The Seeds Inside The Kit:

• Basil: (Ocimum basilicum) - No summer garden is complete without the bright flavor and aroma of basil, one of the staples of all Mediterranean cuisine. Basil is the quintessential windowsill herb as it grows just as readily in any sunny window as it does out in the garden. Basil is one of the many aromatic herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae and grows flowers, and prunes very similar to peppermint. Unlike the drought tolerant perennials featured in Herbs de Provence, basil is a tender annual that requires daily watering to ensure flavor.

• Thyme: (Thymus vulgaris) - Thyme is quick to germinate, easy to maintain, and truly one of the most effortless herbs to establish in any garden. Native to the shallow and rocky soils of the Mediterranean hills, thyme has weed-like hardiness and is able to thrive in some of the most difficult gardens across the country. Similar to rosemary, lavender, and oregano, mature thyme develops a thick and woody base able to allow the plant to overwinter in more northern regions down to -20°F. Thyme is an ideal herb for container gardening as it thrives from the reliable drainage offered by pots.

• Parsley: (Petroselinum crispum) - Parsley is one of the most ideally suited herbs to grow indoors near a sunny window because parsley is an annual requiring cool summers, partial shade, and consistently moist soil, all of which can be easily managed indoors. Grown most commonly as an annual, parsley is a biennial closely related to cilantro, dill, fennel that will produce flowering umbels very similar to other herbs in the aromatic Apiaceae family. Parsley is a tender annual that should be watered daily to keep from bolting.

• Rosemary: (Salvia rosmarinus) - With more than two dozen cultivars in the species, rosemary thrives in many climates across the country as a low-growing and hard-to-kill shrub known to live for up to 10-20 years. Rosemary regularly performs as an outdoor perennial in hardiness zones 6-11, going dormant during freezing winters in more northern climates. And like its perennial relative lavender, rosemary can be notorious for a low and slow germination rate but, once you successfully germinate your first couple of starts, you‚ll come to find that the only real secret to growing rosemary is patience.

• Fennel: (Foeniculum vulgare) - Fennel is one of the more exotic members of the traditional Herbes de Provence seasoning blend, offering a uniquely savory spice often described as a more mature variant of black licorice. Fennel looks nearly identical to dill while in the garden except that fennel can mature at about 5 feet tall and famously produces a thick and bulbous base like the Hamburg Rooted parsley, which can be harvested just as readily as its leaves, seeds, or flowers. Fennel grows ideally alongside other herbs also requiring cool and dry summers.

• Oregano: (Origanum vulgare) - Like many species from the Lamiaceae family such as mint and balm, oregano produces a rhizome root system which is responsible for making the genus Origanum fairly invasive and hard to kill. Once established, oregano will readily re-seed itself and stay in your garden for as long as you‚ll have it around. Weed-like and hardy after its first overwintering, oregano is commonly known as a wild marjoram for having a woodier, earthier habit and flavor than true marjoram.

• Sweet Marjoram: (Origanum majorana) - Nearly identical to oregano in appearance, habit, and taxonomy, sweet marjoram is the more tender and complex member of the oregano genus Origanum. Marjoram is just as often referred to as sweet marjoram to better distinguish its more subtle, citrusy, and floral notes from the more robust wild marjoram (oregano). Although marjoram is naturalized to some warmer regions of the Meditteranean, it is actually a native perennial to the Middle East and Arabian Peninsula, still thriving on the same arid conditions in many home gardens across the country.

• Lavender: (Lavandula angustifolia) - Lavender is one of the most popular of the Mediterranean herbs, native to the perennially warm and dry hillsides of southern France and Italy. Ideal for a wide variety of gardens across North America, lavender is a tenacious and frost-hardy perennial known to live 15-20 years with optimal climate and pruning. Although not traditionally considered one of the true "herbes de provence", we would be remiss to not include culinary lavender along with some of the best and brightest of the region.

• Tarragon: (Artemisia dracunculoides) - Also known widely as estragon, tarragon is one of the more unique herbs featured in Herbs de Provence as tarragon is actually more closely related to a sunflower than either rosemary or thyme. While French tarragon is more traditionally used in Herbes de Provence, unfortunately, it's only cultivated from cuttings and root division rather than being started from seed. Similar to other perennial herbs, tarragon will live perennially for several years with the proper sun, pruning, and well-drained soil.

• Summer Savory: (Satureja hortensis) - Widely referred to as mountain savory for the rocky and unforgiving habitat from which its native, summer savory is a hardy and tolerant annual ideal for a variety of gardens. Member of the mint family, savory tastes similar to sage, rosemary, and thyme while being a popular choice as a bushy hedgerow for any home, garden, or business. Summer savory is native to the eastern Mediterranean and, although not too popular in the United States, it has been a staple of the traditional Herbes de Provence blend for the last fifty years.

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