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The best place to grow a herb garden is just outside the kitchen door. Under the window, so you can enjoy the rich, savoury scents coming from the herbs, both through an open window and as you walk outside. Also, on a rainy day you won't have to get soaked picking the herbs.

However, there are a couple of additional things you will need to consider when working out the best place for your herb garden.

• Sunny or Shady. Most herbs need plenty of sunshine at least  six hours a day. There are however, some herbs that prefer partial shade and I have listed both in this article.
• Type of soil. Mediterranean herbs the sun loving ones, grow best in well drained soil whilst the herbs that grow best in some shade prefer a rich, moist soil. 

Herbs for sunny areas

Drought-loving Mediterranean herbs, such as Sage, Rosemary and Thyme  grow best in a sunny spot in well draining soil. 

Herbs for partial shade

Angelica, Chervil and Parsley all prefer a rich, moist soil and partial shade.

Growing herbs from seed or plants, what's best? Most herbs, like coriander, dill and salad rocket are better grown from seed. Sown direct into the growing position, as transplanting causes them to bolt and run to flower, missing out the leaf stage. However, if you can't wait to get your herb garden going. You can buy ready-grown herb plants that are easily transplanted. Once planted, the coriander, dill and salad rocket seeds can be sown around them later.

Herbs you can grow from seed.

• Basil enhances tomato, fish, pasta and poultry and is sown annually.   
• Dill, the light, aromatic flavour of both leaf and seed enhances fish, lamb or rice dishes and again is an annual that likes free-draining soil.  
• Savory is aromatic with peppery taste, the leaves are great with grilled fish and lamb, likes dry soil.  
• Sorrel, the young leaves taste good in salads and soups, and can be used as a meat tenderiser, Sorrel Likes rich moist soil.  
• Wild rocket, the peppery leaves add zing to any salad. Likes light shade in moist, well-fed soil.

Herbs can be grown in flowerpots, containers, raised herb beds or in the kitchen garden.

If your garden tends to be shady, growing in pots and movable containers mean you can follow the sunshine.

Type of soil and planting position are important factors to consider when growing a herb garden.

As I have already said, a good position to plant and grow herbs is near the kitchen, patio door or under a window. Somewhere you will benefit from the aroma the herbs will give off, herbs smell great on a hot summer's day.

Most herbs like full sun a few prefer part shade. So also consider the best position for full sun or partial shade to provide the best growing conditions for your herb garden.

Best Soil for growing herbs.

If your soil is mostly clay it will be rich in the nutrients your herb garden needs, but will not drain well, so add grit sand to the bed. If your soil is sandy it will drain well. However, will be low in nutrients so you will need dig in compost from the compost heap.

How to find out what type of soil you have in your garden.

Planting and positioning herbs.

Like most plants, herbs look best planted in groups with the taller herbs grouped at the back of the raised herb bed and bushy plants like Rosemary on the edge, so they spread over without taking up valuable planting space.

Try to position even the low growing herbs so they fall over the front and edges of your herb garden. When you brush past them they smell great. Depending on the herb varieties you choose to plant, you should be able to fit four to five plants into each 15in space. Herbs can also be planted anywhere in the garden and some like Feverfew are great companion plants for garden pest control, check out my companion planting page.

looking after herbs.

• Maintaining a Herb garden is fairly simple, add an organic liquid feed to your watering can once a week during the growing season.
• Regularly pick and use the tips of plants to encourage new growth.
• In autumn, the old stems of annual herbs like basil and coriander can be added to your compost heap or left to add interest through the winter months. Autumn is also a good time to plant woody herbs like rosemary.
• Perennial herbs like mint, thyme, oregano and chives will die back and regrow in the spring. If the perennial herbs become congested, dig up the plant and split into sections. Replant some and pot the others up for neighbours or to sell at car-boot sales. 

Maintenance of a herb garden is much the same as for any other planted garden and this section of my website has a lot of tips Gardening basics

 Marilyn Reid is a successful business owner and natural health enthusiast. She owns a site, TarunaOils.org, which is dedicated to providing tips, ideas, and recipes for use with essential oils and aromatherapy.

When you consider the benefits of aromatherapy, your thoughts probably turn to all the great benefits you get from using essential oils. It's easy to forget that aromatherapy can embrace healing and soothing odors from all sorts of different sources, isn't it? This definitely includes the unique natural aromas that come from well-chosen plants. If you'd like to plant a garden of your own with an eye on its aromatherapy potential, this guide can help.

Picture flowerbeds brimming full of luxuriant sweet blossoms and tart, distinctive herbs. (Herbs are a particularly wise choice for your aromatherapy garden because they can be cut, dried, and used all year round. Remember that your garden can still pay dividends in winter!) Even if your living arrangements don't include a lot of open land, don't think that you have to give up on this attractive dream. It's entirely possible to create a rich-smelling little spot using window boxes, balcony pots, or even indoor plants.

Pulling together a great garden of scents that are healthy and delightful isn't as hard as you might think. All of the selections are entirely up to you, and you are free to blend personal favourites together with species that are prized for their therapeutic excellence. As long as you spend a little time planning out your choices, you will end up very pleased with the results.

Smell is our most visceral, instinctive scent. It connects with us on a level that is very nearly subconscious. This is why scents have the ability to unlock powerful memories that are otherwise all but lost to us. The biology behind this curious fact has to do with the way our noses are wired. Their information runs directly to the limbic system, a primitive part of the brain that governs our emotions and our long-term memories.

Despite the highly subjective nature of smells, over time people have noticed that certain scents strike most people the same way. Cataloguing these common effects, was one of the earliest forms of aromatherapy. In medieval Europe, for instance, the potent odor of basil was believed to ward off melancholy and wild thyme was used to invigorate and inspire people.

Most people, though they don't know it, can recognize about 10,000 distinct odours. In the case of plants and flowers, distinctive odours are created by volatile odours. These oils come from blossoms, leaves, stems, seeds and even sometimes, a plant's roots. The sheer variety of different oils present in plants matches the diversity of plant species; researchers have catalogued over 3,000 such oils which each a unique chemical composition.

You can start your aromatherapy garden by thinking about how you want the finished space to feel. It's also a good idea to arrange your plantings and furnishings to create an enclosed space. This is not only a way to make you aromatherapy garden more private; the small, confined space will act to concentrate the potent oils given off by your chosen plants. This is just one form your aromatherapy garden could take, but it's a particularly powerful and intimate one.

If you have plenty of space to work with, the subtle games you can play with scents and aromas are virtually endless. Plant aromatic favourites close to your garden paths so that you (and your visitors) will always get a pleasant whiff as you move through the space. Herbs and other plants that end up used in small quantities in the kitchen. Are best located close to the door to your home so that you can easily pick them.

Remember that your local climate and the needs of your different plant species do need to be reconciled. It's not possible to get every form of aromatic plant to thrive in every climate, so you may need to make some compromises.

Cultivating a great aromatherapy garden is about mixing together scents from many different plants. Think about the way strong fragrances like those of jasmine or gardenia might clash and compete with each other. You may find it helpful to plant most of your aromatics in containers so that you can rearrange them as they gain and lose potency. This also lets you bring your favourites inside during the winter. 

• You can spread natural aromas through the house in winter by simmering fragrant herbs. A favourite blend is cinnamon, vetiver, and star anise.
• To grow your own herbal bath ingredients, plant lemongrass, lavender, and rosemary. Dry the leaves (and the lavender flowers) and store them in a breathable cloth bag. Steep this in your bath water before getting in.
• Make your own herbal oils by adding lavender and eucalyptus to almond oil. This turns into a terrific homemade massage oil after a week or two.
• Make sachets of your favourite soothing herbs. Place these inside your pillowcase to enjoy peaceful scents when you sleep. A few great choices are lavender, chamomile, and hops.