Good grief! That is quite the list, Amy! I want to grow that many herbs next year. Are you starting these all from seed?

I really, really love herbs and can't wait to mimic your list.

This year, I'm starting nothing from seed. I am waiting to see what volunteers appear and./or make it through the winter. I will pick up some plants at Prairie Wind.

LOVE your list.

I have seeds for most of these. Some would have been perennial, but the dog destroyed almost all herbs last year. I like to buy herbs from Gary of Duck Creek Farms at the Cherry street farmers market. I will look for some things from him. A lot of these need to be winter sown.

I cannot come up with anything better than Jennifer's Good grief! So, Amy, I'll ask you the same question I always ask myself when making my own grow list: where are you going to put all these? (grin) I do love your list too. It is so long and you know I'm all in favor of long grow lists with many varieties.

I haven't even worked on my herb list yet. I intend to, but haven't had a chance yet. I do have a whole lot of herb seeds, but don't think I'll be growing as many different ones as you are. I assume that some of yours are perennial and some are reseeding annuals, simply because many of the perennial and/or reseeding annual herbs I grow are on your list, but it looks like you still have a lot of others to grow from seed.

Since tomato plants are moving to the back garden this year, I'll have room to put more veggies, herbs and flowers in space normally occupied by tomatoes, but I still don't think I'll grow as many herbs as you. I do love herbs though, and they are wonderful companion plants for any garden. Is there a plan in place to keep Honey out of the herbs?

Dawn

I want herb beds. Ron took my pyramid beds apart and never put them back together. I've lost the picture, but what I want is a 4x8 bed with 2 step up beds in it. It would then have a shady side and a sunny side. Top would be driest, bottom wettest. But meanwhile herbs will go in fabric pots, probably in kiddie pools to make watering easier. Some of them that double as flowers will go in the flower garden. Some will get tucked in with veggies. And while I SAY I'm going to grow these, there's a good chance some just won't happen. BD (before dog), I had shelve all along the back of the house with stuff like this on them. The dog loves to carry stuff off, dump the dirt and chew up the pot. My challenge will be keeping her out of things.

Haha, Amy! Oh my gosh. I think that's longer than my herb list last year. So because I grew so many last year, my list this year is very short indeed!

Astragalus propinquus, huáng qí

Basil, Holy, Tulsi

Lots of calendula

Chamomile, German

More cilantros (I sure know when to plant no-fail cilantro now! In September or early October. My cilantro plot is sailing along, happy as can be, out in the veggie beds.

More dills

Fennel, bronze

Valerian

I may sow more basil after seeing which ones come up. And Roselle--I forgot it last year. And I'll try cumin again.

Achillea (misc) - I have several cultivars that may or may not return and wild seeds to plant if they don't.

Culinary sage

Chocolate mint

Italian oregano

Genovese basil

Florence fennel (finocchio)

Dill, compatto

Parsley, Italian flat-leaf

Rosemary

Dwarf basils:

Aristotle

Dolce Fresca

Greek Dwarf

Gecofure

Genial

Mammoth (Lettuce-leaf on compact 18-24" plants)

Wow great thanks for a nice list of Herbs.

Amy,

I had the same problem with our dog when he was young. Now he knows pathways- ok, beds are Mom's and not OK to walk or dig in. Plants in pots on tables are not ok either. As a result the older portion of the veggie garden is fenced off. For a while there was a garden trellis bench pushed far enough away from the fence that Blu couldn't jump onto the bench then jump over the fence into the garden.

The fencing is still a good idea for us. When Blu's girlfriend comes over for play dates, she has no concept of boundaries and refuses to learn.

Here is an idea I had found for raised beds, which might work for a smaller dog.

Fence for raised beds to keep animals out

I’ve been trying to compile my herb list since this started and I still don’t have it all written out!

It’s no where nearly as impressive as yours Amy!

I’ll start with what will likely come back from previous years and then list the ones I plan on adding.

Sage (unknown culinary)

Rosemary (unknown variety and it’s old, like 7 or 8 years)

Oregano (unknown variety from our county extension office)

Lemon Balm (from the queen of thug plants)

Comfrey (three separate patch’s from the tomato queen)

Peppermint

Chocolate Mint

Onion Chives (I think?)

If they reseed like normal, I’ll have

Thai Basil

Sweet Basil

Lemon Basil

Lime Basil

German Chamomile

Fennel is still going strong (is that normal?)

I‘ll be planting or attempting

Cumin, cuminum cyminum (at least trying it again)

Black Cumin, nigella sativa

Roselle (if the seed I saved is viable)

Clary Sage, salvia sciarea

Oil Sage, salvia officinefle

Greek Oregano

Common Chives

Garlic Chives

Stevia

Toothache Plant

Echinacea Purpurea

Cinnamon Basil

German Chamomile (in case the ones I got from Dawn don't reseed)

Cilantro

I doubt I start from seed, but I'll probably pick up some

Parsley (variety dependent on what I find)

Thyme

That's a huge number of varieties with a wide variety of requirements, Amy. Some of them form huge clumps, some need a tropical climate and one is a large shrub which could fill a whole bed by itself. How are you going to approach those issues?

I have a feeling this is Amy's stage 1 list, and it will be pruned to reality later.

Isn't that what we pretty much all do in our wish lists?

My list starts with the ones that are perennial in my garden:

Catmint

Catnip

Chives, Garlic

Chives, Onion

Chocolate Mint (in a container)

Comfrey (horrible garden thug that it is, I still grow it for the bees and compost pile)

Lavender

Lemon Balm

Peppermint (in a container)

Rosemary 'Arp'

Sage

Spearmint (in a container)

Tansy

Tansy, Silver

Then, there's the ones that regularly reseed:

Basil, Dark Purple Opal

Basil, Genovese

Basil, Lemon

Chamomile

Dill

Fennel

Finally, the ones I'll sow from seed:

Basil, Spicy Globe

Borage, Blue (sometimes reseeds)

Borage, White

Cilantro, Calypso

Cilantro, Leisure

Cilantro, Mariano

Florence Fennel

Parsley, Dark Green Italian (plain flat leaf)

Parsley, Forest Green

Parsley, Moss Curled

Parsley, Triple Curled

Roselle

That's it for me. I'd grow more, but there just isn't space for any more.

Floral and Dbarron. I will likely attempt to start seeds for all. Usually there will be some that fail on that level. Many will be grown in pots this year. So, if I choose, I can move them indoors for winter. Which item is the big bush, Floral? I have room out front for them if not invasive. If it would be invasive I will put it in a large pot and hope for the best. I have been known to regret a decision to plant something in the wrong place. It's all a great experiment.

I missed Gardendragonok's post before. My dog is not quite 2. She is nicknamed Sasquatch because of her big feet. She is 70 pounds and leaps like a deer. If there is tall stuff in the beds she goes around, but if there is a rabbit, squirrel or other critter, all bets are off. In the past I tried unsuccessfully to fence chickens out of beds. I am still mulling over how I will keep the dog, the chickens and the garden safe this summer.

Amy? Amy? Where are you? All I can see is a meadow of herbs? Is your house in here somewhere ? :)

Good luck with your seeds, some years I have excessive luck and some years I'm lucky to have 2 make it to maturity out of the packet. Of course that magic number gives you the opportunity to harvest more seeds later and try again. Or maybe two were really all you needed (I tell myself that).

The Ceanothus is a large shrub, Amy. The Schizandra is a huge vine. None are invasive as far as I am aware, although that depends on your location, but several are robust spreaders, eg the Saponaria. And some are big self seeders like Borage, Monarda, Sorrel and Feverfew. Info. on the Ceanothus here

I did know Ceanothus was a shrub when I bought it (an impulse buy when Bountiful Gardens quit selling seeds.) The catalog description of the Ceanothus: "A lymphatic stimulant, it clears the system of toxins so cells function better and heal faster. It also helps the body form T-cells to fight infection. Strongly hemostatic to control bleeding. Leaves are a tasty non-caffeinated substitute for black tea. Shrub native to the West, very drought-resistant and tolerant of clay and poor soil. Fragrant flowers." The roots are used medicinally, but I was interested in the leaves for "New Jersey Tea". If only it had caffeine. Drought resistant sealed the deal. I wonder if it would play nice with witch hazel. Put a grouping where the pear tree used to be in front. I've grown the reseeders before and my husband seems to kill off soapwort. Did I mention many of these will grow in fabric pots in kiddie pools for ease of watering? Chamomile probably in the flower bed, along with bee balm. I want to establish a patch of yarrow. I used to have one, but DH eliminated that bed, too. I wonder if I could talk him into putting it back? Basils will get tucked in between tomato plants. Grindelia, gumplant, is for my poison ivy remedy. It is biennial, but it needs a permanent home. It is not a pretty plant. It might reseed, but the last ones died after flowering. Lemon balm will be in a big pot, as will any mints. The oregano is already in a big pot, as is the garlic chives. I doubt the Schizandra chinensis will like it here. That's another one from Bountiful Gardens. I probably bought it for the shady front yard BEFORE we cut the trees down. I might try a pot on the North side, the beds there are shallow, but maybe in the ground. DH might complain.

Here is the herb bed I want. https://pin.it/icdp4aox2hco35

That is so cool. I want o build one with raw edge

Ceanothus (as a general rule) are really very finicky in particular with regards to water and drainage. It would be more likely to thrive near the yarrow than near the witch hazel (imo). So many herbs are touchy about being really well drained though, so I guess this one just fits the mold.

Amy. I just told GDW he could build me one of those herb beds next and can you BELIEVE he said, "You have ENOUGH beds!" Well, I never! LOLOL Who needs that kind of negativity, right?

The ceanothus is so pretty; bet the deer would love me if I bought them one. Sigh.

I'll grow a bunch of greens in containers, but the only herbs in them this year will be lemongrass and the one non-hardy rosemary.

I'm thinking this year's flower and herb beds will be quite fun and quite the surprise. We'll see. . .

I like that raised bed, Amy.

Oh, y'all, I just heard a horrible noise outside....as in wildlife fighting wildlife and it sounds like someone is dying. 1) I want to go out and see what it is, but dare not. 2) I am glad that all our animals are indoors. 3) Our dogs are barking hysterically because they heard it too. This is one of the things that creeps me out about living so far out in the sticks surrounded by wildlife. When you live in an area with abundant wildlife of all kinds, you learn hard truths....and one of those is that everything preys on something and everything is preyed upon by something. Sometimes you see and hear things you'd rather not see or hear.

Back to herbs.....

Nancy, Well I hate to disagree with him, but I feel like a person never can have too many raised beds. (Tim would agree with Garry by the way.)

I love herbs not just because they are so useful in the kitchen, but because they attract bees like mad when they bloom.

I generally don't grow herbs in containers, except for rosemary, but tuck them away here in there in every raised bed in the garden. Often they reseed into the pathways, and I let them stay there if I can.

Herbs are easy in pots though. It is just that I save all my big containers for other things.

Dawn

Ok, Dawn now that dawn is here, you should go see what you can find...because we're all waiting ;)

I never plan herbs, but there will definitely be, in addition to the rosemary, parsley, dill, basil, thyme, chives, and cilantro, along with oat grass and catnip for Audrey.

dbarron, I didn't go look. I'd have to venture into the woods and we were too busy with the grandkids all day Sunday. I could have dragged them off into the woods with us to see what we could find, but the youngest is only 4 and she thinks we live in a Bambi world where all the wildlife more or less love one another and everything lives happily ever after, so I hate to ruin that for her at such a young age. She'll learn soon enough. I also am not overly fond of stumbling upon animal carcasses because I'm just not into all that blood and gore. I thought I'd just wait and see where the vultures show up.....if they show up. Sometimes, you know, the larger predators carry their kill away. We are close enough to the Red River that they often drag away what they kill back down into the river bottomlands where they tend to roam, or sometimes the cougars cache it underneath brush. In particular, I do not want to find anyone's cache because that would be too scary.

I'll tell you this, though. The deer usually come and eat their deer corn overnight. This morning, the deer corn we put out last evening was untouched. It didn't even look like bunnies or coons had been around (still muddy enough to see their tracks if they show up) overnight to nibble at the deer corn. This morning, the deer came around 8 or 8:30 a.m. to eat, and they came in a large herd, not in the usual small groups of 3 or 4. So, of course, at the very least we know that they heard what I heard, or they smelled death....or....somehow....they just know. I wish they could tell me what they know. There's not many predators that scare the deer so that narrows things down in my mind a bit.

Rebecca, I do try to plan herbs somewhat, but they also have their own way of popping up in random spots---particularly the catnip. I think the cats sometimes carry catnip seeds on their fur and deposit it just wherever. When they do, I just leave it wherever it pops up. Grasshoppers love catnip and lemon balm, so both of them are early indicators of a developing grasshopper problem if I just pay attention. When I see the catnip and lemon balm leaves riddled with many, many small holes as the grasshopper hatch is occurring in Spring, I can tell from the damage level if it is going to be a bad grasshopper year or not, and if I need to order Semaspore or Nolo Bait and deal with the young hoppers or if the population is so small that I don't have to bother. That's one surprising way herbs have proven to be very useful in the garden.

Dawn

Would that be cougar, wolves (do you have them?), or coyotes, right?

Where did you source your Gynostemma pentaphyllum, Immortality Vine seeds? Do you know of a supplier?

I got the seeds from Bountiful Gardens, they no longer sell seeds. I never grew them. I could not come up with a location to put them. It's been long enough that I doubt they are viable now. A quick Google shows plants available on Etsy and seeds at strictly medicinal. I've gotten seed from Strictly medicinal before.

I found one seller on etsy that is not overseas. I don't want my seeds to get confiscated. One of the sellers mentioned that this is a problem. I have received seeds from overseas many times, but I would like to get this going this year.