Some Resources to Help with Your Herb Garden Planning!

This is an early copy of my herb garden.  Remember I live with an architect so he is a big help with some the planning aspects.  You don't have to live with an architect though.  I have found that The Herb Companion has a terrific Herb Garden Planner that you can try out free for 30 days.  I have not taken advantage of mine, but I'm going to redesign and rework my plants this season with the help of Herb Garden Planner.  I also wrote a post for getting started with your herb garden last April called Lots of Good Basic Herb Gardening Information.  Here then are some resources to help you get local information.  A couple of national websites to give you master gardener information, one from the American Horticultural Society that gives you a map to click on for master gardener information by state and if you scroll down into Canada there are links for their programs.  If the master gardener links are stale which sometimes they are, here is also a link to the county extension websites that are available.  They usually have master gardeners or extension agents available to answer your questions for your local area.  I love extension and it is an important asset that you should be using.  The USDA just came out with a new zone map.  That will give you a ballpark of what you might be able to grow.  Then because I'm answering a question about what perennial herbs a reader in northern Michigan can grow. I will give you a couple of book resources to consider.

This is a series from Lone Pine books called Herb Gardening for the Midwest by Debra Knapke and Laura Peters.  Again to give you a ballpark of growing, harvesting, propagating, etc.  It now has an old zone map!  Can't win.  It is a good basic book.  If you live a little south and east in the Cleveland area, this book will be helpful.  Susan McClure passed away a few years ago but she wrote a book called The Herb Gardener:  A Guide for All Seasons.  Good information, good photos of plants.  Ideas for crafts and cooking as well.  Each of them has good color photos of the herbs.  They both have herbs that I haven't even grown!

I also thought you should see the first book on herbs I bought.  I may have talked about this in a previous post, but here it is Herbs How to Select, Grow and Enjoy, an HP Book by Norma Jean Lathrop.  I think this one may be available as a used book.  It's a good one.  It gave me a great foundation.

Well, I think I have given you some food for thought.  Tomorrow I will start discussing strategy and herbs to consider.  Going to walk before it rains!  Can't believe the weather.  Talk to you later.