I really enjoy learning to cook dishes from other countries, especially a couple of the best Mexican dishes. Do you enjoy tasting delicious international meals? You can try your hand at planting a yummy themed kitchen herb garden.

You can raise the major herb plants in your own garden and have the freshest ingredients to add to your recipes, or experiment on your own.

You don’t need a special spot for your themed kitchen herb garden. You can grow them in containers or in your usual garden bed.

Look no further than these suggestions for your own themed kitchen herb garden:

• Asian: There are a lot of different cultures and people in Asia, including Thai, Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese, so how could the food be boring? Try raising lemongrass, cayenne pepper, cardamom and anise in your Asian culinary herb garden. Try the licorice flavor of anise in your next Indian meal, or try its warm sweetness in your baked goods. You can brew it with your tea as well as add it to your cookie dough for a special treat. The growing popularity of Asian cuisine has helped it fall back into favor in the US in recent years.

• Mexican: Would you like to chow down on a Mexican herb fiesta? Some spicy beans and rice or nachos can quickly hit the location. The best Mexican recipes always include these: Cayenne pepper, Cilantro and Garlic.

• Italian: What is your favorite one? My favorite is lasagna, of course. Among my favorite herb plants to use in your Italian dinners are basil, fennel, parsley, garlic, marjoram, oregano, rosemary and thyme. You can add garlic to all your favorite Italian dinners and savor the oniony taste! You can add it to your mashed potatoes and even roast it with some olive oil to eat it by itself. Don’t overcook your garlic because it loses its taste the longer it cooks.

• Middle East: If you have not tried any of the exciting and flavorful foods from the Middle East and Northern Africa, you are missing some awesome dishes. The tastes are so varied and the ingredients are so out of the norm for most of what I usually have in my recipes, such as chick peas, figs and couscous. Try these herbs to spice up your Middle Eastern dishes: cardamom, garlic, parsley, rosemary and saffron.

• German: You can have your own Oktoberfest any time you like if you have got all the right German herb plants. These are a couple of the best and most often used in authentic German dinners: chives, dill, horseradish, sage and thyme. Horseradish, which is in the mustard family, is a great condiment, opening the sinuses while adding tang to the taste buds. Horseradish is a fabulous addition to your meals. Use it in mayonnaise or potato salad. It will also go well in cream cheese spreads and meat loaf.

Unless you use too much of your plant in cooking, your plant will keep growing and give you more ingredients for other dishes. If you remove a few leaves from your sage plant, it can grow back. Oftentimes it can grow back bigger and fuller than it was before.

Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.

Here is more information on Fresh Herb Gardening. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.