Herbs or their leaves are used as medicines, for seasoning dishes, as fragrance in perfumes, candles, dried floral arrangements, sachets etc and their dried seeds are used as spices. Some of the common herbs are mint, fennel, coriander, basil, parsley, thyme, rosemary etc. 

Herbs can be annuals growing only for a season such as basil, dill etc or perennial, those which come back year after year for eg. thyme. Most of them require little care and are nearly pest free. They can be grown in the garden along with flowers or as borders, along paths or in containers out doors or indoors. 

They require well draining moderately rich soil, ample air and sunlight, except a few which prefer shade. There is no need to fertilize herbs too often. Too much fertilizers or organic matter can lead the plant to become large and leggy and loose its actual flavour. 

If herbs are planted for their flavour or for seasoning with their leaves, pick the tender leaves before they bloom for best results. While herbs are plants actually grown fresh or purchased in dried form, Spices come from the stems, bark, seeds, roots or fruit of various aromatic plants. 

They include the tropical aromatics, such as pepper, cinnamon and cloves and the spice seeds, sesame, poppy and mustard. Spices are mainly used for flavouring and they also have certain medicinal properties and are used in pharmaceutical, perfumery, cosmetics and several other industries.