Enjoy these three pesto sauces that you can whip up in minutes from your own organic herbs and a few other common ingredients. Use them as sauces for pasta, spread on sandwiches, atop vegetables, added to oil and vinegar as a flavorful vinaigrette or mixed with butter as an herbal butter.

Basil pesto:

1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
3 tablespoons of blanched almonds or pine nuts
a pinch of salt.
Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. If the sauce seems too thick, add a little more olive oil.

Cilantro Pesto:

This is a spicier pesto, good with Mexican dishes, in soups or on sandwiches.
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts or blanched almonds
Combine the ingredients in a blender or food processor.

Parsley pesto:

This pesto has a fresh taste, good on fish, vegetables or in soups.
1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, leaves only
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons pine nuts or blanched almonds
Combine the ingredients in a blender or food processor.

By growing your own organic herbs so that you have a healthy and fresh source, and by stocking up on more exotic spices, you may even double the nutritional value of your meals, according to Dr. Mercola. Herbs offer the greatest benefits in their unprocessed state, and freshly grown ones in your garden will give you the most benefit.

Another benefit of growing your own herbs and making use of them is the fact that they are low in calories, adding a lot of flavor to your cooking as well as giving anti-inflammatory and natural antioxidant power to your food. In fact, some herbs and spices, on a weight for weight basis, outrank the antioxidant power of fruits and vegetables.

Oregano is the herb with the highest level of antioxidant power, even outdoing the highly antioxidant blueberry! One tablespoon of fresh oregano has as much antioxidant power as an apple. Marjoram, sage and thyme also rank highly as powerhouses of antioxidants. Grow these four herbs in your kitchen garden, and do your health a favor.

The Huffington Post also recently featured a handy list of herbs based on their health benefits:

* Rosemary and basil for their anti-inflammatory power
* Cumin and sage for their dementia-fighting power
* Cayenne and cinnamon for their obesity-fighting power
* Coriander and cinnamon for their sugar regulating powers
* Lemon grass, nutmeg, bay leaves and saffron for their calming effects on your mood
* Turmeric for its cancer fighting power

* Oregano for its fungus-beating power
* Garlic, mustard seed and chicory for their heart-pumping power
* Basil and thyme for their skin-saving power
* Turmeric, basil, cinnamon, thyme, saffron, and ginger for their immune-boosting power
* Coriander, rosemary, cayenne, allspice and black pepper for their depression-busting power

Every part of the dandelion can be used. The flowers are used to make an herbal wine, or even put into stir fries or battered and cooked as fritters. The young fresh leaves are a tasty and peppery addition to spring salads, stir-frys and soups, or served steamed like spinach. Make sure only to use young leaves, as the older ones quickly become bitter.

High in beta carotene, iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium and other minerals, the leaves and root are highly nutritious. Most of our common greens, like spinach, lettuce and chards do not come close as nutritional powerhouses. They are also full of Vitamin A, most B vitamins, and have a high Vitamin C content.

This is a perennial plant, and if you plan to use the roots, allow at least two growing seasons so the root reaches a good size. They can be dug in the fall, cut into small pieces and dried, roasted and used to make a caffeine free tea. This tea can be used as a diuretic, helps with cleansing the liver and is a digestive tonic. The milky white sap has astringent qualities, so can help dry up some skin conditions like eczema and acne. However, it’s best to do some testing, since some people react adversely to it.

Dandelions grow almost any where, in all zones from 2 to 9. They prefer full sun, but will grow in partly shady spots quite well. They don’t seem to mind what type of soil is provided, as long as it is loose. If you decide to plant dandelions in your garden as a spring green, collect wild seeds from the puffballs in summer. Organic seeds are available from some growers commercially.

Sow the seeds shallowly in early spring where you want them to grow, since they don’t take well to transplanting. If you plan to use the roots, dig in compost or rotted manure, and loosen the soil. The plants will grow into a 6 to 12 inch rosette of deeply toothed dark green leaves above a long taproot.

In late spring the bright golden flowers appear, followed by the white puffballs of seeds. One precaution – keep ahead of those airy parachute seed heads, since a wayward breeze can easily seed your whole garden with dandelions for the following year.

Potpourris can make wonderful gifts, easily enjoyed in a variety of ways. You can simply put it into ornamental jars or pots, where the fragrance will waft out every time the lid is opened. But why not be a little more adventurous? Use your potpourri to make sachets, hot pads, herbal pillows…

To make a sachet, you will need squares or rounds of colorful cotton. Since the fragrance is floral and spicy, you could choose floral prints, solid colors with lacy trim. Place several tablespoons of your fragrant potpourri in the center of each fabric piece, and gather together the edges. Tie it with a colorful ribbon, a pretty cord or a piece of lace. Lavender is probably the most desirable herb to use in sachets, but you can also use other aromatics. These sachets can scent your drawers, closets, luggage or even be tossed into the dryer to scent clothing. As their scent decreases, put them into a glass jar, add a few drops of essential oil and put on the lid. In a week, they’ll be ready to use again.

Herbal hot pads are easy to make, and they are always a welcome hostess gift. Use a pre-quilted fabric, or quilt your own pieces, about ten inches square. With right sides together, stitch 3 sides, and then turn right side out. Hem the open side, but don’t close it. Instead add snaps or velcro to hold it closed. Make a second square bag with muslin or cotton, and stuff it loosely with potpourri or dried herbs. Ones that you use in cooking, such as rosemary, sage, and thyme, or spicy cloves, cinnamon bark or star anise will definitely suit a herbal hot pad. Sew it closed, and slip it into your prepared hot pad. As hot dishes are set onto it,  those fragrances within will be released.

Herbal pillows are made like herbal hot pads, but here you can let your creativity soar. Make them rectangular, circular, or even heart-shaped. Use pretty ribbon or lace, or decorative stitching. Herb-scented pillows filled with lavender or hyssop are useful for helping people sleep. However, you can use any herbal blend you like. Again, these attractive  pillows make special gifts.

Another way to enjoy a potpourri or a spice blend is to simmer it. You can simply add some to a saucepan of water and let it simmer on top of the stove. However, you can often find a handmade pottery potpourri pot. These are often one piece, with a space below to set a tea-light candle, and above a bowl to hold water with potpourri, essential oil, or spice blends added. Just add water, some of your favorite herbs, essential oil or potpourri, light the candle, and you will soon have wonderful aromas permeating the air. One of these pots along with your special home blended potpourri would be a wonderful gift to give.

Potpourris can make wonderful gifts, easily enjoyed in a variety of ways. You can simply put it into ornamental jars or pots, where the fragrance will waft out every time the lid is opened. But why not be a little more adventurous? Use your potpourri to make sachets, hotpads, herbal pillows.

To make a sachet, you will need squares or rounds of colorful cotton. Since the fragrance is floral and spicy, you could choose floral prints, solid colors with lacy trim. Place several tablespoons of your potpourri in the center of each fabric piece, and gather together the edges. Tie it with a colorful ribbon, a pretty cord or a piece of lace. These sachets can scent your drawers, closets, luggage or even be tossed into the dryer to scent clothing. As their scent decreases, put them into a glass jar, add a few drops of essential oil and put on the lid. In a week, they’ll be ready to use again.

Herbal hotpads are easy to make, and they are always a welcome hostess gift. Use a pre-quilted fabric, or quilt your own pieces, about ten inches square. With right sides together, stitch 3 sides, and then turn right side out. Hem the open side, but don’t close it. Instead add snaps or velcro to hold it closed. Make a second square bag with muslin or cotton, and stuff it loosely with potpourri or dried herbs. Sew it closed, and slip it into your prepared hotpad. As hot dishes are set onto it, the hotpad will release those fragrances within.

Herbal pillows are made like herbal hotpads, but here you can let your creativity soar. Make them rectangular, circular, or even heart-shaped. Use pretty ribbon or lace, or decorative stitching. Herb-scented pillows filled with lavender or hyssop are useful for helping people sleep. However, you can use any herbal blend you like. Again, these attractive  pillows make special gifts.

Another way to enjoy a potpourri or a spice blend is to simply simmer it. Just add some to a saucepan of water and let it simmer on top of the stove. However, you can often find a handmade pottery potpourri pot. These are often one piece, with a space below to set a tea-light candle, and above a bowl to hold water with potpourri, essential oil, or spice blends added. Just light the candle, and you will have the aromas soon permeating the air. Make a spicy mix with allspice, star anise, cinnamon stick, citrus peel and whole cloves. One of these pots along with your special home blended potpourri would be a wonderful gift to give.

Summer and winter savory are dissimilar in life cycle and appearance, so are usually grown separately. Summer savory, an annual herb, grows best in rich soil, full of humus and with good drainage, so is often grown along with vegetables in the garden. It can fit in at the ends of your rows of vegetables, where it will grow into a bushy plant about 18 inches tall. With its lanky stems and narrow leaves, it is not one of the most beautiful herbs. However, its texture will complement larger leafed annual herbs like basil. If you have a separate annual herb bed, plant it there, alongside basil, marjoram and parsley. Throughout the summer, harvest this herb as required, taking off the growing tips to encourage growth.

Summer Savory

On the other hand, winter savory is a hardy perennial herb, surviving in areas with temperatures down to -20F. It appreciates a less fertile but well drained soil, and can handle a moderate drought. With needle-like foliage that covers the stems quite thickly, it will grow into a thick mound about 12 inches tall. This neat bushy growth habit it makes a good edging plant. It can be planted with other perennial herbs like thyme and sage, or with your low growing perennials like dianthus and thrift. It even works well in rock gardens.

Start sumer savory from seeds, indoors in early April. Don’t cover the seeds, since they need light to germinate. The seeds germinate quickly and the seedlings can be hardened off and planted outside when the weather is reliably frost-free. Winter savory is slow to germinate from seed, so you may be better to buy a healthy nursery plant or two. They can be placed in the garden in either spring or early fall. Once it is growing in the garden, it is easy to propagate from cuttings or layering, and as it ages and becomes woody, it will need dividing.

Winter Savory

Neither savory needs much maintenance if you have provided the proper growing conditions. They are seldom bothered by insect pests or diseases. Summer savory will love a watering with fish emulsion to kick start regrowth after harvesting, but winter savory will thrive quite nicely all summer with just a little compost top dressing each spring.

Both savories are easy to harvest and preserve. Harvest summer savory throughout the summer and fall, and if you are going to preserve it for winter use, do so just before the plant flowers. Winter savory can be sheared any time, and the trimmings used right away or dried. Both savories are easy to dry, either in a dehydrator or by air drying. You can also remove the leaves from the stems and freeze them in bags. One other preservation method is to make a savory pesto by pureeing the leaves in a food processor with olive or safflower oil. Freeze the paste in ice cube trays, and pop the frozen cubes into freezer bags. You can then drop them into soups, stews or sauces.

Many combinations of textures and colors can be used to make a wreath to complement your front door. First look for plants that make good fillers – santolina, Powis Castle artemisia, oregano, lavender and variegated sage are good starting plants. These are all fairly supple, as well as having lovely scents. Cut your pieces about ten inches long, and lay them carefully in the basket so they don’t get mixed up and tangled.

Look for plants that will add accents and color, like the flower heads of late chrysanthemums, statice flowers, monarda, yarrow or pussy toes (wild antennaria). Find some with different textures, such as rosemary, fallen cones, trimming from shrubs such as escallonia or firethorn, with its red berry bunches.

Now, you will need a base for your wreath. You can find different wreath forms at your local craft store. They will usually be made of straw bound with wire, or of twined grape vines. Either type will work well. You will also need a sturdy wire for hanging the wreath, some shears, floral pins and needle nose pliers. Use the wire and pliers to make a u-shaped hanger, and insert it in the top back of the wreath form. Use the pliers to curl the wire ends into the base form securely.

Now, make full bundles of your filler and accent plants and fasten them together with floral tape or wire, and trim the ends evenly. Keep the accent plants on top so they are visible. Now pin the bundle to the base, starting about half way down. If your bundle of plants doesn’t completely cover the width of the wreath base, place two or three side by side.

Now, work around the wreath, covering the stem ends of the previous bundles each time. With the last bundles, make sure you tuck the stem ends under the foliage of the very first bundles. Now, hang up your wreath, and have a good look at it. See what needs to be tucked in, covered or trimmed to tidy it up. Use some of the smaller pieces left over, or some of the decorative items as accents tucked into spaces. If you want, add some colorful ribbon spiralling around the wreath or as a bow near the bottom, and you’re all done!

You can leave your wreath flat to dry, or hang it up immediately. Some shifting may occur if you hang it, so keep an eye on it. If it is cool enough outside, you can hang it on the front door right away, and it will welcome your visitors with color, fragrance and beauty.

The supplies you’ll need for making herb vinegar are as follows:

Sterilized glass jar, with lid, your home-grown, organic herbs, and the vinegar of your choice. Most vinegars can be used, but try to match the vinegar to the herb. More delicately flavored herbs go well with white or champagne wine vinegars, while a stronger-flavored herb like tarragon or rosemary would work well with a zesty red vinegar. Cider vinegar has a strong “bitey” flavor already, so you’ll have to compensate for that flavor when trying different flavor combinations of the herbs you want to use.

Prepare your herbs by harvesting them in early morning, and washing them gently and drying them thoroughly. Place them inside the jar and pour in your choice of vinegar. Fasten the lid tightly, and let your herb vinegar stand for about six weeks. Strain out the herbs and return the clear flavored vinegar to a clean and sterilized container. It’s now ready to use for cooking or salad dressing.

You can also use your organically grown herbs to make organic herb oil. Herb oil is excellent to use on salads and to add extra flavor for cooking. Organic herb oil also makes a fantastic dip for bread. Some herb oils can also make wonderfully fragrant bath oils, or depending on the oil you use, can also be used to moisturize your skin.

A word of caution, when it comes to herb oil – it must be kept refrigerated. Herb oil is an ideal medium for bacteria to grow in, including certain fatal bacteria. It is imperative you refrigerate your herb oil. Keep the unused herb oil from fresh herbs for no more than two weeks; after that, discard it. Mark a date on the jar so you know how long you have had the oil, and if it is left out of the refrigerator, throw it away!

With dried herbs, your herbal oil is much less likely to be contaminated with bacteria. If you prepare your herb oil with fully dried herbs; you can store the unused herb oil in the refrigerator for up to four weeks. Again, when the four weeks are up, throw it away!

To make herb oil you will need a sterilized jar or bottle with a lid, oil, and your home-grown, organic herbs (either fresh, frozen, or dried). Remember, if you use dried herbs, you’ll be able to store the unused portion in the refrigerator longer, and there is little chance of introducing bacteria or fungus, as there is with fresh herbs. If you’re going to use the herb oil primarily for cooking or salads, it’s recommended you use extra virgin olive oil. It is possible to use other oils such as almond, grape seed, sunflower and sesame oils. Never use mineral oil. Jojoba oil is a good choice if you plan to make a bath or cosmetic oil.

One method is to heat the oil gently in a double boiler, and add your prepared herbs. Do not allow the oil to get too hot, as it will change the flavor and quality of the oil. Let the oil and herb mixture cool, and leave it for about a week in the refrigerator for the flavor to disperse throughout the oil. Remove the herbs by straining the oil. Add a few drops of Vitamin E oil, and pour the flavored oil into the sterilized jar or bottle and screw the lid on tightly. Label the date and refrigerate. Whenever you use the herbal oil, make sure you return it to the refrigerator promptly.

As you can see, there are many uses for organically grown herbs. You will save money by not having to buy your favorite herbal vinegars at the store anymore. You can just make them yourself, as well a delicious herbal oils. You’ll also notice a huge taste difference by using your organically grown herbs in these two preparations, compared to store bought ones.

The culinary herb, basil, is a tender annual used in much Mediterranean cooking

Culinary Thyme is a small perennial shrub. Its tiny leaves add flavor to meats and poultry.

Sage has the strongest flavor of all culinary herbs.

Oregano, a sprawling perennial herb, is a familiar ingredient in Mediterranean cooking.

Herbs are quite easy to grow, can thrive in most soils (excepting soggy ones), and will not take up much space. Why not plant a collection of herbs, just for kitchen use, either in their own special garden, or in containers just outside the kitchen door. You will use them more often if they are close by. Choose a spot with about six hours of sun, and near a source of water. Plant the herbs you use most often in your cooking, and soon you will be picking fresh herbs all summer.

If you are a beginner, you can start with purchased plants, although many herbs are easy to start from seed. Farmers markets and roadside stands, as well as nurseries are all good sources. Buy enough to get you started, and include your favorites for different combinations of herbs for your kitchen creations. Include annuals like dill, coriander and basil, and perennials such as thyme, oregano, sage and chives. Parsley, a biennial, is a must have herb as well.

These can be potted up in containers, or put directly into the garden space close by the kitchen. There are certain advantages to growing herbs in containers. If you don’t have the garden space, you can keep your herbs on a patio, plant them in a windowbox, or keep them on a sunny windowsill in your kitchen. They will be easy to move around for the best light, it will be easy to water and feed them, and they will be right at hand for use. Perennial kitchen herbs will, however, grow better planted directly into a garden. Know the growing conditions best for each herb, and its mature height and spread before you plant.

You can also integrate cooking herbs into your flower or vegetable beds if you can not find space for a herb garden near your kitchen door. Many culinary herbs, such as variegated sage, thyme and parsley make attractive additions to your landscaping. However, if you are going to use them in cooking, never use pesticides or chemical fertilizers on or near them. For this reason alone, culinary herbs are best located in their own area.

Most herbs have the best flavor just before they flower, so keep using and pinching off the growing tips of your kitchen herbs. This will delay flowering and also encourage the plants to branch out and grow more full. If the plants do decide to flower, then just cut the whole plant back by about a third, and this will encourage new foliage growth. And, start using them more!

For best flavor, harvest your kitchen herbs just before flower buds open, when the concentration of essential oils is highest. This is especially important if you are harvesting to dry them for the winter. Whether you are going to dry them, or use them fresh, pick them in early morning, after dew has dried, but before the sun warms them and disperses the essential oils.