“Herbs absolutely do not like wet feet,” says Linda McKay, a master gardener who teaches cooking at the Dallas Central Market.

Make sure your herb garden has good drainage. Don’t overwater or place herb plants where an irrigation system will hit them directly and keep them too damp.

Fall is the best time to plant herbs outdoors in Texas. Early spring is good too, but many new plants cannot take the humid heat of our summers. Better to have them established before June.

To plant herbs in your yard, amend the local black-clay soil with green sand and compost to loosen it up. You want to create good potting soil, but not a mixture that’s over-rich with nitrogen. Try “Redenta’s Special” (redentas.com for locations), added to each hole for starting a new plant.

Don’t have to fertilize outdoor herbs too often. Fish emulsion is a good (if smelly) occasional fertilizer. “You only want to use it early in the morning before your neighbors are up!” Linda says.

Some herbs can be perennials in our climate, and many will regrow if you let them go to seed at the end of the season. Basil is a very tender spring herb and usually dies over the winter. Don’t try to bring it in and keep it alive, or it becomes tough and woody. Just buy new basil plants each spring.

Most herbs are pretty enough to be simply ornamental, and “they are hardy little friends,” Linda says. “Ninety percent of them grow like roadside weeds.” But if you’re going to grow edible herbs, be sure not to use chemical pesticides or fertilizers on your lawn, shrubbery or flowerbeds. To be eaten, herbs need to grow in organic conditions.

Cut back the tops of tender herbs such as basil, and pinch off the flowers, to keep the plants from becoming woody and stalky. “If they’re making flowers, they’re not making as much oil.”

Cilantro and fennel don’t like North Texas heat. If you feel compelled to grow them, try them in the spring or in areas that only get sun in the morning. Cilantro will re-seed itself if allowed to flower.

Unless you really want a sweet, candy-tasting mint, plant spearmint rather than peppermint. Red-stemmed apple mint has some elements of both flavors. Mint spreads rapidly and will take over a bed in short order, so it’s best grown in a pot.

Flat-leafed Italian parsley is easy to grow. It’s a favorite food of caterpillars. Be tolerant of the larvae: Simply plant a little extra parsley and move the caterpillars to another plant whenever you spot them munching. Later, when the caterpillars turn into gorgeous swallowtail butterflies, you’ll be glad you kept them around.

Joyce Saenz Harris