Fall in the Southern US is a time of rejoicing. The triple-digit degree heat has passed its way through many gardens, and cooler climates roll in allowing leaves to unfold and take in more sun than was previously allowable in the scorching summer season. Fall gardens flourish in the Southern US. It’s a great time to plant herbs, which have many uses. Herbs can be processed and extracted to create tinctures that can offer medicinal benefits, or they can be added to your favorite meals. They can be beautiful additions to your home or garden, existing for the sole purpose of gazing upon their lovely leaves or inhaling their heady aromas. Their leaves are often soft to the touch, and they provide essential nutrients to the soil of your garden bed. Herbs also contain a lot of oils, which makes them less susceptible to pests that would otherwise eat them.
Please note that it’s best to select herbs that are suited to the environment in which you plant them. And know that any medicinal uses listed here should not be taken as gospel truth, as everyone is different and herbs will have varying interactions with the people or environments in which they are grown and consumed. Proceed with caution when ingesting herbs for medicinal purposes.
Here are seven herbs that are excellent additions to your herb garden. The varieties listed are frost hardy in many zones in the US, but mostly in the southern United States.
Oregano
Frost hardy variety: Greek Oregano (zones 5-11)
With soft, light-green leaves and flowers ranging from white to light purple, oregano is a great addition to any southern garden. It can sprawl or grow tall depending on how it is cultivated. Cutting and harvesting makes it more productive. Like most herbs, it enjoys a slightly more acidic soil (between 6-8 pH). I’ve found it grows quite well both in containers and the ground here in North Texas. Greek Oregano is hardy to cold but may need some extra protection once frost comes. It typically likes to grow in temperate climates, which is why fall in the South is a good time to plant seedlings in the ground to promote strong, established growth. Greek oregano also does not require much water to thrive, making it drought-tolerant.
If you crush a leaf between your fingers, you’ll smell the peppery scented oils. Greek oregano is perfect in Italian and Mediterranean dishes. It’s also wonderful in marinades and spice mixes (think Zatar seasoning). Medicinally, it acts as an anti-inflammatory, relieving sinus pressure from colds. It also has shown to be antibacterial, lessening the proliferation of colds. It can help treat parasites and fungal infections. I personally have found oregano oil supplements produce a drying effect and lessen the excretion of mucus during raunchy winter illnesses. This is great when a cough gets too intense, but if mucus is needed to fight an illness, it may be best to leave the oregano oil on the shelf.
Lavender
Frost hardy variety: Munstead Lavender (zones 5-9)
Lavender is one of the most loved plants due to its calming aroma and oil. Soft, thin white-green leaves emanate from central stems, which can reach a foot and a half in height. When it flowers in spring and fall, the blooms are purple and small. To keep lavender productive, it’s best to cut it back when flowers bloom. It enjoys acidic and dry to damp soils and flowers in fall and spring. It can also thrive both in containers and the ground, and will do well in temperate to hot climates, but it needs some coverage in winter.
Brushing a stem between two fingers results in the release of sweet, spicy, flowery oils. I often brush the oil on my skin after touching the plant to provide a little sense of relief and calm. It can be dried and made into a tea, or added to various culinary confections. In cooking, lavender gives food a floral flavor that is a great accompaniment to citrus (lavender lemonade, anyone?). It can also be made into an essential oil for diffusion or baths, or the oil can be applied directly to mosquito bites as an anti-inflammatory. Lavender is known in herbal and medical circles to treat fungal infections, wounds, hair loss, and anxiety. It can assist women with premenstrual symptoms, and can aid insomniacs in getting some rest.
Rosemary
Frost hardy variety: Arp Rosemary (zones 6-10)
Rosemary is one of the easiest plants to grow in the southern US. It is frost-hardy, and somewhat drought-tolerant. Established plants will thrive in hot summers, and if cut back in time will survive intense winter temps in the zones listed above. Much like its friends, oregano and lavender, it has small purple to white blooms that when cut help the plant become more herbaceous and productive. It looks similar to lavender in some ways, but has much deeper green leaves that are thinner. And like lavender, all it takes is a light brushing to release oils that produce a calming effect. One of my favorite things to do in summer here is walk by the huge (I mean, HUGE — up to 6 feet tall) rosemary plants and take a deep inhale. I don’t even have to get close to the plant to smell it when it is thriving.
I’m sure you’ve had your fair share of rosemary potatoes and rosemary-flavored meats. It’s great in teas, and also is made into essential oils for calming applications. It can carry the calm into your stomach and your nerves, and prevent dandruff when applied topically. It can stimulate digestion and kidney functioning, reducing stresses that accrue in the body. The scent of its essential oil is light and lovely.
Yarrow
Frost hardy variety: Moonshine Yarrow (zones 3-9)
Yarrow is one of the easiest plants to grow in North Texas because it does well in silty soils. It has silvery green, fern-like leaves that are fragrant when rubbed between fingers. The flowers are a stunning yellow, unlike the white flower of common yarrow. Small flowers are clustered at the top of a strong stalk that emanates from the ferny groupings at its base. It will wilt when watered too much, which alludes to its drought-tolerance. It’s also very easy to grow and maintain — a great choice for those new to gardening. Yarrow thrives in the prairie ground here in North Texas as a perennial, but can also be planted in containers. It will survive a Texas winter, but may need some assistance with prolonged cold temperatures.
Yarrow flowers should be dead-headed when spent, and can be kept for tea. Yarrow is great for promoting better circulation in the body, and healing wounds. It can break a fever, and also can be used to treat menstrual symptoms. It has also been known to treat depression. The scent of yarrow is akin to chamomile.
Sage
Frost hardy variety: Common/Culinary Sage (zones 4-8)
Sage is one of the most common plants in the world. Salvia species number upwards of 500 in the northern hemisphere alone. This variety, common sage, is one of the easiest to cultivate. The leaves are textured and soft, and have a very distinctive fragrance when rubbed. In bloom, common sage produces beautiful purple half-flowers that bees and butterflies love. Much like rosemary, it’s easy to spot sage with your nose before you see it due to its lovely fragrance. It enjoys richer soils than the other herbs discussed here, but is still drought-tolerant.
Sage is a lovely addition to many dishes. It’s typically used as an herbaceous companion to roasted meats and veggies. Butternut squash soup wouldn’t be complete without some sage. Drying leaves and making it into a tea is one way to treat colds, as it dries the mucosal membrane. It also works well for digestive issues, depression, and there is some evidence to suggest it can treat Alzheimer’s disease. Burning sage for smudging is a longstanding practice. Typically white sage is used for smudging, but all other aromatic herbs can be used. And this may be a better practice at this point as white sage overproduction is occurring to satisfy the commercial craving for smudging herbs. Once you see how easy it is to grow your own herbs, you’ll find it much less costly to use those to smudge and cleanse a space. You’ll also remove yourself from contributing to a system that degrades a pre-existing ecosystem and longstanding practice. You could even try to grow your own white sage, if you’re feeling adventurous!
Turmeric and Ginger
Frost hardy turmeric variety: Common Turmeric (zones 7-10)
Frost hardy ginger variety: Common Ginger (zones 8-11)
Another insanely easy (I’m talking, “plant and let it do it’s thang” easy) set of herbs to grow that provide so much payoff is turmeric and ginger. Unless you’re working with sub-arctic winter temperatures, both of these rhizomes are perfect for a beginner herb gardener. Ginger is typically very cheap in the grocery store, but turmeric is not. So next time you’re in the store and you see a nib of ginger or turmeric with a small node growing, grab it. And then plant it. Turmeric and ginger both will grow very well in any soil that is 100% organic matter. If you’re planting in the garden, give it a little hole with rich soil that includes organic compost or cow manure. If you’re planting in a container, you can provide a similar mix. You’ll plant either rhizome a few inches under the earth, and as long as you’re in a growing season, leaves will grow. Both plants are lovely to look at. Leaves will grow in spring to late fall and die in winter, but get this — the rhizome will continue to grow even though the foliage has died. And you’re welcome at the time leaves start to brown to dig up the rhizome, take a little, and replant it for future harvests.
Ginger and turmeric are both heavily used in East Asian cuisine. They are well known anti-inflammatory friends. They are great in teas, pastes, and powders. They are spicy, and used to add warmth to any dish. Turmeric is useful for natural dyeing, as the rhizome emits a very bright orange yellow secretion that sets well into almost anything. Therefore when you’re using it in the kitchen, make sure you wash hands thoroughly after chopping. Ginger, thankfully, doesn’t have the same problem.
When combined, the immune-boosting anti-inflammatory effects of both are bolstered. They are great for fighting colds, and great for treating pain. They are also excellent for reducing nausea and improving digestive functioning.
So, what are you waiting for? Get to planting!
References
https://veggieharvest.com/herbs/oregano.html
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/266259#benefits
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265922#benefits
https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/r/rosema17.html
https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/flowers-and-plants/flowers/moonshine-yarrow
http://www.perennialresource.com/variety.php?ID=ACHMO
https://www.rxlist.com/sage/supplements.htm
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