What herbs are perennial and what are annuals

[christineavatar]

I am planning my garden for the spring. I went to a lecture this summer at our county fair and they recommended five herbs for a perennial section for the garden. I live in Marin County - that's on the land mass that points down at San Francisco - on the coast. I cannot find the hand outs they passed around. I remember that one of them was rosemary but that is as far as I can recall. Can anyone help?

 

[HunkieDorie23]

Well I am not sure what they recommended but these are perennials:

Oregano *
Sage *
thyme *
Tarragon
Lavender
Chives *
fennel

In warmer climates
Dill
Sweet Marjoram
Rosemary *

If I were to guess the ones I star * are probably what they recommended. For me I would grow all the * (except Rosemary) and then Sweet basil, Lemon basil, dill and Marjoram as annuals. This with some onions and garlic would keep my palet happy everyday.

Forgot Parsley.

 

[Emma]

I'm in gardening zone 7B. I have rosemary and French lavender in the ground. They have made it through several winters just fine. Perennials in pots: parsley, leeks, mint, lemon thyme, winter savory, chives, green onions, and lovage. The green onions, lovage, thyme, and parsley grew through this last winter. The mint and chives died back and are growing in again.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

if you are going to grow any kind of mint i would suggest putting a gallon pot in the ground and then planting the mint in that. mints have a tendency to spread and will try to take over a space if they do not have a barrier around their running roots. i've had luck with growing my different mints together and what tends to happen is one type will dominate for one or two years and then another will take over while the other tends to die back till it has enough strength to take over again (i recognize the different leaf shapes, colors and smells of the different ones to know what i'm picking)

parsley is a biennial so the first year you will have the leaves, the second year it will still produce leaves but it will also flower. the flat leaved type actually has a better taste than the curled leaf so opt for that in your garden instead.

there are a lot of different types of lavender out there so you might want to research some of them before you buy. but the best for any area that gets really cold winters will be the Munstead. after about 5 years it may completely die off and need to be replaced, it will also get very woody like a small shrub.

Greek oregano in our area is very hardy and will come back year after year.

thyme can be very hardy but over here in the North East is can get too cold for some varieties to thrive and come back the following years. the variegated lemon thyme i found is one that is not hardy unless we get a lot of snow cover or mulched very well.

someone mentioned winter savory and i can tell you it will survive our cold winters over here so it should survive over there very well. it is almost like a little evergreen shrub in the winter. it holds it's leaves throughout the winter!

 

[Emma]

Yes, the lavender does get woody. I prune mine and keep it small.

My Greek oregano didn't make it through a particularly hot summer. Was the same year the lemon balm didn't survive.

The lemon balm and mints do tend to take over. The purslane, too. I like growing them in containers and keeping them contained.