Has anyone ever successfully grown an herb garden?

[BrerGnat]

I want to have some cilantro, parsley, and basil plants. I am wondering if I can just plant them in my backyard landscape? We have a combo of flowers and bushes and live in Southern CA in a temperate and sunny climate. The flowers we have I'm not sure what they are...looks like some roses, bougainvillea, maybe carnations, and some other tropical looking ones. I'm not a gardener, obviously. We rent our home and this is what is planted in the back. There is also a Meyer lemon tree and a Kumquat tree. There is a sprinkler irrigation system in place. The area gets about 6-10 hours of daily sunlight.

So can I just buy some live herbs and plant them between the flower plants? Or should I leave them in pots? We do have mice that come by at night (field mice). Their droppings are around. So maybe I should elevate the plants or will they not really be a problem? Our house is a new build on former farm land so we expect the mice to hang around for a little while until they relocate.

Any advice? I use a lot of herbs in my cooking and it is a pain to keep having to buy them fresh.

[VWL Mom]

We plant basil, italian parsley, and hot peppers during the summer. We put them in 12 inch pots around the patio and back door area to keep them away from the chipmunks and because it's easier to control the amount of water they get. They're in the sun for a good part of they day and do very well in spite of my non-green thumb.

[faline]

I'm in the Northeast so the climate is very different. I plant herbs each spring in pots which we place on our deck. We also plant flowers in pots that we put around the deck as well. This year, I had Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Basil, and Parsley. I also had chives, because, strangely enough, the chives I planted last year came back this year. I find that herbs are quite easy to grow and so handy to have!!

[JanetMegan]

I think you'll be fine if you want to plant them in the yard? Avoid mint. It spreads like crazy, if you want to do mint do it in a pot. Rosemary is crazy hearty, I had basil, parsley, oregano, thyme and maybe a couple more this year. I always have terrible trouble with cilantro though and use so much I usually buy it at the store.

[TheDuckRocks]

When we used to live in Orange County I always kept one of those terra cotta pots that are made for strawberries, with all the little side holes, on the patio with herbs. Works really well and I have a black thumb.
Natalie, I hate to say this and don't know where you're located, but you might want to be sure it is only mouse droppings you are seeing. My sister lives in a million dollar plus home in the Cypress/Anaheim area and that neighborhood is battling rats right now. They are being told it is because of the drought conditions they are having to move into areas with fruit trees.

[Tink1]

The Garden Web Forums have a whole section on edible landscaping (and one on Herbs) I have found lots of information there when searching for other plants

Nanc

[Speedy1998]

Avoid mint. It spreads like crazy,

On the plus side it cleans out the sinuses when you mow the yard.

[BrerGnat]

Thanks everyone! We are definitely just dealing with small field mice, not rats, but I know there are rats in our area as well. I think I will use pots. Sounds like an easier way to manage them.

[NJGIRL]

I'm not a gardener either but my neighbor grew herbs this summer...She constructed a garden out of two pallets. She said she saw it on face book. I worked out really good.