How to Grow Your Own Herbes de Provence
Do you enjoy preparing and eating your own meals? Don’t forget that you can also grow your own food, including delicious herbs to spice up soups, salads, sides, and main dishes! In this article, gardening enthusiast Liessa Bowen introduces a versatile assortment of herbs, collectively known as “Herbes de Provence,” and how to grow them in your garden!
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Not only do I love to garden, but I also enjoy preparing homegrown and home-cooked meals. And what better way to enjoy a home-cooked meal than to know that you grew some of the most flavorful ingredients used to make it?
Herb gardening is easy and immensely rewarding. You don’t even have to like eating them. These plants are vigorous, showy, and low maintenance. They have intense aromas, attract a multitude of pollinators to your garden, and are generally not bothered by deer or rabbits.
Plus, you can grow them just about anywhere. Are you limited to a single container or a small patio garden? Grow a few herbs! Incorporate them into your flower beds or vegetable garden. Or use a raised bed to create a dedicated herb garden. Plant them along pathways, in clusters, or singly as space fillers. No matter how large or small your landscape, you are sure to have space for at least a few herbs.
Herbes de Provence is a versatile collection that creates a deliciously complex, savory flavoring. One of the best things about it is that you can grow your own! You’ll need to start with a sunny location and a little bit of space, and you’ll soon be on your way to growing a delicious herb garden. Harvest and dry these herbs for a splendid seasoning that you’ll want to use all the time!
Before we start cooking, let’s dig in and start growing this delightful blend.
What are Herbes de Provence?
Throughout history, people have used herbs and spices to add complex and interesting flavors to their cooking. The blend that we know today as Herbes de Provence is comprised of herbs that commonly grow in the Provence region of France. Chef Julia Child is commonly credited with popularizing it globally as part of her recipe for Poulet Sauté aux Herbes de Provence.
The blend may include any of a number of savory herbs, including basil, bay, fennel, lavender, marjoram, mint, oregano, Italian parsley, rosemary, savory, tarragon, and thyme. Everyone has their own preferred proportions based entirely upon personal preference.
These herbs can be used as a flavoring for soups and stews, salads and side dishes, grilled vegetables and meats, and roasted dishes. You can add an herb mixture at any time during the food preparation process to allow the flavors to steep into the food during cooking or sprinkle on raw foods as an extra touch of flavor right before eating.
Use any of these herbs singly or in any combination you choose. You can also use them fresh or dried, it’s entirely up to you!
Preparation and Storage
Herbes de Provence is typically made from dried herbs. If, however, you have a combination of both fresh and dried herb leaves, you can certainly use a blend of each, depending on whatever you have on hand at the time.
You’ll want to harvest your plants when they are fresh and at their peak flavor. When harvesting leaves or flowers, look for fresh, healthy growth and trim off any yellowed, browned, or otherwise unhealthy-looking leaves before processing. The most important tool you will use for harvesting is high-quality garden snips.
There are several methods to use for drying your own herbs. Everyone seems to develop their personal favorite technique for drying. You can use a food dehydrator to speed the process, attempt oven drying if your oven has a very low heat setting, or hang them to dry on a line.
Once your herbs are dry, you can store them in separate airtight containers or go ahead and make your herbal blend. You can then have a spice jar full of ready-to-use Herbes de Provence blend.
Herbes de Provence Blend
There is no single recipe. Recipes most commonly use a combination of thyme, basil, fennel, and parsley.
Start with fully dried leaves crumbled or chopped into very small flakes. Try starting with equal parts of each, such as one tablespoon of each herb. This could be a wonderfully versatile mixture for everyday use. Mix them all together in a small bowl and then transfer your mixture to an airtight spice jar.
Garden Design
So now your mouth is watering, and you may be ready to start cooking, but first, you have to grow your herbs! Don’t worry; growing most of these is a breeze. Don’t panic if you don’t have a large space to dedicate to an herb garden. You don’t have to grow all of them yourself- although you certainly can if you want to! You also don’t need much space to grow at least a few types.
Many herbs are excellent candidates for raised bed gardening and container gardening. You can create a dedicated herb garden or incorporate many of these showy plants into your landscape. They’ll be right at home with your flowers and vegetables. Many also look great growing as accent plants along borders and walkways. Do you want to start really small? Try growing a basil plant in a pot on your patio. By the middle of the summer, you’ll be harvesting your own herbs!
Pollinator Paradise
Growing herbs in your garden is wonderful for pollinators. Many are pollinator favorites. Not only will you benefit the pollinators by providing a valuable source of nectar for them to feed on, but you also attract a multitude of these beneficial insects to your garden. Grow herbs near your vegetable plants and fruiting trees and shrubs to attract pollinators to your yard, and you get to enjoy an excellent harvest.
Grow Your Own Herbes de Provence
Are you ready to start growing your own Herbes de Provence? Here’s a rundown of several delicious herbs commonly featured in Herbes de Provence blends. Grow just one or two in a small space, or grow them all, and you’ll soon be enjoying your own delicious herb blends!
Basil, Ocimum basilicum
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plant type Annual |
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sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
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height 6 inches – 3 feet |
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hardiness zones 10 |
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soil needs Rich, moist, well-drained |
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propagation Seed, cuttings |
Basil, also known as sweet basil, is one of the most popular herbs around. You can buy it fresh or dried at your local grocery store, but you can also easily grow your own! For a quick start, buy young plants in the spring from your local garden center. If you’ve got a bit more time, basil plants grow readily from seed and stem cuttings!
All you need is a sunny spot and moist soil. Basil is a fast-growing annual and an excellent choice for container gardening. If you start your plants in the spring, you’ll be harvesting fresh and fragrant basil leaves by mid-summer. Pruning your plants will allow you to harvest plenty of leaves while also encouraging your basil to grow bushier and produce even more leaves. Basil leaves are delicious fresh, not only as part of your Herbes de Provence mixture but also as pesto!
Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare
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plant type Herbaceous perennial |
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sun requirements Full sun |
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height 4 – 6 feet |
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hardiness zones 4 – 9 |
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soil needs Rich, Moist, Well-drained |
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propagation Seed, division |
Fennel is an easy-to-grow herb that is every bit as ornamental as it is delicious. The fragrant leaves are thin and feathery, giving this plant a soft, lush appearance that’s very beautiful in containers, raised beds, or perennial gardens. The densely packed yellowish flowering umbels attract a host of pollinators, plus fennel is a larval host plant for some species of swallowtail butterflies.
As an herb, fennel can be used in different ways. The leaves can be harvested, chopped finely, and used fresh or dried as an herbal seasoning. The seeds are also used in cooking and have a distinct anise flavor. The thickened base of the plant, known as the fennel bulb, is also edible! Fennel is remarkably easy to grow from seed and it freely self-seeds in the landscape. Remove spent flowers and mature seedheads to help prevent unwanted seed dispersal.
Marjoram, Origanum majorana
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plant type Herbaceous perennial |
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sun requirements Full sun |
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height 1 – 2 feet |
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hardiness zones 9 – 10 |
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soil needs Well-drained |
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propagation Seed, cuttings |
Marjoram is an herbaceous perennial herb that is winter hardy only in warm, frost-free climates. You don’t have to live in a frost-free climate to enjoy this plant, however, as it’s readily available and easily grown as an annual. Marjoram performs best in full sun with very well-drained soil and it is very tolerant of both heat and drought.
Marjoram is easily grown from seed, or you can find young bedding plants at garden centers during the springtime. These plants grow quickly, so you shouldn’t have trouble growing from seed to harvest in a single season. As a culinary herb, harvest the leaves from a young plant, ideally before it begins to bloom. After blooming, the leaves begin to develop a bitter taste.
Oregano, Origanum vulgare
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plant type Herbaceous perennial |
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sun requirements Full sun |
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height 1 – 3 feet |
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hardiness zones 4 – 8 |
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soil needs Well-drained |
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propagation Seed, cuttings, division |
Oregano is a versatile herb with great garden appeal. It can help attract pollinators and repel deer, and it makes a great ground cover. Oregano also makes a wonderful plant for container gardening and raised beds because it grows well in small spaces and loves excellent soil drainage.
Some oregano cultivars have colorful leaves and a variety of flower colors in shades of white, pink, and purple. Use fresh or dried oregano leaves for culinary purposes. Not only do they enhance the flavor of your Herbes de Provence blend, but oregano leaves can be added to soups and stews, salad dressings and dips, or any other dish with a savory flair.
Parsley, Petroselinum crispum
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plant type Herbaceous biennial |
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sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
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height 0.5 – 1 foot |
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hardiness zones 2 – 11 |
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soil needs Well-drained |
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propagation Seed |
Parsley is a biennial plant that is often grown as an annual. If grown as a biennial, you will have plenty of leaves in the first year of growth and flowers in the second year. When allowed to flower, parsley is a pollinator magnet. Parsley is also a host plant for the black swallowtail butterfly caterpillar.
Parsley is a little slow to start from seed but just requires a little patience and consistently moist soil. Once it sprouts and starts to grow, it’s a fast-growing herb with showy edible leaves. Use your parsley leaves as a garnish for soups, salads, and pasta dishes, or sprinkle them into any savory dish. Parsley leaves dry well for long-term storage and use in herb blends, such as Herbes de Provence.
Rosemary, Salvia rosmarinus
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plant type Perennial evergreen shrub |
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sun requirements Full sun |
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height 3 – 5 feet |
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hardiness zones 8 – 10 |
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soil needs Well-drained |
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propagation Seed, cuttings |
If you live in a warm climate, you can easily grow a rosemary shrub in your yard. If you live in a cooler climate, you can also try growing it outside in a container during the summer, then bringing it in and placing it in a sunny window for the winter months.
Rosemary grows into a small, densely branching, woody shrub. Clusters of tiny purple flowers bloom in the spring and attract pollinators to your landscape. Rosemary leaves stay green all year round, but the best time to harvest the leaves is during the spring or summer when plants are in their active growth phase and the leaves are fresh and tender.
Savory, Satureja montana
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plant type Herbaceous perennial |
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sun requirements Full sun |
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height 0.5 – 1.5 feet |
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hardiness zones 5 – 10 |
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soil needs Well-drained |
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propagation Seed, cuttings |
Savory, commonly referred to as winter savory, is a culinary delight. This plant is easy to grow and thrives in full sun with very well-drained soil. Grow winter savory in a container or raised bed for extra ease, incorporate it into your herb garden or perennial flower bed, or even use it as part of a shrub border.
Winter savory develops woody stems and a somewhat sprawling habit. The leaves are small and glossy. They have a pungent aroma where a little bit goes a long way in your cooked dishes. Harvest savory leaves from new growth and use them either fresh or dried.
Thyme, Thymus vulgaris
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plant type Herbaceous perennial |
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sun requirements Full sun |
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height 0.5 – 1 foot |
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hardiness zones 5 – 9 |
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soil needs Well-drained |
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propagation Seed, cuttings, division |
Thyme is an appealing creeping perennial with small, rounded, evergreen leaves. This is a low-maintenance plant that loves full sun and average-quality, well-drained soil. Within a few years, your thyme plant will have become a nice spreading cluster that makes an excellent ground cover.
Thyme is primarily grown as a garden herb. It is a welcome addition to an herb garden or container garden. It looks great as a low-growing border or edging plant. Pollinators love the rounded flower clusters and you’ll love the fragrant leaves. Harvest thyme leaves and use them fresh or dried as a seasoning in any savory dish.
Final Thoughts
It might take a year or two to grow all the herbs you’ll need for a complete Herbes de Provence blend, but the flavors of fresh, home-grown herbs really can’t be beat. Try growing as many of these fantastic plants as you can, but don’t worry if you can’t grow them all; they are all readily available commercially.
Grow your herbs in a sunny location in decorative planters or raised beds, or use them as ornamental plants in your landscape. Your perennial plants will reward you with long-term production, and your annuals can be easily replanted each spring. Ready, set, grow! And then enjoy the tasty results.
