Herbs as houseplants

Herbs work hard as houseplants. They're not content to be merely decorative, like a fern or an ivy. In addition to good looks, herbs give you flavor, fragrance, or both. Running your hand over a piny rosemary or pungent, clove-scented thyme as you pass by can bring a room to life. And nibbling a leaf of fresh mint, basil, or chives can bring you to life. Visually, there's an herb for every taste. Some are downringht cute-a little mound of 'Spicy Globe' basil or a mat of fluffy lemon thyme covered with pink flowers.Others are more stately, like a potted bay shrub with its dark, glistening leaves and dignified carriage. Some, like spearmint, with its ramrod stems and crisp, toothed foliage, and chives, with its clump of tubular stems, are positively architectural. And then there are those like rosemary, with fuzzy, white, arching branches covered with dark evergreen, needle like leaves, and parsley, with its mossy curls of foliage, which are simply beautiful.