• Type: Best grown and harvested as an annual.
  
• Care: Grow from bulbs bought in nurseries or at the supermarket. One garlic bulb, broken into individual cloves, is enough to launch an extensive home planting. In spring, set the cloves in a sunny location, pointy side up, in rich soil with compost mingled in. Top with a little manure later. Plant cloves in clusters or rows with enough room for easy harvest. In fall, lift the garlic bulbs carefully with a garden fork. Wait until stalks are dry before storing in a net bag. Or braid tops to form a rope. Hang in a cool, dark, well-ventilated area.
  
• Comments: Garlic comes from southern Europe at altitudes that assure cool temperatures. If you want the taste of garlic before harvesting the bulbs, clip a few leaves.

• Type: Usually grown as an annual for its fragrant flowers. Can become a perennial shrub in mild climates.
  
• Care: Sow seeds indoors, eight to ten weeks before moving the seedlings to the garden after all danger of frost passes. Shield seedlings from hot sun while they grow indoors, and later when moved out into the garden rich in manure or compost. Harvest the fragrant leaves just before the flowers bloom.
  
• Comments: Sweet majoram's flavor comes from its tiny gray-green leaves and its small white flowers. To prevent plants grown as perennials from becoming to woody, keep flowers and leaves trimmed. In nothern climates, buy small plants in the fall to grow indoors and use during cold months. Too much sun can scorch the leaves, so keep close watch. Use the leaves fresh or, if they accumulate too fast, dry them for use in the future. Leaves, fresh or dried, are good in salads and oil dressings, and particularly with lamb. They add zest to cooked peas or beans, and can serve as the mystery flavor in sausage.

• Type: Perennial
  
• Care: Plant seeds or divisions in early spring in good soil in sun. Divide every few years.
  
• Comments: Popular mints are peppermint, spearmint, water mint, bergamont, apple mint, and pennyroyal. Most valuable for medicinal purposes, these plants produce essential oils for mentholated cold remedies. Fun-loving gardeners, however, focus on possible pleasures, and brew the fresh leaves in concoctions that taste good on a hot summer day. Mint juleps are traditional for the Kentucky Derby. Grow mint indoors in winter for social events, or use stored, dried leaves. The plant produces no seeds but propagates itself easily from stolons-so much so that it can become invasive. Some gardeners suggest planting mint in a bucket buried in the ground to restict root growth.

• Type: Annual
  
• Care: Sow seeds in good rich soil early and frequently until hot summer weather sets in; if the weather cools in August, reseed to extend the harvest. Keep well watered. Just before the seedpods ripen, they will be golden brown, pull up plants and hang them in bundles to dry. When the pods are crisp, thresh out the seeds, grind them with mortar and pestle, then store the powdered form. Later add enough vinegar or water to make a paste.
  
• Comments: Mustard offers healthful benefits. It is a good source of vitamins A and C, and has ample amounts of calcium, iron, potassium, and dietary fibers. Though mustard has a sharp, pungent flavor, you can eat its young leaves raw in lieu of lettuce. In a broth, its greens makes a good vegetable dish. Mustard greens are a traditional southern dish. Curly-leaved varieties resemble and cook down like kale.

• Type: Annual
  
• Care: Plant seeds after danger of frost passes in full sun where summers are moderate; otherwise in partial shade. Nasturtium will thrive in ordinary, even poor or sandy soil.
  
• Comments: Nasturtium often is included in organic gardens because its unusual scent may discourage the presence of damaging insects. Its leaves spice up a serving of cottage cheese; its flowers brighten a salad; and its pickled seeds can spark a meat dish. Known as Indian-cress, this product was popularized by the British. Nasturtium grows quickly, with flowers in ranges of golden orange. Favored by hybridizers, varieties now span from dwarf to trailing or high climbers. New colors are jewellike and new strains have double blooms.

• Type: Perennial or annual
  
• Care: Even though most varieties of oregano are perennials, it still is wise to replace them every three years. After danger of frost passes, sow seeds in partial shade and in a dry location (oregano does particularly well on a well-drained hillside). Space plants 18 to 20 inches apart. Pinch back plants to encourage bushiness. Debud to keep plants from flowering so new leaves will continue to appear. In cold climates, cover plants in the fall with 2 to 3 inches of straw or leaf mulch to rpevent winterkill.
  
• Comments: Oregano leaves make a fine flavoring for spicy foods. In some areas of the country, oregano is known as the pizza herb. It grows widely and spreads on underground stems. It has oval leaves and flowers in shades of pink to purple.

• Type: Biennial. but best grown as annual.
  
• Care: Buy new seed each year; homegrown seed, which is smaller than commercial seed, is diffucult to propagate and hard to see. In late fall or early spring, sow seeds outdoors in sun in average soil. If grown as a biennial, harvest leaves before flowers bloom.
  
• Comments: Parsley often is taken for grated, yet its sprigs are indispensable to spark a bland meal, add color to a special dish, or dress a glass of tomato juice. Parsley also is an essential ingredient in bouquet garni and in fine herbes. Parsley is considered difficult to grow from seed, but often the problem is just slow germination. Speed up germination by sowing seeds in trays of warmed compost. Or, hasten germination by starting seeds between layers of wet blotting paper.

• Type: Perennial
  
• Care: Prefers light, sandy soil laced with lime and a south facing planting area. Start new plants by sowing seeds indoors in spring or in a row out doors after danger of frost. Move seedlings to permanent locations in the fall. To protect plants from winterkill, trim back. This should encourage new branching the second spring. If the seedling process doesn't work, take cuttings from a sturdy bush both before and after flowering. Remove excess leaves and bury the cuttings two-thirds of their length in sandy soil. In the second year of growth, harvest leaves if plants look sturdy.
  
• Comments: A woody shrub, rosemary, once made happy in the right location, can live for generations. It grows gnarled, producing pale blue flowers in the spring. The piney taste of rosemary leaves complements meat dishes, particularly lamb or pork.

• Type: Perennial
  
• Care: Sow seeds outdoors in early spring, plant stem cuttings (which yields faster results), or plant root divisions. Set in well-drained soil in a sunny spot. Mulch in winter. To develop more plants, take cuttings in spring from the heels of growing stems.
  
• Comments: Use sage's narrow leaves in cooked dishes. Sage has such a strong scent and taste, use it alone as a poultry dressing or with pork in sausage. Though its flavor is considered masterful, its looks aren't: the shrubs have unimspiring forms. It has gray-green foliage and is related to western sagebrush. some varieties have purple or varigated leaves that carry many blooms. The fuzzy leaf textures protect sage from excessive evaporation, a convenience for a desert plant.

• Type: Perennial
  
• Care: Plant stem cuttings or transplants in early spring in a sunny, well-drained location. Tarragon will tolerate poor soil. Clip leaves frequently to keep new leaves coming. To propagate, buy small plants or divide larger ones; replace plants every few years to maintain full flavor. For best flavor, cut plants to ground level just before flowering, then store the leaves in a cool dark place. If the season is long, repeat the process on other tarragon plants.
  
• Comments: Tarragon is good in soups and flavoring vinegars. The French strain is strong in taste, the Russian a bit rougher. Both need pruning to be kept in check.

• Type: Perennial
  
• Care: Sow seeds indoors four to six weeks before last frost, outdoors after all danger of frost. Or plant stem cuttings or root divisions. Plant in sunny lacation in average, well-drained soil. Reap leaves sparingly the first year and twice a year thereafter.
  
• Comments: Thyme has a sharp, bittersweet flavor that adds zest to stews, soups, salads, and meat. There also is a lemon-scented variety, which, because of the strength of its flavor, you should use with care. If you have a beehive, thyme makes good company for it. Planted nearby, the herb will attract bees, giving the honey a new taste, particularly during the hot summer months. Thyme colonizes well and produces pale rose flowers in May. If you lack sufficient growing space, group thyme with sweet basil, rosemary, and tarragon in a reed basket filled with good soil. Set the basket beside a sunny terrace or on a wall.

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