lavender plants outdoors
Education

9 Easy Herbs to Grow Outdoors – Even with a Brown Thumb

There’s a lot to love about a garden. They get you outside, they can brighten up your outdoor space, and, if you’re smart about it, they can save a ton of plastic, too. My favorite gardens are the edible kind, the gardens that save you a rushed grocery trip when you’re making a pasta, the kind that will present you with tea when you feel sick.

Gardens can be one of the simplest ways to be more eco friendly. A sustainably minded garden can be as green as it is colorful, lowering your water usage, trapping carbon in the soil, saving plastic from precut herbs and bouquets, and saves the carbon of transporting and factory growing your preferred wares. With an afternoon or two in your yard, you can be set up for years of delicious trimmings. But with my nowhere near green thumb, I decided to find the easiest herbs to grow outdoors and save a little trouble.

Easy Peasy Outdoor Herbs

When I say easy, I’m talking EASY. Some of these plants will take over your whole space if left unattended. While those more skilled with the shears might even call them pests, they’re perfect for a no-watering garden. If you’re trying to get fancy, you can add your own compost to the beds, but these plants won’t need it. We’ve planted every single one of these herbs this year, and I’m excited to say, we haven’t lost one yet.

mint - one of the easiest herbs to grow outdoors

1. Mint Plants

Mint is great for a million things: tea, mojitos, baked goods, and even savory dishes. And mint is one of those take over your garden kind of herbs. One of those grow til you kill it kind of herbs. It’s great. This year we moved our mint to a pot to ensure it doesn’t suffocate other plants, and it replenishes quickly enough that a pot is really all you need. If you’re going for a water-free garden, though, a couple of mint plants will provide a fragrant yard.

  • Grow Zones: 3-11
  • Sun Exposure: full to partial

2. Rosemary

Another giant growing herb, rosemary perks up roasted chicken or vegetables, and can be a great addition to savory cocktails. Able to withstand rough weather, it’s a perfect choice to replace traditional hedges. Though the plant grows back quickly, be sure to not trim more than a third of the plant at a time.

  • Grow Zones: 6-10
  • Sun Exposure: full to partial

3. Dill

This lesser used, but still wonderful herb deserves a spot in your garden. It’s best known on salmon, but it’s delicious in salads or potatoes, and imperative in homemade pickles! Dill is hardy in cold weather, and grows as delicate little plants that will “bloom” wherever planted. The hardest part about this plant is you’ll need to keep it trimmed to make sure it doesn’t overtake your garden.

  • Grow Zones: 2-11
  • Sun Exposure: full
basil is a super easy herb to grow outdoors

4. Basil

Basil adds depth to a dish whether fresh, wilted, or dried. This leafy herb grows quickly when properly trimmed, and one little plant will produce enough basil you’ll be giving it away.

  • Grow Zones: 2-11
  • Sun Exposure: full

5. Chives

Okay, so technically not an herb, this vegetable grows back no matter how many times you harvest. Able to withstand severe cold, this oniony veg is great in nearly any climate. Definitely one of the easiest herbs to grow outdoors, these guys come back year after year.

  • Grow Zones: 3-9
  • Sun Exposure: full to partial

6. Nasturtium

This peppery herb is a chef’s favorite, and once planted, you’ll love it, too. These herbs seem to do better the worse the soil is, and the lily pad like leaves look beautiful dotting soups, salads, and stuffings.

  • Grow Zones: 9-11
  • Sun Exposure: full to partial
lavender plants

7. Lavender

While you might only use this herb for teas and bouquets, it’s a beautiful addition to any garden when in bloom. You have to be careful around pets, though, as lavender is not only a deterrent, but toxic.

  • Grow Zones: 5-9
  • Sun Exposure: full

8. Parsley

Another herb that’s great on nearly everything, parsley is as easy to grow as it is to pair with food. While you need to keep trimming to avoid the stems wilting, this light water plant will become a staple of your kitchen.

  • Grow Zones: 2-11
  • Sun Exposure: full to partial
lemon balm plants

9. Lemon Balm

If you’re not lucky enough to live in California and have a whole lemon tree, lemon balm is an easy second best. It’s not picky about soil type and will grow to fill wherever you plant it, its low water needs also make it a super easy herb to grow in or outdoors. The newest stems taste the best, so remember to keep trimming.

  • Grow Zones: 3-7
  • Sun Exposure: full to partial

Gardening is a daunting task to many, but choosing the easiest herbs to grow outdoors will have you over your fears in a season. Even if you only have space for a window sill planter, these herbs will give even the brownest thumb a tint of green.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *