An herb garden can be fancy stuff. Or casual. Or even accidental, with plants placed here and there among the vegetables and flowers.

Experts recommend starting simple with, as the old song goes, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Get yourself some small pots of those, toss in some Genovese basil, maybe some oregano and chives, and you have the makings of a beautiful collection.

If you want more interesting options, try cilantro and lavender, tricolor sage, lemon thyme, hot Thai basil and new varieties of oregano. (Don’t forget catnip for the kitties.)

Plant them in a small barrel, a window box or a pot, and fill with potting soil. A good herb bed for beginners can be fashioned from landscape ties of whatever size you like. Put them together, remove sod and weeds if this is on a lawn, and fill with good, well-draining topsoil and compost. Do not fertilize.

Some herbs come up every year. Some last one season or two. You can mix textures and fragrance, and if you mess up, you can always buy new plants.

Website: www.herbsociety.org

Source: www.dfw.com