I don't remember exactly when herb gardening became one of my great loves. What I do know is that it was my first real gardening success — and that matters more than people realize.
When I had a yard that got mostly full sun, I had the luxury of a dedicated herb garden. I grew far more than I needed, which meant I was constantly experimenting — researching recipes, trying things I'd never cooked with before. Lemon balm cookies. Sage corn muffins. Herb vinegars I made at the end of the season to carry the flavors of summer into the colder months.
I even found a set of beautiful pewter plant markers at a local store that I brought out every spring. It was one of those small rituals that made the whole thing feel like mine.
Then life changed. I downsized, moved to a smaller space, and the big herb garden had to go. But the herbs didn't.
Today I still grow my favorites in containers on the deck — close to the kitchen door, close to the cooking, close to the life I want to be living. The scale is smaller. The joy is exactly the same.
If you've been thinking about growing herbs this summer — whether it's your first time or your fifteenth — containers are one of the most satisfying ways to do it. Here's how I'd approach it.
Start With the Ones You'll Actually Use
The biggest mistake new herb gardeners make is growing herbs they don't cook with. Herbs are most rewarding when they're part of your kitchen rhythm — grabbing a handful of basil while you're making dinner, snipping chives over a baked potato, pulling a sprig of rosemary for the potatoes you're about to roast.
My core eight — the ones I plant every single year without fail — are basil, rosemary, flat-leaf parsley, sage, thyme, chives, dill, and oregano. They're all easy to grow in containers, they all earn their place in the kitchen, and between them they cover just about every dish I make in summer.
I've written about each of these in detail — their growing requirements, sun needs, and best uses — over on the blog. If you want the full rundown on any of them, that post is a great place to start. https://therelaxedgardener.com/blogs/gardeningsimplified/8-must-have-herbs-to-grow-this-summer
But here's my personal take on each one, beyond the growing specs.
Basil
is the one that feels most like summer to me. A caprese salad of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil from the garden is reason enough to grow it. Harvest it regularly — the more you pick, the more it grows. Don't let it flower if you want leaves all season.
Rosemary
is the herb I reach for when I want something that smells like the garden even before it hits the pan. Tossed with butter and new potatoes and roasted in the oven — that's summer on a plate. It's also beautiful in a pot and almost impossible to overwater as long as you give it good drainage.
Flat-leaf parsley
— always flat-leaf, never curly. The flavor difference is significant. I use it as a garnish on almost everything, and it's one of the most cheerful things to have growing on a deck.
Sage
has one job in my kitchen and it does it beautifully — sage corn muffins. The pungent taste and smell liven up my favorite recipe in a way that dried sage simply cannot replicate. If you only use sage once a summer, grow it anyway.
Thyme
is the quiet workhorse. Soups, stews, roasted vegetables — it makes everything taste more considered. I also love bundling the stems together and using them as a brush to baste meat on the grill. And trailing varieties are gorgeous spilling over the front of a container arrangement.
Chives
are one of the lowest-maintenance herbs you can grow and one of the most useful. Chopped over baked potatoes with sour cream. Added to eggs. And in early summer, the edible purple blossoms are beautiful scattered over a salad.
Dill
is wonderful with salmon, chicken, and potato salad. One tip I'd pass on — cut off the flowers as soon as they appear or the plant will bolt, go to seed, and stop producing leaves. Keep it going all season by staying ahead of the flowers.
Oregano
earns its spot in the container garden for Italian and Mediterranean cooking — tomato sauce, pizza, roasted vegetables. It's hardy, low-maintenance, and practically takes care of itself.
Getting Creative With Herbs in Containers
Here's something I don't see talked about enough — herbs don't have to live in their own separate containers. They're wonderful mixed into your floral arrangements too.
Chives make a beautiful alternative to spikes for height in the center or back of a larger container. The upright stems have real architectural quality and the bonus blossoms add color. Trailing varieties of thyme work beautifully at the front of containers — they spill over the edge the same way calibrachoa or bacopa does, but with the added pleasure of being useful.
Mixing herbs into your container gardens is one of those ideas that once you try it, you never go back.
Ready to Expand Your Herb Garden?
Once you're comfortable with the basics, there's a whole world of herbs worth exploring. These are the ones I'd suggest for gardeners who want to go further:
Marjoram — similar to oregano but sweeter and more delicate. Wonderful in egg dishes and with roasted vegetables.
Lemon balm — one of my personal favorites from my bigger herb gardening days. A lovely lemony flavor that works in teas, desserts, and salads. The lemon balm cookies I used to make were genuinely something special.
Cilantro — essential for Mexican and Asian cooking. Grows best in cooler weather so plant it early in spring or again in early fall.
Lemongrass — beautiful as a container plant and wonderful in Thai cooking. It adds height and a lovely grassy texture to arrangements.
Mint — endlessly useful in cooking, drinks, and teas. Grow it, enjoy it — but keep it in its own container. Mint spreads aggressively in the ground and will take over a bed if you let it. In a pot it's perfectly contained and perfectly happy.
Flavored basils — lemon basil, Thai basil, purple basil, cinnamon basil. Once you start experimenting with the varieties beyond classic sweet basil, you won't stop. Each one brings something a little different to the kitchen.
Flavored thymes — lemon thyme is particularly lovely, both in cooking and as an ornamental. The variegated varieties are beautiful in containers.
Want to Know My Top 10 Picks for Small-Space Herb Gardens?
I put together a free guide — 10 Best Herbs for Small-Space Gardens — with everything you need to know to get started. It's yours when you join The Relaxed Gardener community here: https://therelaxedgardener.com/pages/gardeingsimplifiedsignup
And if you've been thinking about containers more broadly — herbs are just the beginning. I have something coming soon that I think you're going to love. Make sure you're on the list. 🌿
Happy Gardening,
Donna
