The Hardy Perennial Herb You Should Grow For Year-Round Harvests

Did you know there are hardy perennial herbs that you can plant once and continue to harvest year after year? Most of these are also quite attractive and can add a lovely aesthetic to your garden while providing you with fresh herbs for your cooking. Plus, their delightful aroma is not only pleasant to your senses but will help to keep a few pests away at the same time. One such hardy perennial herb you can grow for year-round harvests is the bay laurel tree, which is one of many trees perfect for a small garden.

The bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) is a small tree that can reach a height of around 12 feet or even more when planted outdoors. If you've ever visited a parterre garden, which was a popular style in England in the 17th and 19th centuries, you would have noticed a pretty bay laurel as the centerpiece of an herb bed. This gorgeous tree has glossy dark green leaves, which are a common flavor addition to a variety of meals such as soups and stews. If you live in USDA hardiness zones 8 through 10, you can grow a bay laurel in your garden through every season. It can even be trimmed into an aromatic hedge if you have the space. For gardeners in colder regions, this perennial herb is better grown in a pot and brought indoors over winter. In fact, having this aromatic herb in your house may keep pests far away too.

Unless you live in a warm region, it's best to plant a bay laurel tree in a pot. It grows quite slowly, so it shouldn't need repotting often. It lends itself beautifully to pruning or shaping, which means it's easy to keep it to a manageable size. Plus, it makes a beautiful houseplant that's also useful. Indoors, it prefers a nice sunny spot in front of a bright window. If it's a bit dark inside your home during winter, you can give the tree some supplemental lighting using LED lamps or a white fluorescent light.

As the bay laurel is a Mediterranean plant, it doesn't tolerate wet soils, so make sure the container you select has drainage holes and only give your tree a drink when the top of the soil is dry. Once the weather warms up again and there's no danger of frost, you can take your plant outdoors for the duration of summer. It looks attractive and will thrive on a patio or balcony that receives plenty of sunlight. This will encourage the tree to put out nice, fresh growth, especially if you give it some liquid fertilizer every couple of weeks. Just a tip if you're not familiar with using bay leaves: the whole leaves, fresh or dried, are usually popped into a dish while it's cooking and then removed before the meal is served. These should not be consumed because their sharp edges can cause choking and cuts in the mouth and digestive tract.