Herbs - dried or fresh?

[Jam-on-toast]

One of the things I love the most when cooking is stepping into my garden and plucking fresh basil... sure, I have a battery of dried herbs in the pantry but using fresh herbs just feels different... more sophisticated somehow... so I was wondering... do you guys grow your own herbs? Do you buy them fresh? Or dried?

I grow basil, chives and lemongrass and buy fresh mint and parsley because these two refuse to grow in my garden, but the rest I buy dried because I don't use them often enough and they too are unsuitable for the climate we live in. I also have turmeric and ginger in my garden but those are not practical to harvest for when I need a teaspoon of either, so I buy those too.

 

[faerywings]

I usually have a bunch of fresh herbs in pots over the summer and some perennial herbs in my gardens. I grow basil- nothing like fresh basil-- as well as thyme, mint varieties, and sage. Those three are year-round. I also get a new rosemary plant every couple of years. Some years they make it through the winter and sometimes they don't. :/ I had a huge one that lasted several seasons. It was a beauty and I was devastated when it died. Currently, I have a 99.999999% dead rosemary (actually two- one I tried to overwinter indoors) and I keep peering at it, hoping it will get some new growth. It's not looking promising.
I dry a lot of the herbs too and usually have bunches hanging over my kitchen island.

 

[faerywings]

buy fresh mint and parsley because these two refuse to grow in my garden,

You can't grow mint? That's wild! Not because of you--but I guess your climate is wrong for it? Much of my mint (apple, chocolate, and spearmint) are in beckets because they take over like crazy. I have "loose" mint in the ground under my rhododendron and it spreads everywhere. Every. Where. LOL

 

[vickyday]

I have grown basil and rosemary before but I don't cook much anymore, so I just buy the dried ones.

 

[Jam-on-toast]

You can't grow mint? That's wild! Not because of you--but I guess your climate is wrong for it? Much of my mint (apple, chocolate, and spearmint) are in beckets because they take over like crazy. I have "loose" mint in the ground under my rhododendron and it spreads everywhere. Every. Where. LOL

What's even crazier is that we had a massive bush in the other house... but after we moved it died... same weather, same sun, same city district, just a couple of blocks down the road... I have tried three times over the past 18months... it point blank refuses to grow in my new garden. EVERYTHING grows in Indonesia, most of my gardening in cut-cut-cut and then pull 3/4 of it out because the jungle is unmanageable... but mint is giving me the finger...

 

[faerywings]

What's even crazier is that we had a massive bush in the other house... but after we moved it died... same weather, same sun, same city district, just a couple of blocks down the road... I have tried three times over the past 18months... it point blank refuses to grow in my new garden. EVERYTHING grows in Indonesia, most of my gardening in cut-cut-cut and then pull 3/4 of it out because the jungle is unmanageable... but mint is giving me the finger...

That is BONKERS!

 

[janedee]

I have oregano, thyme and mint in the garden. At one point I had tarragon but it threated to take over the yard so I had to dig it out. I usually have a planter on the deck with mixed herbs that don't overwinter here - basil, rosemary and chives.