With the warm weather here to stay, it’s time to flex our green thumbs. Our guest expert Frankie Flowers teaches us about the best and easiest herbs to grow at home.

The more sun, the better! Frankie has parsley, basil, rosemary, oregano and thyme in his garden and he recommends these to get your herb garden growing. Try to give your herbs as much sun as possible, however, if you have an area with more shade, give Italian parsley a try.

Think about where you’re planting. Often the biggest failure when growing herbs comes from where you grow them. You have two choices, to grow them in the garden or in pots. For most herbs, Frankie says pots are a safe choice.

What kind of pots? When planting in pots, look for pots that are larger. Smaller pots dry out faster and the herbs can’t survive. If you’re worried about having to slave over your plants, using larger pots will also give you more flexibility because they will need less watering. If you are using potting soil, make sure to use fertilizer to enrich your soil. If you don’t have the best soil conditions, Frankie says “Oregano is a very forgiving herb that will grow in poor soil conditions.”

Cut them back! Frankie warns us about planting mint in the garden, “It will take over your life and grow everywhere!” Mint, lemon thyme and chives are all perennial herbs, this means they will grow back year after year. With these plants, you want to be sure to harvest them before they flower, even if you aren’t planning to use them all in your cooking, it’s important to cut the plants back.

With these tips from Frankie, you’ll have success growing herbs this summer!