Outdoor gardens usually have more space and allow the herb plants to grow bigger and better than inside. Pests are more prevalent in outdoor gardens.

I prefer outside, I think it just grows so much better (but may depend on the position of your windowsill as well).

My window sill in the kitchen absolutely flourished as we alwayd had the window open, no direct sunlight, put them outside and they stopped flourishing until they were in a very shady spot, id steer clesr from too much direct sunlight but thats my personal experience so far! Only just learning too!

My sister in law grows them and she has both inside and outside the home . She puts the ones indoors near the kitchen window as she says all of them need a bit of sun . So that might be the main reason why it grows well . THE SUN .

i think do both! the herbs that you use the most can be in the kitchen while everything else is outside. your kids will love it just to see things grow.

Maybe you could have your own little herb gardens?

We have herbs spread throughout garden. The only ones in pots are mint – tends to spread like a weed otherwise. The flowers on the herbs (thyme, basil, calendula, borage, mint etc) bring in bees, which benefits the whole garden. We let parsley self seed – the flowers are pretty too. Many of the herbs act as natural pest control and bring extra beneficial insect life into the garden. Not all herbs require the same conditions, so putting them in the garden where the conditions are best works well. Our house doesn’t have anywhere suitable for an inside herb garden. If yours does, perhaps you could try both?

Why not go for both? Cover all bases and herbs!

Plant them with your veggies! Have a read about companion planting and you’ll see why. For instance, tomatoes grow better when they’re grown close to basil and it repels flies and mozzies, thyme deters cabbage worm, mint deters white cabbage moth (but grow it in a pot in the garden, as it’s an invasive weed), rosemary and sage deter cabbage moth, bean beetles, and carrot fly, catmint and pineapple sage are both awesome pest attractors (as in, the grasshoppers will eat them before the other plants).

Tarragon, nasturtium and marigolds are all excellent repellants or will be attacked by pests before anything else, the flowers are edible and they are fantastic for bringing butterflies and bees into the garden to help with pollination!

http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/42-flowers-you-can-eat.html and http://www.sgaonline.org.au/companion-planting/ are great places to start reading into the particulars of it all. Good luck!

Mint is a prolific grower and needs to be contained in a strong pot or it will take over your garden as it sends out runners. Parsley self-seeds when the plant gets to what is considered big if not picked often enough. There are several types Basil is a companion plant to tomatoes. Some people grow marigolds with them too. Spring onions can also be grown in pots. I don’t know whether or not they would be suitable to grow inside. If growing carrots they are a companion plant and prevent grubs attacking them. You can grow them in rows fairly close together. Some types of Basil can also be grown in pots. The best way is to check the instructions on the packets.

Maybe I can have both!

I think we will be building a herb garden next to the vegie garden

The good thing of keeping them inside, is also that you remember to water them regularly. What I often forget outside!

If you have the room and a nice sunny aspect I think inside makes sense. That way they are close to hand when you need them and they are less likely to be eaten by pests. I have some of both and I am forever forgetting to use the ones outside and they keep being eaten by possums and caterpillars so indoors works best for me.

I prefer to have or outside. I understand the logic of the kitchen window sill, but I like mine next to the veggie patch

I’d say outside. I’ve got different herbs outside (rosemary, mint, bay leaves, oregano, sage, thyme, parsley…) But I like to have a small pot of basil on my windowsill!

outside, i find they die quicker inside due to the use of the heater etc.

My herbs are outside and being eaten by caterpillars! I don’t use them often, I just like the idea of having them. They make nice indoor boxes now and would be good to have the herbs where you’re going to use them