When we first moved here I decided against planting too many herbs close to the house simply because of fear. Yes, fear! I was afraid I would get bored, sloppy, etc. and not take care of what I had and I knew that a lot of herbs look like weeds on a good day so I opted for flowers just for pretty. Also, we moved here fast, really fast. We simply dug things up and slammed them into the ground. ANYONE will tell you that's not the way to transplant things but since we didn't have time, and at the time the equipment, we ended up transplanting a ton of weeds into beds that had not been prepared properly. MISTAKES, MISTAKES, MISTAKES!! We all make 'em but I suppose the question to myself is - have I learned anything?
Anyway, I feel adamant about keeping things around my home cleaned up and looking good and understand the need for proper bed preparation. Also, I've decided that I will plant what I've always wanted to plant in the bed that I call my "Kitchen Garden". The decision has been made. I'm planting a REAL kitchen herb garden. I've decided to plant herbs that will be used every day in this garden and if kept manicured it should be gorgeous! I've dreamed for years of what it would be like to just step outside the door and cut the fresh herbs that I need for my dishes and at last I'm going to have it. I am still going to maintain my large herb garden out back because there are many tea herbs, medicinal herbs and the like that I do not use on a weekly basis or use for cooking; but I'm so excited about my plans for a "Kitchen Herb Garden" that I'm chomping at the bit to get out there and work it up. I'm leaving the 3 roses and 1 peony plant out there as sort of anchors for everything and will have a ton of herbs growing in my garden. Now that I look at the space, while it's empty, I can see that it's a very large area and that makes me even more excited!! Obviously, I have a lot of herbs to plant and care for but I can taste the lemon balm chopped up and sprinkled in fresh fruits, rosemary skewers for grilling, tarragon for teas, vinegar and baking chicken, lemon thyme for Lemon Thyme Tea Bread, basil for insalata caprese, lavender for lemonade and sorbet, salad burnet for cucumber flavoring in salads, sage for stuffings, cilantro for salsas, nasturtiums stuffed with herbed goat cheese, and chives in EVERYTHING!! TeeHee!! This is just the very beginning and I'm so excited I can barely stand it!! Wish me luck!!!