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23 of the Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants

When it comes to perennial herbs garden becomes more useful. There’s a supply for some extra ingredients that you can use for cooking, tea drinking or as treatment. It is not uncommon to have a few plants that can be utilized for such purposes.

It’s good to have a little garden in your own backyard, or even front yard. Beautiful and colorful flowers popping in the view. Both short and tall grass swaying when the wind blows.

Trees with fruits ready to be picked provide shades. Then there’s a section of annual and perennial herbs a garden must-have.

Let’s concentrate on herbs that are easy to grow and manage. Here are 23 of the best perennial herbs garden plants with some ideas and tips included.

23 Best Perennial Herbs

1. Anise Hyssop

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Anise Hyssop 1

The purple flowers formed in tall spikes are the attraction of anise hyssop. But this is more than just a flowering plant. It is considered among the best perennial herbs a garden can have as its petals are used as herb and leaves as an ingredient providing flavor and aroma.

This type of herb is low maintenance, which makes it a great option to consider in your garden. Keep in mind that this needs average rich, moist soil and requires full sun with regular watering and pruning of dead leaves or stalks.

2. Bee Balm

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Bee Balm 1

Another herb with enormous blooms for home gardens is bee balm. It produces red or pink flowers that easily attract butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.

This plant is among the commonly used perennial herbs garden ingredient used for cooking and cosmetics from lotion to lip color. Both the leaves and flowers are harvested as garnish on certain dishes and a main ingredient to Oswego teas. They are also added to some desserts, like cake, bread and salads.

3. Chives

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Chives 1

If you prefer an easy and fast growing perennial herbs garden plant, chives are one of the best choices. The thin, delicate stalks (also considered leaves) of this herb makes an excellent ingredient for garnishes and seasonings.

You can make your own salad dressing or dip. You can sprinkle chopped pieces onto your potato salads, chicken soup and other favorite home dishes.

For optimum growth and production, plant this in a ground that gets full sun. In just a few weeks, it’s ready to be harvested and you’d have fun snipping off some stalks from time to time.

4. Cilantro/Coriander

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Cilantro

Cilantro and coriander are from the same plants. The former refers to the leafy part, while the latter is the seeds taken from the dried flowers.

This is one of the perennial herbs garden that is a must. That is because both parts are very useful in many meals. In fact, the flowers are also a reliable ingredient for various recipes.

5. Fennel

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Fennel 1

Add fennel to your herbal section of your garden. The bulbs are sown in good soil and start sprouting after some days. Once they become mature, stalks of lacey, yellow flowers begin popping.

You can then harvest the bulbs you can use for cooking. The leaves, fresh or dried, are also a flavorful ingredient to some meals. This may be an annual plant but can be grown as perennial.

6. French Tarragon

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants French Tarragon 2

The licorice and citrus flavor of French tarragon makes it a very good reason to consider planting at your home garden. As long as you have well-drained soil, this plant thrives and survives for your own good. With regular watering and full sun exposure, you get to enjoy cutting fresh leaves.

7. Lavender

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Lavender 2

When it comes to fragrance, lavender is among the favorite scented perennial herbs a garden presents. This is through its grayish green leaves and purple flowers.

Mainly due to its pleasant aromatic smell, this herb is used in many household products from cosmetics to cleaning items. It is also added to desserts, juices and teas.

Lavender prefers well-drained soil and can tolerate full sun. To have a beautiful scenery, this should be planted in a more spacious area.

8. Lemon Balm

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Lemon Balm 2

There’s nothing more relaxing than the aroma of a lemon balm. The lemon scent of this herb is irresistible. It is a reliable perennial herbs garden flavor for dishes and drinks. As a matter of fact, this is a common addition to alcoholic beverages.

As far as gardening is concerned, this heart-shaped leafy plant thrives in good soil. With the right amount of care, it can grow with healthy light green leaves that can be cut out ready to be used while fresh.

9. Lemon Verbena

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Lemon Verbena

Lemon verbena presents itself with tall stems and elongated, glossy, green leaves. Starting summer, it blooms small, white flowers atop the steams.

As among the perennial herbs for garden, this has a strong lemon fragrance too. It is often used as an ingredient for iced tea and potpourri.

10. Lovage

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Lemon Lovage 2

Sneezeweed is a most commonly called name that refers to helenium. As one of the tall perennials, this grows from 3 feet up to 5 feet.

It produces beautiful flowers in shades of orange, yellow, red and sometimes brownish red. You may absolutely plant seeds in different varieties based on hues to create a more stunning and colorful garden.

11. Mint

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Lemon Mint

Mint is one of those common favorite perennial herbs garden plant. For newbies, this is a great option since it’s easy and fast to grow. It can be grown in small pots, a larger container or directly on the ground of your yard.

Keep in mind that there are numerous varieties of this herb based on flavor. Some have peppermint like flavors, while others are citrus.

There are also flavors that resemble the taste and scent of apple and chocolate. You can choose if you like a little sour or sweet. Regardless, it’s worth taking care of as it provides you benefits essential for cooking.

12. Oregano

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Lemon Oregano

Fresh or dried, the leaves of oregano are useful in certain dishes as they give a tasty, tangy flavor. This herb can be added to soups, sauce and even your favorite pizza.

When planting, it must be grown as a groundcover. It produces white or pink flowers on top of the leafy stems. It is recommended to harvest stems before the flowers start forming as this is when the flavor is at its finest.

13. Parsley

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Lemon Parsley

Parsley is not really a perennial, but biennial. However, it passes as among the perennial herbs garden plants if you regularly plant new seeds.

This is one of the fast growing herbs whether you choose seeds or cuts. The harvest starts in about a couple of months if you take good care of it. The fresh leaves are commonly used for various recipes.

14. Roman Chamomile

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Roman Chamomile

Unlike some perennial herbs for garden, Roman chamomile offers charm with its daisy-like white-petalled with yellow middle part flowers.

But this is more than just an ornamental plant. It is considered as a bushy herb. The flowers are used in cooking and teas, whether harvested fresh or dried.

15. Rosemary

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Rosemary

The delicate, thin evergreen leaves of Rosemary make a great indoor plant. That is because it’s tiny that you can plant seeds in a small pot. For outdoor gardening, this thrives in hardy zones 6 to 10. It needs a well-drained soil and a few hours of light.

This herb has a pine-like scent, but fresh ones give a stronger aroma. The stems are cut and used for different home recipes. And as you harvest, new growth is processed, so you have plenty of supply.

16. Sage

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Sage

Sage is commonly known for its fuzzy, whitish or grayish green leaves, but there are varieties in purple, cream and tricolors.

This hardy herb can thrive in almost any condition including winter. For better growth and production, this has to be sown in dry or well-drained soil.

Upon harvest, the leaves are a very good addition to favorite home meals. These include soups, pasta like ravioli and stuffing dishes.

17. Salad Burnet

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Salad Burnet

Different than most perennial herbs garden plants, salad burnet or garden burnet can be imperative. That’s because its leaves are edible for salads.

It has a mild flavor similar to cucumber. This herb has distinctive features, most prominently its tooth-edged leaves. It also produces pink colored flowers.

18. Sorrel

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Sorrel

Sorrel or bloody sorrel is another lesser known herb. Its leaves are easy to identify with its red or blood-like veins. This leafy plant has a lemony flavor, which makes it a perfect ingredient for soups and salads. It is also often used as an alternative for spinach.

Growing and taking care of this herb is minimal. However, be sure to keep the soil moist all the time, otherwise it may faint and eventually die due to dryness.

19. Spearmint

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Spearmint

As a member of the mint family, spearmint has a menthol tang. The leaves are commonly used to flavor alcoholic drinks, such as mojitos, slushies and teas.

You can use dried or fresh leaves. Growing this herb requires fertile and moist soil. It also requires low maintenance, which is a perfect choice to plant for beginners.

20. Sweet Marjoram

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Sweet Marjoram

Sweet Marjoram is not as common as mints, chives, and other perennial herbs garden plants. But this is a great flavorful ingredient for certain soups and other dishes related to potatoes and poultry.

The leaves are rounded, which are the ingredient added into meals. This herb grows as a bush so it’s best to sow it directly in the ground, although a large bed or wide container is a good alternative.

21. Thyme

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Thyme

For additional groundcover, thyme definitely makes an excellent choice. It grows with woody stems, tiny green leaves and small bluish purple or pink flowers.

The flowers attract bees. In addition, there are about 40 species of this herb to choose from. They have different flavors to offer from lemon to orange.

This plant needs a well-drained soil in order to survive and grow in good quality production. It actually thrives in poor soil; therefore, only minimal care is required.

22. Viola

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Viola

You can have a more beautiful flowering plant among your perennial herbs garden through viola. This herbal plant produces plain colored or bicolored flowers.

Depending on the variety, you can enjoy the flowers in purple, red, yellow or white flowers. You may even combine different species to have a colorful charm once they bloom.

As a herb, the flowers are used as edible decorative on cakes, cupcakes and salads. They are not only stunning but also mildly scented.

23. Winter Savory

Best Perennial Herbs Garden Plants Winter Savory
Winter Savory via Flickr.com

To have another shrubby herb plant, winter savory should be on the list of choices. This is not the same as summer savory as it can survive in any season. It has green foliage with tiny, blue or purple flowers.

Like most perennial herbs garden plants mentioned previously, this one is a good addition to some dishes, including lamb recipes and stews.


Conclusion

All of these perennial herbs for garden are more than just an ornamental display or decorative lively gardening plants. They serve useful in a way they can be mixed into foods, drinks, and some household items.