How to Use Herbs from the Garden

Learn how to use herbs in many different ways, including herbs for cooking, homemade bath and body, crafts, home decor, and gifts.

If you've started growing herbs this year, or if you've been growing them for a while, you may be looking for some good uses for these very versatile plants. 

After all, according to Merriam-Webster, an herb is a plant or plant part valued for its medicinal, savory, or aromatic qualities. That brings us a whole array of great plants, whose wonderful qualities can in turn be used for many culinary, decor, and beauty creations.

How to Use Herbs for Cooking

Homemade Herbal Tea

Also known as a tisane, herbal tea is an easy and refreshing drink to make with herbs. I love to make it with fresh herbs like mint from the garden, but there are tons of combinations you can try. Many have great health benefits, like chamomile or lavender for relaxation, and to aid your sleep. Use peppermint for an upset stomach or lemon balm to reduce stress.

Herb Butter

Also known as compound butter, you may have had herb butter at a high-end restaurant, either on your steak or fish, or paired with the bread basket. Our favorite is chive butter, which is great on baked potatoes and fresh summer corn. Chives are easy to grow, and the blossoms are also edible and make a pretty garnish.

Herb Infused Oils and Vinegars

Herb oil is great for cooking and making beauty products. In addition to making your own pesto, basil leaves steeped in olive oil add tons of flavor and are wonderful for sautéing vegetables, on pasta, and making vinaigrette for salads. Other culinary herbs such as oregano, thyme, parsley, sage, and rosemary work well too.

These same herbs can be added to white wine vinegar for extra flavor.

In addition, you can use herbs like calendula flowers, with their great skin softening properties, to make handmade beauty products such as lip balm and hand salve.

Herb Bread

Fresh and dried herbs are great to blend into a pizza crust.  You can also elevate basic refrigerated breadsticks and biscuits by chopping up fresh or dried herbs and mixing them in the dough before baking.

Lemon Balm Syrup

Lemon balm simple syrup with honey is a quick way to sweeten drinks or taken orally to soothe a dry or sore throat.

Using Herbs for Bath & Body Products

Herbal Bath Salts

Herbal bath salts make a nice, inexpensive home spa treatment, and a great gift for anyone you know who enjoys a good soak in the tub. Simply drop them into the tub as you draw your bath.

Lavender Eye Pillows

Fill some linen fabric with dried lavender for a soothing way to relax after a hard day.

Hydrosols or Floral Water

Make your own hydrosols or floral water from your own garden herbs and flowers. It's a refreshing treat to spray on your face. Especially during the hot summer months.

Herbal Facial Steam

Using fresh or dried herbs for face steaming at home is another wonderful way to give yourself a relaxing spa treatment.

Using Herbs in Home Decor

Potpourri

Use your herbs to make a fragrant, beautiful potpourri. The process is very easy, and you can make it as simple or creative as you want.

Herbal Wreath

Making wreaths with plant material is really simple, and since most herbs dry well, this herbal wreath will look great fresh as well as dried.

Homemade Sachets with Herbs and Flowers

Dried herbs and flower petals smell great and can easily be made into sachets for your drawers and closets, or made into gifts.

You get the idea. There are so many ways to use herbs. I hope you have a chance to try a few of these and perhaps create a few of your own combinations.