Herb Gardens

To begin your herb garden, you must consider how much space you have for growing and what the purpose of the garden will be (ie: for culinary purposes only or a combination of culinary, aromatic and ornamental herbs). If you have a large outdoor garden, it is easy to grow a large selection of herbs. If you are growing the herbs indoors, you may want to limit yourself to growing only the culinary herbs. If you have combination of a small outdoor growing space as well as indoors, you can do a smaller selection of the culinary, aromatic and ornamental herbs. Let’s take a closer look at all three options.

Large Outdoor Herb Gardens

For a large outdoor herb garden, let’s plant a large selection of the culinary, aromatic and ornamental herbs. First, determine the exact size and placement of the herb garden. Will it be near a fence or in the middle of your yard? Will the garden be long and narrow, or a circle, or square shaped? For any sized outdoor herb garden, plan to incorporate stepping stones, as they will make it easier to harvest your herbs and access all parts of the garden without damaging the other herbs.

Next, determine which herbs you will plant, keeping in mind how large they will grow and their use. It is best to plant larger and ornamental herbs at the centre of your herb garden, while keeping smaller and frequently used herbs at the edges. You can also incorporate statues and decorative containers to give more visual interest to your herb garden. You can always add herbs and change the design from year to year, as you discover new herbs to grow, existing herbs that you now want to place together or away from each other and your favourite herbs that you just want more of. To help in your planning, draw a diagram of the herb garden and label where the plants will go. Use pictures of the herbs you plan to grow, to help give you a visual picture of what your herb garden will look like when it is finished.

The final factor to consider is your soil. Ensure that the soil drains well, as herbs will not grow in wet soil. If the area you plan to grow in is water logged or does not drain well, raise the level of the herb garden by placing a thin layer of crushed stone on the bottom. Use a mixture of soil, peat and sand to produce a soil that will drain easily and fill this mixture above the crushed stone.

If you have planted perennial and biennial herbs in your herb garden, they will need to be protected from harsh winter conditions, as many herbs have shallow roots. Protect the roots by covering them with a mulch of straw or tree leaves. Apply the mulch after the ground has frozen in early winter and remove only when new signs of growth appear in the spring and there is no more danger of a late spring frost.

Indoor Herb Gardens

Herbs will do well in containers and are suitable for indoor herb gardens. As with outdoor herb gardens, herbs grown indoors need a well-drained soil mix and plenty of sunlight. Windows with a west or south exposure are best for herbs. If you find your herbs are not getting enough sunlight, grow lights or fluorescent lamps will provide the extra sunlight that they need. For the soil, mix two parts of potting soil with one part of course sand. To help ensure drainage of water, place an inch of gravel on the bottom of the container. While herbs require a well-drained soil, they do enjoy humid conditions. Herbs enjoy frequent misting from a spray bottle and the plants can be placed on a tray of moistened pebbles. To keep your indoor herb garden growing year after year, you can maintain by repotting the herbs each year and through the occasional pruning, which encourages new growth.

By taking into consideration the purpose of your herb garden, space requirements, aesthetics, soil conditions and the amount of natural sunlight available, you can plan a very successful herb garden.

 

 

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