Today there are less romantic, and much more practical, reasons for growing herbs. The chemists have not yet been able to imitate the extroardinary galaxy of flavors and essences that Nature has scattered among some plants. We use them in cookery, garden statuary, as we do the tropical spices, because they supply piquancy to food, and sometimes whet the appetite of people whose taste has become jaded by the synthetic commonplaces of the market. Botanists, however, are a little disturbed by the word "herb" as used in gardening. To the latter garden herb is generally restricted to fragrant, garden decor, garden decorations, culinary, medicinal, or other plants of special interest. But to the botanist (and he is right about this) an herb is any garden plant without a woody stem that dies down to the ground over the winter, even if planted in relation to water fountains. To him this is the great distinction between herbs and all the woody plants like shrubs and trees which, instead of hiding their buds below ground during cold weather, leave them exposed on bare twigs. Hereafter, in this website, the term herb will be used in the garden sense-not forgetting, however, that it is a restricted and somewhat vague one.

Page 1: Why we need herbs
Page 2: Reasons for Growing Herbs
Page 3: Scoffing at Herb Gardeners
Page 4: Fragrant and Useful
Page 5: Herbs as Medicine
Page 6: Herbs and Commercial Drugs
Page 7: Grown anywhere
Page 8: Fragrance of Herbs
Page 9: The soil and flavors
Page 10: Most important Herb families
Page 11: Plant Families containing Herbs
Page 12: Oils, Flavors, and Diet
Page 13: Learning from Herb History
Page 14: Cooking with Herbs

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