The popularity of growing your own herbs is increasing all the time. It's one of those gardening delights that you'll get much pleasure in doing and the rewards are fantastic. There are so many good things to enjoy about growing your own herb garden that you'll want to increase your productivity by planting more and more.

The immediate benefit of growing a herb garden is the money savings. Buying fresh herbs from a store is an ongoing expense, whereas planting your own herbs will allow you to harvest lots more herbs for your money and give you plenty of for your cooking.

For the price of a few tools (if you don't already have them) and the cost of a packet of seeds (about $1 - $2), you'll have all you need to grow a huge crop of herbs. By growing from seed, you'll have fresh herbs for your recipes for months and months and be saving a substantial amount of money.

Herb gardening is also very relaxing. Many people find that it really helps them reduce stress and unwind. All types of gardening can relieve stress, but herb gardening combines the stress-relieving effects of gardening with the natural stress-relief of aromatherapy!

Many herbs are very easy to grow. A lot of herbs will grow almost anywhere, and require very little maintenance. Herbs can be grown in almost any garden location, and even in containers where they can be moved around at will. The fact that herbs can easily be located almost anywhere makes them a very good subject for most gardeners.

You can also use herbs for their good looks, they're attractive plants that can provide some nice accents to your garden. You can mass plant them along paths or around features in your garden to great effect and you still have the bonus of using them in your cooking as needed.

They're great at jazzing up bland dinners. If your family has been complaining that your cooking is becoming boring, try adding some fresh herbs to your food! Once your family has tried spaghetti made with fresh basil, they may never want the stuff in a jar again!

Then there's the extra nutritional value of fresh herbs. You now know how wonderful they make your meals taste, but did you know that many herbs contain minerals, vitamins and antioxidants vital to your health? So they don't just taste good and look good, they're also good for you!

An attractive herb garden can also increase the value of your home if you decide to sell it. A lot of people have always wanted to have their own garden, and having a lovely herb garden waiting for them could be a big selling point.

Very often the only way to taste the flavors of some exotic herbs is to grow your own. Your local grocery store is only likely to have the standard herbs at inflated prices and you won't find some of the more unusual varieties. Sure you'll find herbs like basil, mint or chives, but you won't find fresh chervil, garlic chives or purple basil so easily.

Plus, growing herbs can also make you more popular. A lot of people really love fresh herbs, and if you neighbors hear you're growing them, they might stop by and ask for some! Your friends and family will be delighted to be given fresh herbs as a gift, and they'll be wanting to hang around you for more handouts as often as they can!