If you’ve been wanting to get into herb gardening, you will want to know that herbs are among the easiest plants to grow. Even if you don’t think of yourself as having a green thumb, you can be a successful gardener if you grow the following easy herbs that can be used fresh or dried:

Basil: Basil is a warm-weather annual herb. It is hardy in most zones, but it requires hot, dry conditions to reach peak flavor. It needs full sun, and extremely rich, moist soil. Really the only significant problems with cultivating basil are slugs and cool conditions. As long as basil has sufficient light and warmth, and its soil is allowed to dry out between waterings, it generally demands little in the way of additional care.

Bay: Bay leaves are used in a variety of dishes, particularly Mediterranean cooking. You can crumble up the dried leaves and add them to dishes or use them whole and remove them once the flavor has been absorbed by the food. It’s a very hardy herb and does well in various zones. It requires soil that is rich and not too wet. Yet it does fairly well in most conditions.

Oregano: This herb is highly popular, and it goes well with many different kinds of foods. It is widely used in tomato-based pasta, chicken, and pork dishes. Hardy in zones 5-9, oregano does well in raised beds, rock gardens, alongside roads or pathways, or just about anywhere! It needs full sun and well-drained soil, yet it actually does better in poor, rocky soil!

Parsley: Parsley isn’t difficult to grow and has many uses. While it is a familiar garnish used in many dishes, it is also great for curing bad breath. You can grow curly leaf and flat leaf parsley with ease, and it grows wonderfully without you needing to give it a great deal of attention. It grows well in light shade and full sun, and it prefers moist, rich soil. Parsley doesn’t do overly well in the heat, though.

Thyme: Thyme is a perennial herb. It is hardy in zones 4-6. It’s a small, shrub-like herb that needs full sun and moist, well-drained soil. It is quite hardy in its standard zones, and doesn’t require much care in the least.

When choosing herbs, keep in mind which zones they are suited to. Even though many of these herbs are hardy, they do significantly better when kept to their hardiness zones. The herbs listed here are going to be quite easy to look after, and shouldn’t require a whole lot of extra work to tend.

If you’re looking for tips on how to grow lettuce, how to get started with container gardening, or any other vegetable gardening advice, visit Vegetable Gardening 101.