9 Kitchen Herbs Perfect for Portland Gardens and Summer Recipes

Herbs are beautiful choices for both your yard and cooking adventures. Most can be planted from early spring until late fall and need virtually no maintenance once established. The favorites listed here are all drought tolerant, need minor trimming in the winter and are versatile in the kitchen. Use fresh herbs in your soups, salads, cocktails, meat and fish dishes, even desserts. All have medicinal properties, too, and many are used in tinctures and teas for various ailments. (Check out your local hippie haven like The Herb Shoppe on Southeast Hawthorne for more information on how to make soothing herbal balms, tea blends and elixirs.)

Starts are available at most garden centers all summer long—try Garden Fever or Marbott’s Nursery (both in Northeast Portland) to purchase these nine winners for your fragrant kitchen herb garden.

Luscious Lavender (Lavandula)

Bees and butterflies love the perfume of these small purple tufted blooms. The only maintenance these small to medium-sized bushes need are an occasional trim of dry or brittle flowers and stems (deadhead in the late winter or early spring).

Try this: Add soothing dried lavender blooms to your bath or add a pinch to your favorite shortbread recipe.

Sage (Salvia officinalis)

This scrubby fragrant plant offers soft silvery leaves as contrast in a flowerbed, and tangy flavor to salads, soups and seafood. There are many varieties to inspire chefs.

Try this: Add a pinch of pineapple sage (beautiful variegated leaves) for an unexpected punch to homemade salsa or gently sautee a few strong sprigs in butter and drizzle over grilled scallops.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

Bumblebees love zipping in and around the small blue and purple blooms of the rosemary plant. (Even my hound purposefully wanders through rosemary bushes and comes out smelling like a roasted chicken). Rosemary thrives seemingly without care. Some varieties splash over short walls, while others climb high with long stalks of fragrant, shiny, spiky leaves.

Try this: Add to vegetables, salads, soups, meats, fish—even to a tub of hot water to steam your face.

Oregano (Origanum vulgare)

Some varieties of this tangy member of the mint family make for good ground cover. With minimal care, you can enjoy fresh, hearty herbs for your Italian dishes nearly year-round.

Try this: Oregano is commonly used with tomato-based sauces, but try marinating it with feta in olive oil for use in a summer salad. 

Garlic (Allium sativum)

Stick a clove or two into your veggie boxes or flower beds and you’ll have access to one of the most popular herbs around. Minced cloves sautéed in butter and spread on fresh bread is always a delicious dinner treat.

Try this: Let a few plants go to flower (white or purple round puffs on tall, elegant stalks) to use in funky flower arrangements.

Onion (Allium cepa)

Green or Walla Walla, sweet yellow or red—you always seem to need an onion (or two) for your cooking adventures. Easy to grow, easy to grill.

Try this: Grill onions with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and rosemary for a delicious side dish.

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

Thyme is the perfect herb for soups and grilled fish dishes. With multiple varieties, you can easily match and layer fresh flavors.

Try this: Use lemon thyme to season halibut or toss it in a light vinaigrette and serve over roasted carrots and beets.

Marjoram (Origanum majorana)

This typical European and Middle Eastern perennial is similar in style to oregano. Perfect for pairing with meats. And, purplish blooms and round leaves add color to herb pots on your porch or patio.

Try this: Top grilled halibut or sturgeon with a summer-y mix of diced tomatoes, marjoram, salt, pepper, shallots, garlic, champagne vinegar and olive oil.

Mint (Lamiaceae)

Beware: mint will take over your garden if you let it, but it’s nice to have around in contained areas and you’re gonna need plenty of crushed leaves for your summer drink specials (mojitos!) during movie night yard parties.

Try this: For a sweet twist on your ice cream, try fresh chocolate mint leaves. Related minty lemon balm is refreshing in Mediterranean grains and vegetable salads.

You don't need a yard to grow herbs—many do well in pots or small boxes, and some are happy just soaking up the sun from the safety of your kitchen window.

Be sure to share your seed bounty each season at the Seed Library (part of Northeast Portland Tool Library). You can pick up free seeds for many herbs (also veggies, flowers) in exchange for your samples at the end of your growing season.