It’s said the best place for the kitchen herb garden is… well… right outside the kitchen. But not every garden space near the kitchen is an ideal location for growing herbs because they would be in shade. Can you grow culinary herbs in the shade garden?
This is the question I’m facing in my garden. There will be no skipping outdoors and snipping fresh oregano to sprinkle over my pizza. (I think that if you’re able to harvest fresh herbs for tonight’s dinner, skipping should be involved. Or running if it’s raining. That would be fine.)
No handful of parsley to brighten up and add a little green to any dish. No sprigs of thyme to sprinkle over my chicken.
I sat on my porch swing just outside the kitchen door last year and watched in vain, day after day, for the sun to shine on that side of the home, but alas it gets about 2 hours of morning sun to the far right and an hour of sun during the evening on the left. Worse than part shade, I think it’s safe to say it’s full shade I’m dealing with here.
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- The Herbal Kitchen
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- Homegrown Herbs
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- The Cook’s Herb Garden
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- Herb Scissors
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- Culinary Herbs: Their Cultivation, Harvesting, Curing, and Uses
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- The Complete Book of Herbs
But does that mean that I’m without the hope of growing a culinary herb garden right outside the kitchen?
Thankfully the answer is, “No!”
Just like with medicinal herbs, there are several culinary herbs that will grow just fine in the shady recesses of the north side of my home. And they’ll do just as well in your shade garden too!
Here is a short list of culinary herbs I’m considering incorporating into my future perennial shade garden.
8 Culinary Herbs for the Shade Garden
- Onion Chives
- Garlic Chives
- Cilantro
- Mint
- Lemon Balm
- Lovage
- Parsley
- Sage
Click here to find other edibles you can grow in the shade garden!
Not sure which herbs you want to grow in your garden? Check out these tips to help you decide which herbs are the best ones for you to grow!
I gave up having herbs right outside the kitchen door…it’s where our faithful dog likes to park, it’s where my boys drive their matchbox cars, and other things like flip-flops and handmade guns that aren’t allowed in the house! I thought about when my kids leave home but I want my grandbabies to be there next!
But! I do have shady areas in the garden and your list is inspiring!
For me it’s the children. Not that they like to park there, but once they figure out the garden plants are edible, I’m toast. The chives last year were perpetually sheared. Thankfully, it didn’t take much detective work to figure out who the culprits were 😉
I’m with you- I’d take babies, grand babies, and who know great grand-babies before a beautiful herb garden! 🙂
Thanks for this info! I have the same morning and late day sunlight out my kitchen door as you (kitchen is at the back of the house on the north side, go figure…). We planted our herb garden further out back where the sun does shine most of the day which is working well, but I do have a bed on the west side of the house that one would think should be a great place to grow plants, however, due to the trees around here, it’s actually a rather shady place. I think I know what I’ll be planting there now…especially since I know what the deer won’t eat. 🙂 Blessings, Lisa 🙂
I’m so glad that you’ll find this helpful! I hope your herb garden grows well and you’ll be cooking up a storm in no time 🙂
Thanks for this info. I have just finished digging out a space for my new herb garden, but I know that when my apple tree grows up, it will be too shady for several of my plants. This lets me know what should be able to stay put.
So glad you found it useful Sarah!! 🙂
So many great garden spaces in my old neighborhood are protected by big Water Oaks and 100 year old Pecan trees. Here's some herbs that thrive in that lovely shade.
Also lots of lettuces and hearty greens will love that partial shade.
Throw some seeds down!
This article is very informative kindly find time to read it.
Just curious…you say that you were “considering” these in your perennial shaded herb garden, what did you ultimately plant, and how did it go? Thanks for the article! Very useful. The shady area around the house is always a challenge.
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