8 Low-Maintenance Herbs You Only Have to Plant Once

Perennial herbs will overwinter in your garden so you can just plant them once and enjoy them for years. Not only can you count on these herbs to come back year after year, but they’re often the best herbs to grow for cooking. The following easy-to-grow perennial herbs will spice up your garden and your meals with flavor, color, and fragrance.

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Mint

Credit:

Jason Donnelly

Flavor sweet and savory dishes as well as your favorite mint julep with the fragrant leaves of mint (Mentha spp.). This cold-hardy perennial is easy to grow and comes in several varieties, including spearmint, peppermint, chocolate mint, apple mint, pineapple mint, and more. Its dark green leaves and spikes of small lilac flowers die back in the fall but reappear in spring when the soil temperatures warm up. You can also overwinter mint indoors, so you’ll always have a fresh supply of mint leaves on hand to harvest, dry, and store for your latest culinary creation.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: Up to 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide

Zones: 3–9

Oregano

Credit: Denny Schrock

The aromatic leaves of oregano (Origanum vulgare) punch up the flavor of your tomato sauce and pizza. This woody-branched perennial grows on square stems and has tiny pinkish-purple or white flowers that rise above its foliage in summer. Harvest oregano before the plant blooms to experience this herb’s best flavor. This drought-tolerant herb is sensitive to overwatering, so only water the plant when its soil starts to dry out.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: Up to 9 inches tall and 18 inches wide

Zones: 4–8

Thyme

Credit:

Peter Krumhardt

Count on the highly aromatic gray-green leaves of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) to season soups, stews, sauces, meats, and fish. The herb’s lilac flowers are also edible and add an extra visual appeal when used fresh. For your cooking needs, harvest a couple of sprigs at any point during the growing season by clipping away a few branches. This perennial can live for many years. However, if you garden in a colder place than Zone 5, you need to bring this herb indoors at the end of the growing season and grow it as an aromatic houseplant or as an annual that you replace each spring.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: Up to 1 foot tall and 1 foot wide

Zones: 5–9

If you plan on drying thyme for use in the winter months, cut and hang the stems upside down in small bunches. Let it dry fully in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated area. Then store it in an airtight container in a dark, cool place.

Sage

Credit: Marty Baldwin

Season biscuits, pork dishes, and poultry stuffings with the gray-green leaves of sage (Salvia officinalis). The beautiful foliage and edible lavender-blue flowers also enhance the beauty of garden beds and containers. Not all types of sage are hardy to the same winter temperatures, so verify the sage you want to plant is hardy in your location before selecting it to grow as a perennial. Harvest sage by snipping one leaf at a time with scissors or cutting off an entire stem just above a node.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: Up to 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide

Zones: 4–8

Chives

Credit:

Blaine Moats

The slender, bright, green leaves and purple pom-pom blooms of chives (Allium schoenoprasum) look beautiful in an herb garden, perennial bed, or along walkways. Chives are low-maintenance and one of the easiest herbs to grow. This cool-season herb produces its best harvest in the spring and fall. To harvest a few chives for cooking, use scissors to trim the plant’s older, outer leaves when it’s about 6 inches tall. Add its mild onion flavor to salads, soups, vegetables, and sauces.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and well-drained soil

Size: Up to 18 inches tall and 18 inches wide

Zones: 4–8

Rosemary

Credit:

Jay Wilde

The gray-green, needle-like leaves of rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) are aromatic with a strong flavor and are often added to stews, breads, stuffings, herbal butters, and vinegars. Rosemary can survive winter conditions in mild climates with some protection. If you live in USDA Zone 7 or colder, grow rosemary all year by growing the herb outdoors in containers and then overwintering the plant indoors when the weather turns colder. To harvest rosemary for eating, prune the most tender stems right before they flower. Grow rosemary companion plants in your garden to control pests like carrot flies and bean beetles.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: Up to 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide

Zones: 8–10

Pulverize dry rosemary leaves before adding them to dishes, herb blends, or sauces so the aromatic oils are released and they're easier to chew.

Lemon Balm

Credit:

Denny Schrock

Use the lemon-scented, mint-like leaves of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) to flavor teas, salads, soups, sauces, and vegetables with a tart flavor. Its wrinkled, green leaves that appear in pairs on square stems are easily recognizable, and bees love its white flowers in the summer. Prune this plant frequently to encourage the growth of highly fragrant leaves and minimize self-seeding.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and well-drained soil

Size: Up to 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide

Zones: 3–7