint is best kept in its own pot, it really likes to grow and may strangle companions.  One nice idea is to do a potted theme garden.  What could be more fun than a pizza garden of oregano, basil and chives with a patio tomato placed in the middle!  Other themes could be a tea garden (lemon catnip, lemon verbena, spearmint, chamomile and anise hyssop) or a citrus scented garden with lemon grass surrounded by lemon balm, lemon basil and an orange scented geranium.   How about a five senses garden for your children, use tricolor sage for sight, lamb's ear for touch, lemon balm for scent, chocolate mint for (yummy) taste and....???...cilantro....for sound!  Cilantro seeds, known to cooks as coriander, make great rhythm shakers.  Just put the seeds in a little box and decorate with colored paper and ribbons.

    Remember, herbs are to enjoy so place your new container garden in a location where you will see it and touch it daily.  Harvest your herbs, too.  Novice gardeners are often reluctant to snip their darling babies but, trust me, your plants will be bushier and healthier if you pinch and prune.  A general rule of thumb is that an herb plant can be cut back by 1/3 at all times of the year except late fall, pruning at that time can encourage a new flush of growth that might be too tender to survive a visit from Jack Frost.

    You've shopped for herb plants.  The plants have become like members of the family.  You've fallen in love with more herbs than you can possibly ever grow in containers.  Congratulations!  You are now an official "Herbie".  What next?  LABOR.  It's time to start thinking about putting herbs in the ground.  Herbs may be mixed in with flowers and vegetables or kept in their own private garden.  Arrangements may be casual or formal.  Herb beds may consist of annuals or perennials.  Whatever the plan, successful herb gardening starts will a well draining soil.  If you have clay soil consider raised beds.  These can be very attractive and reduce the amount of bending and stretching involved with garden maintenance.  Consult local garden centers for the appropriate soil amendments, compost always improves soil quality and sand may be useful with heavy soils.  In general, herbs prefer alkaline soils so gardeners with acidic beds should consult with local experts on the best way to deal with this.

    The herb garden should be placed where it receives 6-8 hours of sun daily.  However, if you have a shady lot, don't despair.  A few herbs do actually require shade and many will survive, but not be at their best.  There are few absolutes in life, but don't try growing lavender in anything less than bright sun.  You will be setting yourself up for heartbreak.  Rosemary, lemon balm and mints will grow in light shade.  Basil will tolerate a little shade but won't be as flavorful.  Pineapple sage, sweet violets, ginger, comfrey and patchouli ("the hippie herb") welcome shade.

    But what about SEEDS?  Many herbs are easily grown from seeds.  Basils of all shapes, colors and scents will spring to life within days.  Others to grow from seed are Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) and its cousin Korean Hyssop (A. rugosum), cilantro, parsley, dill, fennel, chamomile, and the catnips and catmints.  Some grow so easily from seed that you need to be careful about letting them reseed throughout your yard.  Epazote, garlic chives and onion chives fall in this category.  All of these can be directly seeded into your garden.  Basils, the agastaches, chamomile and the nepetas (catnips & catmints) can also be started indoors and transplanted later, but they grow so fast that it really isn't necessary in Austin.  Remember that Southern gardeners seed the Apiaceae family (parsley, dill and fennel) in the fall.  

    Herbs are fun and easy to grow.  They are lovely additions to the landscape and to the kitchen.  As you grow more and more herbs you may be accused of becoming obsessed with the scented sweeties.  Don't be upset by such accusations, just go bake your critics a rose geranium pound cake and see how quickly they, too, become fanatics.