Get Going on the Garden

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At Shady Acres Herb Farm in Chaska, Minnesota, Theresa and Jim Mieseler take pride in growing chemical-free plants, too, and they hope their customers continue this practice in their gardens. “We love growing herbs because of the variety of fragrances and the way herbs can enhance your life — whether it is fresh herbs in a favorite recipe or watching a butterfly or hummingbird in the herb garden,” Theresa says. She suggests using the large leaves of ‘Napoletano’ basil in place of lettuce on BLT sandwiches, and thinks ‘Mulberry Jam’ sage (Salvia involucrata) is among the best herbs for attracting hummingbirds.

With a population of only 800, Dongola, Illinois, merits a star on the map of every mint-minded gardener’s map. Here, Fragrant Fields, an established online wholesale herb nursery, is propagating the new, deliciously named Westerfield hybrid mints, including ‘Marshmallow’ and ‘Fruit Salad’. Owner Carol Hanson has been growing and selling herbs to restaurants for 30 years, and now also grows a huge variety of herbs for individual orders, including hops, hyssop and numerous flowering vines.

Needing Northeast Nurseries?

Like Fragrant Fields, the folks at Always Summer Herbs in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, grow and sell wholesale herbs by the truckload, but find it’s more fun to place straight-from-the-grower plants in the hands of herb lovers through their online store. Owners Teresa Royek and her husband, Jeff Berta, encourage people to try combining scented thymes with flowers in hanging baskets, or to make room on the patio for a robust pot of patchouli, which can grow 4 to 6 feet tall in a warm summer. “It’s as aromatic as rosemary, so all you have to do is brush up against it to release its scent,” Berta says.  

In Port Murray, New Jersey, the 35 years of work that Cyrus and Louise Hyde — and now their son, David Hyde — have put into Well-Sweep Herb Farm have turned it into a dream destination for herb enthusiasts. When David Hyde looks at beds edged with 100 types of thyme, he sees a trial garden where the herbs can be evaluated, but visitors see a wonderland of herbs from around the world. Looking for something new to have delivered to your door in a Well-Sweep box? David suggests zatar (Thymbra spicata), sometimes called hop-headed thyme because of its blue flower clusters, or curry leaf (Murraya koenigii), a Himalayan shrub with edible, curry-flavored leaves.

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