What Herbs Grow In The White House Vegetable Garden?

Thyme is perfect for a low maintenance addition to the herb garden. A staple ingredient in bouquet garni, thyme also is an essential ingredient for stocks and stuffing,or added with a light hand to soups and stews. Thyme is excellent for lighter fare, such as chicken and fish as well. It doubles as a lovely border plant, between a rock walkway and grown in a container. A great choice!

A tasty, familiar herb, oregano is great for those weekly spaghetti dinners, pizza night and it takes center stage infused into butter for fish dishes.

Sage is a great addition to any sized herb garden. Let it grow bush-like and you have not only a delicious taste for poultry and stuffing dishes, but with some of the more colorful varieties, you will have a stunning focal point as well.

Rosemary is one of the most delicious herbs to grow. Both upright and trailing, it makes a lovely accent or focal point in an herb garden. Use rosemary for any potato and poultry dish. Rosemary is perfect for foccacia and added to many herb mixes. Dried or fresh, rosemary will be a wonderful addition to the White House kitchen. I wonder if the chef knows that you can save the rosemary stems and use them as skewers? Tasty!

If you love oregano, then marjoram will be off the charts! It tastes like oregano, but with a deeper, more aromatic flavor. Oregano can sometimes have a bit of a bitter taste, but marjoram will have none of that. Try it in anything that you use oregano for, but use a light hand, since it is far more rich in flavor. A superb and slightly nicer choice, in my opinion.

Ah, chives! Who doesn't love the pungent but light taste of them? Gone are the days of chives being a light sprinkling for a decorative finish on a baked potato. Use chives just like onions, minus the bitterness that can sometimes overpower a dish. The White House has included both chives and garlic chives. Both are so tasty and well worth looking for. Child friendly, chives are easily used(and hidden) and never noticed by those who are sure to find every speck of onion in their bowl. Don't forget to remind the chef of how fabulous my chive blossom vinegar tastes!

Chamomile is one of the herbs that some people grow for years and never even know what they have. It is sweet, simple and calming. Children and adults alike, love a cup of chamomile tea to calm and soothe themselves before bed.

Dill is an herb that we all know well. Great for a showy backdrop(keeping flowers picked as they age to avoid reseeding), try the Fernleaf variety for more of the tiny, pungent leaves. Great with fish of course, dill is also wonderful in dips and sprinkled on homemade fries. I wonder if they are planning on using dilly fries on the White House menu?

Cilantro is one of those herbs that you love after just one taste. Its cooling effect is well known with spicy Mexican salsa,cilantro is a great herb for just about any Mexican, Spanish and Indian cooking. Once the heat of the DC summer hits, cilantro will go to seed. This isn't a bad thing. Once the seeds ripen and dry, they are called coriander. This is an entirely different flavor altogether. It is like growing two herbs in one. I like to allow some of my cilantro to reseed for a lovely fall harvest. Somehow, this always tastes better than the early summer one.

A bright, sunny herb, parsley is so pretty in the herb garden. Curled or flat, both have a slightly different flavor. Curled is more for a decorative touch, but I use both interchangeable. In fact, I like curled better. It seems to have a milder taste and stands out in a salad.

Mint is an herbal must have! It is super easy to grow and everyone enjoys the sparkling taste. Try adding it to lemonade, iced tea and just plain water, for a refreshing change. The White House gardener has wisely set the mint apart from the other herbs. I hope that it is planted in a container or deep raised bed. Mint is notorious for taking over. Remember to plant all your mint varieties apart from one another. They will cross pollinate easily and you will be left with a new, but not so distinctive taste. Think minty versus chocolate or orange or pineapple mint.