Since our space is limited, I can include only the vegetables, fruit, and herbs we love and use a lot.

If I had a ton of space I might become more of a collector, trying out exotic vegetables and, especially, more and more herbs.

I have the basic perennials:

rosemary

thyme

oregano

marjoram

lavender

sage

peppermint

The basic annuals:  basil, cilantro, Italian parsley, and dill, none ready for the camera yet.

And recently I’ve been beefing up my “tea herbs,” such as anise hyssop, bee balm, and my latest, lemon verbena.

I’ve heard lemon verbena is one of the most “lemony” of the herbs.

As far as I’m concerned, you can’t get lemony enough.

I have no idea how something that’s not a lemon smells like lemon, or lime, or pineapple, or chocolate or –I saw (and smelled) a banana mint yesterday.  I almost got it, too, but decided to quit while I was ahead.  I’ve had “scented” mints before, and because I didn’t remove all the blossoms they cross-bred and eventually ended up not smelling like what they were supposed to.

I see a lot of catnip in the stores these days, but I learned my lesson about that.  The year I planted catnip we were overrun with stray cats, including one which laid down and died in our driveway, no visible sign of trauma or illness.  I walked outside and there was a cat I’d never seen before, on its side like it was asleep, dead as a doornail.  I hope it got a good roll in the catnip before it went, poor thing.

No more catnip for me.

I’ve planted seed of roselle (no sprouts yet), and I have some baby borage seedlings for the first time, hoping to find some new favorites.

What are your favorite herbs?