One of the many definitions of the word “herb” is “a useful plant.” It may be useful for culinary, medicinal, aromatic and/or craft purposes. Often an herb is valuable in more than one category. Herbs are generally grown more for these useful purposes than for their beauty, as they often lack the splashy splendor of traditional flower garden plants like roses, petunias, marigolds, lilies and zinnias.
That said, an herb garden can be very pleasing to the eye. Herbs are so versatile that they can find a home in most any landscape. They can be part of perennial beds, rock gardens, pathway edgings or the pathway itself, container gardens and vegetable gardens. Or they can have their own space, an entire garden dedicated to herbs. The herb garden can be very tidy and formal with orderly plants like calendula, germander, some sages, thyme, basil, parsley, lavender and rue, or more casual and sprawling with big plants like dill, tansy, hyssop, hops, comfrey, angelica and mints. Or the two can be combined, with any combination of your favorite plants.
Just like any garden, an herb garden takes a little planning. Most herbs are native to the poor rocky Mediterranean soils, so they do fine in less than optimum conditions. In fact, overly fertile or moist soil will cause herbs to grow too leggy and flop over. However, it won’t hurt to add organic matter like compost, chopped leaves or well-rotted manure if you are starting a new garden.
Place the tallest herbs in the back and the shorter ones in the front. Do some research on how tall each of the herbs can be expected to get and how wide they will spread so as to allow ample space between plants.
Herbs can be annuals or perennials. Some perennial herbs cannot survive our winters and must be dug up and brought indoors over winter. Another option is to grow those tender perennials in containers on the deck or patio, or set the pots right in the herb garden for some added interest. Some herbs, especially those in the mint family, can spread faster than you’d like them to. Others like tansy and comfrey do the same, so do your homework. These spreaders should be grown in pots sunk into the ground.
Herbs can be started from seed, or from division, cuttings or transplants. Not all herbs can be started each way. For example, it is very difficult to start lavender from seed; it is usually started from cuttings or by buying transplants. Basil and dill grow easily from seed. In fact, once you plant dill, it is unlikely that you will ever have to plant it again as it reseeds prolifically.
There are many ways to educate yourself about herbs before you start your herb garden. The Winnefox library system has hundreds of herb books, the internet is packed with information and there are several herb magazines and herbal association newsletters to which you can subscribe.
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