Growing Fresh Herbs

I was thinking of using herb plants on the dining room table (getting rid of the candles/etc. that my wife and I usually have there). We wanted something a bit different from other table.
The dining room has a moderate amount of light (southern exposure but the table is a bit away from the table).
Any suggestions on herbs that grow into plants small enough not to overwhelm a table but still might look good? They would also need to survive in the moderate amount of light.
Any other growing/harvest tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Your only hope would be to rotate pots/planters in and out of the house every couple of days. There is no herb that will grow inside. Maybe in a windowsill, but it will still be pretty sickly.

I would guess rosemary and thyme would be your best bets.

Good luck!

Rotating is good advice. I can't think of a particular herb that does well in low light.

I do have herbs in a pot on my patio. They do get really big so I don't know how well they would be indoors even for a few days.

I overwinter rosemary and marjoram in southerly windows. They hang on, and one variety of rosemary started producing unusually large leaves. I also start some herbs in those windows. The get stringy really quick.

So unless you have a (strong) grow light over your table, I'd suppose the herbs would become quite feeble.

I use the sill of our dining-room window to overwinter herbs that don't do well in cold weather. Although they bounce back when put outside in summer, they do become spindly and not really worthwhile as herbs; they certainly aren't decorative...most really like strong light and heat. The leafier ones might do OK; parsley (which I've overwintered - it bolted,) mint, and maybe thyme (got really spindly really quickly.) Parsley and cilantro have long taproots and would need to be in tall planters, which would kind of defeat your purpose.

You might think about a cut-and-come-again bowl of lettuces instead; I have some Korean-style red leaf lettuce that is quite pretty, and is in a shady, shallow container by my porch. In this vein, you could do endive, Swiss Chard (and I think there's a yellow dwarf variety just for pots) and frisee might do well, too.

I've always wanted to try this with herbs.

A week later, all four plants are still alive. I took the suggestion and moved them to the window sill though. The Rosemary looks great.

I brought a 3ft tall rosemary bush in every winter for the last 8 or 9 years--unfortunately, we had some issues this year and, sadly, it is now a dried rosemary plant. It will definitely take more than a week for the lack of outdoor sun to have an impact--i would recommend rotating them in an out if you have the means.

Mhays wrote:I use the sill of our dining-room window to overwinter herbs that don't do well in cold weather. Although they bounce back when put outside in summer, they do become spindly and not really worthwhile as herbs; they certainly aren't decorative...most really like strong light and heat. The leafier ones might do OK; parsley (which I've overwintered - it bolted,) mint, and maybe thyme (got really spindly really quickly.)

You should be fine with leaving the thyme out. I've never had any issues with it not surviving the Chicago winter, and I don't do anything special to it. My rosemary, though, has never survived, so this year I planted it in a pot and will try to overwinter it indoors.

I've left and lost the thyme several years in a row, (I've tried several varieties) and though it loves the spot it's in, it tends to die after a couple years. I figure potting it and letting it get spindly is a small price for keeping it over the winter.

Interesting. I'm not entirely sure what the varietal I have is anymore, but it's been there for a good 5 years or so at this point. I don't think I could kill it if I tried. It's apparently become hardened to the cold Chicago winters. Same with the lavender, sage, lovage, mint, and dill.

My chives, mint, sage and oregano come back. Nothing else has so far. And my microclimate must be pretty warm, as my cherry tree comes in with fruit well before we see cherries at the farmer's market.

Forgot about the chives, mine come back, too. In fact, I haven't the faintest clue when they were planted. I didn't plant them and I've been here more than 7 years. Same with the dill--it just reseeds itself and I have dill all over, whether I like it or not. It's everywhere, spread farther and wider than the notoriously invasive mint.

Binko:

Dill is an annual. If you want to cut down on its presence in your garden, just cut off the flower heads before they go to seed. Might take a year to get rid of it, though, if that is your goal.

Personally, I'd leave it. Good host plant for swallowtail butterflies, in my experience.

Oh, no, I have no intention of getting rid of the dill. It doesn't seem to get in the way of any other of the plants and, well, I love dill. I was just surprised at how far and wide it's spread in that part of the garden.

The lovage also amazes me. Thing grows like mad. It's only mid-June and already I need to run over that thing with a lawn mower or take shears to it, because it's 3-4 feet high. Problem is, I just don't go through a lot of lovage.

If dill re-seeds itself then I will plant dill. I like dill

Dill reseeds a couple of times a year. Very handy, as you will find that you have a near constant supply of tender young dillweed - and as noted, the psychedelic worms that transform themselves into swallowtail butterflies a dig it, too. It's pretty easy to control by deadheading - unlike Anise Hyssop, which reproduces at a rate that makes rabbits weep with jealousy, crowds out other plants, and will invade EVERY SINGLE CORNER OF YOUR GARDEN, from the innocent planting of one stinkin' plant. And it's perennial, to make matters worse. Don't ever plant it, or you will be eternally sorry!

A month later, still going strong. Had the first taste of the product on Sunday. I made a tomato/olive sauce that needed basil. Nothing like the appearance for guests of going to the dining room table for the source.

I do keep them on the window sill most of the time though.