Imagine harvesting fresh herbs from your garden all summer long!
Evergreen hardy herbs include bay, rosemary, garden sage, thyme, and winter savory. These herbs keep their leaves and can be harvested all year.
Hardy perennial herbs include chives, mint, marjoram, oregano, Roman chamomile, parsley (technically a biennial), and sorrel. These are deciduous perennials that naturally die back in winter outdoors. They can be kept from going dormant if they are grown inside all winter and given supplemental lighting. Outside they may keep their leaves if the weather is mild or if they are grown in a protected spot. They can be moved indoors in the winter, but do appreciate a winter rest, so if grown exclusively indoors they may be considered somewhat short-lived.
Annual herbs include basil, German chamomile, chervil, cilantro, dill, epazote, shiso, summer savory, and wheatgrass. Annuals usually complete their life cycles in the course of a single season, and will die sometime after setting seed.
Tropical and tender herbs are comprised of lemongrass, lemon verbena, scented geraniums, stevia, and tarragon. Tropical herbs need constant moderate temperatures to do well.
You can buy small herb plants from the nursery, start seeds inside, or take cuttings of or make divisions from mature plants. Buying plants is the easiest way to start your herb garden. Portland Nursery usually has a good selection of evergreen herbs through the winter. Deciduous perennial herbs are generally available through early autumn. Annual and tropical herbs are generally available until late summer.
Then in the fall, we can help you get started on your indoor herb garden!
Imagine harvesting fresh basil, rosemary, or lemongrass right from your kitchen all winter long! Herb gardening kits make popular gifts and can provide years of enjoyment if properly cared for. Here are some tips on how to keep your indoor herbs happy and healthy.
Hops, Humulus lupulus, are fast-growing herbaceous perennial vines that grow from the ground to 25’ in the span of one season. They can be very useful for providing a screen, and their flowers are quite decorative.
In addition to their decorative qualities, hops flowers are an ingredient in the beer brewing process. The alpha-acid content provides bitterness to beer, and the natural antibiotics lupulon and humulon keep bacteria from growing during brewing.
Provide strong support & ample space, rich soil and full sun. Z4-8.
We have Brewer's Gold, Cascade, Galena and many more.
Partial Shade
Angelica archangelica (Angelica)
Uses: The stems can be candied for a dessert or used to decorate cakes
Convallaria majalis (Lily of the Valley)
Uses: Affects the heart similar to Digitalis purpurea.
Lindera benzoin (Spice Bush)
Uses: The berry is a good substitute for allspice; the leaves make a refreshing tea.
Melissa officinalis ‘Aurea’
(Lemon Balm)
Uses: Lemon scented foliage good for tea or refreshing ice water.
Mentha pulegium (Pennyroyal)
Uses: Traditionally a mouse and insect repellent.
Allium tricoccum (Wild Leek)
Uses: Bulbs are baked and used as flavoring. A native north american spring tonic.
Chelone glabra (Turtlehead)
Uses: A bitter herb taken as a tonic for the liver and digestive system.
Anthriscus cerefolium (Chervil)
Uses: Primarily a culinary herb.
Primula veris (Cowslip)
Uses: Edible flowers are candied or used for tea. Roots used as a sedative and for reducing inflammation.