One of the pleasant pleasures of life are herbs. Besides adding beauty to your garden they make foods taste better and provide a nice smell to the air we breathe. In George Washington days everybody had a herb garden that they used for culinary, teas and medical purposes. That practice is slowly coming back.

A spaghetti garden is one of the most well liked kitchen gardens. Anyone which has a sunny patch of ground or a window-box can grow these herbs of parsley, garlic, basil, bay laurel and oregano. A little garden space can simply yield all the herbs that you’ll need for tasty Italian meals. They are even straightforward to grow in a bright window for your year-round use.

Let us take a closer look at the spaghetti garden herbs:

+Oregano is an evergreen ground cover plant. Oregano is a prolific grower that may send out shoots that grow to six feet in a single season. If pruned and bunched, oregano can grow into a tiny border plant. It would rather have light, thin soil and tons of sun, so keep it on the south side of your garden. When the plants reach 4-5 inches cropping can start. Pinch off the top 1/3 of the plant, just above a leaf intersection. The young leaves are really stronger dried than fresh and are the most flavorful part of the plant. To dry, lay the leaves on paper or a drying screen in the sun until the leaves crumble easily. It will retain its flavour for months.

+Bay leaves add a favorable hint of spice to stews, soups and spaghetti sauce. The bay laurel is a tiny tree that grows about a foot every year, this makes it OK for growing in a container. If you live in a mild climate sector leave the container outside, but if temperatures go below 25 degrees keep the tree in a pot and bring it inside in the winter.

+Basil seeds itself so simply that you may never need to buy another plant after the 1st year. There are a few different types of basil, but all grow quickly and require frequent pinching back to stop them from growing tall and leggy. When the plants have reached about 6-8 inches tall, you can begin cropping. Pinch off the top 1/3 of the plant, just above a leaf intersection. Pinch off any flower buds before they go to seed. 6 to eight plants will supply enough basil for the entire neighborhood.

+Garlic is maybe the best plant to grow. Break apart a clove of garlic, and plant the cloves about 4 inches apart, 2 to four inches deep in a light soil. Lightly water and watch them grow. You will crop when tips of the leaves turn brown but do not let them flower. Just dig up the bulbs, and use them. To keep a fresh supply take one or two cloves from each bulb and replant them.

+Parsley is the most used herb in the planet. You may find both flat (Italian) and kinked types. They complement the flavor of everything from sauces to hearty stews. It is used as a garnish on plates, or cut up and added to soups, dressings and salads. Parsley adds vitamins and color, and noiselessly brings

out the flavour of other ingredients in the dish. Parsley is a biennial, flowering in its 2nd season. It likes a little shade on a hot bright day, and should be kept watered to duck shriveling and drying. Pinch back older stems to the base, allowing new leaves and branches to grow.

Grow your own tomatoes and you are well on your way to becoming a Italian chef.

If you find this article useful, you should also check out cooking101.org to learn more about some easy techniques of cooking all sorts of quality meals, including mushroom pasta.