Introduction

Growing up in Iowa in the early 1950’s, a garden was a given. The country was still recovering from the effects of World War II and the Korean War. Many vegetables and some fruits were easier to grow than buy at the grocery store. Iowa soil where I grew up was so fertile about all you had to do was turn it over, put a seed in it, cover it, water it and stand back.

Moving to Colorado was a real shock when it came to gardening. I had never experienced clay soil like we have here. My first garden, the carrots went down about 3 inches and up out of the ground about 2 inches before dying out. It took me some 5 years of experimenting and reading before learning how to make dirt out of clay. But once the clay was amended properly, it makes a wonderful growing medium.

Having lived in a Condo for 17 years, I have not had an outdoor garden for a long time. Nor have I grown indoor plants for some years. This year, the urge to start growing green plants has taken over. So my choices were pretty much the same as yours might be.

1.        House plants to brighten up a room.
2.       Vegetables to eat.
3.       Herbs to use for Medicinal Purposes. (And I am not talking about marijuana.) I mean edphedra or Ephedra sinica, Echinacea and other similar medicinal herbs. Before the discovery and widespread use of antibiotics, the herb Echinacea -- which may be better known as the purple coneflower -- was one of the most widely prescribed medicines in the United States. 

Today Echinacea is making a comeback for its outstanding ability to help boost the immune system.  Many individuals take this herb in a capsule or tablet form in order to fend off colds and flu throughout the rough, winter months.  Actually, today's modern research has confirmed this plants ability to bolster your immune system.  Active ingredients in this herb actually stimulate the production of the much-needed disease-fighting white blood cells.
4.      Ornamental Herbs for attractiveness
5.       Herbs for cooking or Culinary Herbs. Herbs such as basil, thyme, parsley, cumin, oregano, cilantro, cutting celery, bay leaf, tarragon, dill and similar culinary herbs.

Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening (copyright 2009) also gives these rules of thumb for telling spices and herbs apart:

 

Herbs are green and often have subtle flavors.  Their leaves are used both fresh and dried. Spices are usually seeds, roots, fruits, flowers, or bark. Spices have a tendency to be shades of brown, black or red, with dramatic, pungent flavors.

 

Culinary herbs are cultivated to flavor other foods, including vegetables, meats, vinegars, butters and oils. Some culinary herbs are used to brew herb teas.

 

My choice was to stick to the Culinary Herbs since I like to cook. The next choice was an outdoor patio herb garden or an indoor herb garden. Starting my garden in winter made the choice for me. My herb garden would be indoors.