Eight Essentials for Your Perennial Herb Garden
Like all plants, herbs can be either annuals, biennials or perennials. Perennial herbs are among the most popular herbs for herb gardeners, since they grow for several years. Plant your perennial herbs in their own garden space near the back door where they are in easy reach for cooking. You will also enjoy their fragrance on a hot summer day when their essential oils disperse with the sun’s heat.
Perennial herb gardens will give you an inexpensive and fresh supply of many herbs. Eight of the best culinary ones that come back every year are mint, Greek oregano, thyme, chives, winter savoury, rosemary, sage and French tarragon.
Mint can be an invasive plant, but if you plant it in a bucket or bottomless container sunk in the ground, you can contain it somewhat. It has pretty purple flower on a small spike, and exudes a fresh smell. Its strong flavor complements lamb, peas, fish sauces, chocolate and vegetables. The leaves, harvested fresh, make a refreshing tea, or you can cut the stalks and hang them to dry for winter use.
Oregano may not over winter well in cold climates, but if you cut it back in fall and shelter it with straw, it will often rejuvenate in spring. It’s strong sage-like flavor is used in Mediterranean cooking, especially tomato dishes. Prune it back regularly, as it tends to sprawl, with the stems rooting where they touch soil. Hang your pruned stem in bunches to dry, as dried oregano retains good flavor.
Culinary thyme is a small shrub with tiny aromatic flavorful leaves. Use it with most meats, in soups and sauces, stews, stuffings, and even in breads. It likes a sunny spot, and needs clipping back in spring to encourage new growth. 
Thyme has attractive flowers, so can be a good addition to a path border or garden edging. Use it fresh or cut the sprigs before flowering, and hang them to dry. Rub the dry leaves from the stems and store them in a cool, dry, airtight container.
Chives are part of the onion family, and the green hollow spears add a mild onion flavor to salads, eggs, sauces, vegetables and dips. Just snip off the leaves as needed. They are easily started from seed, and will soon expand to a clump of bulbs and tops. Thin the clumps every three years for best growth. Chives will die down in late fall, and in spring, the new green shoots are often the first green in the garden. Chives do not dry well, but it is easy to pot up a small clump to grow indoors in winter.
Winter savoury is a bushy hardy perennial with a peppery flavor. It can be used to flavor teas, herb butters and herb vinegars as well as other dishes. Winter savoury does best in drier medium soil, since that is its natural habitat. As the shrub ages, the leaves become sparser, so take cuttings and start new plants every three years or so. This herb has been used for hundreds of years, and has some medicinal qualities as well.
Rosemary can grow into a lovely shrub, with its needle-like leaves and tiny blue flowers. It is hardy only in zones 8 – 10, but can easily be grown in a container and over wintered in a cool sunny greenhouse or enclosed porch. It has a very pungent scent and flavor, so can easily overpower a dish. Use it with roast chicken and meats, and in stews. Finely chopped leaves make a nice addition to breads and biscuits. Dry it for winter use, or just put fresh sprigs in freezer bags and freeze it.
Sage has a strong bitter flavor, and is generally used in stuffings, stews, sausages and herb breads. A little sage goes a long way in cooking. 
It comes in many colorful varieties, and as a small shrub, can be planted around the garden as an attractive filler plant. It will grow in most climates, and if cut back severely in fall, will come back well next spring. It also can be dried, and the dried herb retains its full strong flavor.
French Tarragon has slender green leaves with a licorice aroma and a loose shrubby growth. It cannot be grown from seed, but you can take cuttings from the new growth in fall to start new plants. Its licorice flavor makes it an interesting addition to vinegars, fish dishes, poultry and vegetables. Freshly cut tarragon will last for several weeks in the refrigerator.
Before you plan your perennial garden, research each herb to familiarize yourself with the best growing conditions and soil type. You can grow them in containers, but most perennial herbs prefer a permanent position in the garden. Decide which ones you will actually use in cooking, teas or herbal preparations. Your perennial herb garden will supply you with both fresh and dried herbs to enjoy for many more years.
