Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme..plus Basil, a lot of Basil

It's garden time for most of America. When we cooks ambitiously decide to plant three varieties of lavender to infuse our own honey or think that we'll finally have time to work on some recipes using lemon balm. Well here is where Kirk saves you quite a bit of time and garden space: you won't and you don't. Take it from me, someone who cooks with any and all unusual ingredients (everything from purslane to cuitlacoche), when it comes to your private garden save it's precious terra firma for herbs you'll use frequently. In other words: Italian parsley, thyme, rosemary, a little sage, chives, cilantro (pots), mint (pots), dill, tarragon (pot) and basil, a lot of basil. If space allows, I recommend planting twice as much parsley and basil as the rest, it's amazing how much you'll use with your favorite summer recipes. Also, plant the cilantro, tarragon and mint in pots. The cilantro and tarragon because they sometimes grows better if not constantly in direct sunlight and pots keep the mint from taking over the rest of the garden. Follow this recommendation and not only will you get a lot more from your garden, but will undoubtedly be surprised at how rarely you find yourself craving fennel pollen or lemon verbena.