Starting Spring with Fresh Herbs

The gray, cold days are over – it's time for color! And it's not just spring blooms bringing vibrancy to balconies and gardens, but especially fresh herbs, heralding the arrival of spring.

Herbs are true all-rounders: they smell wonderful, add a splash of color, give every dish a special touch, and as a bonus, they're good for your health. Their benefits range from anti-inflammatory to antispasmodic, blood-purifying, and digestive-boosting.

Especially after the cold and gray winter, fresh herbs create an eagerness for spring. If it's still too cold outside for herbs, they also look great on the windowsill. Chives and parsley are absolute classics. In Mediterranean cuisine, basil, rosemary, and thyme are indispensable.

These classics are now also available as special varieties with unique aromas, bringing even more variety to your kitchen. For an extra dose of freshness, not just in spring, mint delivers. It's now available in various flavors, from strawberry and lemon to chocolate, leaving no culinary desire unfulfilled.

If you love Asian cuisine and its aromas, you can't overlook the Asian classics. Cilantro is the Far Eastern staple and gives Asian dishes their distinctive flavor. And lemongrass is indispensable in any Thai curry. Speaking of curry: Curry plant not only looks fascinating, it tastes exactly as it smells.

If you want particularly exotic herbs on your windowsill, you might not find all of them pre-grown at your local garden center. But here's the good news: herbs are wonderfully easy to grow from seeds, and seeds come in a wide variety of options. Even exotic ones are available, making it super easy to integrate them into your spring garden.

Fresh herbs are abundant in spring, as far as the eye can see. But it's not just in stores that you can find green freshness; nature also has a lot to offer. Wild garlic (Bärlauch), sorrel, and dandelion can not only be found during a stroll, but new cultivars are also perfectly suited for home cultivation.

Wild garlic thrives in moist and rather shady spots under trees and shrubs. Its strong garlic aroma fills the air early in the season, and a fresh pesto made with wild garlic adds that special zest to spring dishes.

Sorrel is also suitable for pot cultivation, and its spicy leaves pair very well with salads, soups, and fish.

While dandelion is rather unpopular with many gardeners, gourmet dandelion makes a very good addition to salads and herb quark.