For as long as human kind has sought ways to inhance the flavor of food, herbs have been used to delight the palet, treat illness and provide aromatherapy.
In the past they were belived to have magical powers and to a certain extent that belief may be well founded. If you iave ever used a little lavender on your pillow or that of your child to help get to sleep, ingested some sparemint to help the tummy ache, or used sage ot add just the right mouthwatering flavor to a dish, you may think of herbs as having magical powers.

Many folks raise herb gardens at home, the freshness and convienience is rewarding. Some tips for herb gardening follow:

1. Plan your garden with annuals as well as perennials in mind. What should you plant? Take a look in your kitchen and see what you've used in the past.
Continue your research here on the web and maybe get some ideas for some new herbs you might enjoy growing and using. Perhaps simply growing and enjoying the aroma of a mint or lavender patch would be it's own reward. You can always put sprig of fresh spearmint in water or other drinks to add wonderful flavor as well as sooth the stomach.

2. Depending on space limitations you may want to plant annuals away from perennials or you may want to mix them together, the thing is you don't want to disturb you perennials when pulling up your annuals and replanting them. It's also a good idea to have perennials on the outer edges so as to allow for annual tilling. Some plants like lavender and mint can overpower others and take over your garden area. Mint and spearmint can be a good ground cover with attractive aromas.

3. Plants grow to different heights and short plants can have the light all but blotted out by taller larger plants so keep shorter plants where they can grow with ample light.

4. A lot of gardeners use containers for herbs, thus keeping them from the main garden area. Herb pots are available with three or more outlets at different levels in the pot. Plant water lovers on the first level add soil and plant the next layer, plants that like it dryer would be planted last.

5. Some herbs will not take up much space and you could make a nice little garden out of an old wooden stepladder, lie the ladder on the ground and plant your spices in between the rungs. Instant herb garden. The small size required also allows for a square bisected so that you can reach all plants from the center walkways. A small circular garden made from an old wagon wheel can be attractive. Plant herbs between the tines.

6. You can give your herbs a head start by germinating the seeds indoors before planting. Take an old cloth or even a paper towel and place it on a cookie sheet or saucer after having soaked it and rung it out. Pour seeds into it and fold it over to cover the seeds. Keep moist till sprouts begin to appear.

May life yield an abundant harvest of joy for you today.