Starting a Garden of Growing Herbs

By Tom Takihi

Little wonder that herbs have earned a place in American gardens. Freshly harvested herbs have pungent and aromatic qualities that far exceed those of their commercially obtained counterparts--whether fresh or dried.
Even after the outdoor growing season is over, you can still enjoy dried herbs in fragrant potpourris and sachets. You can also grow herbs indoors in pots on sunny windowsills, and use them for culinary purposes, either fresh, dried, or frozen.
You will enjoy growing herbs because their culture is easy. They require little care and space, have very few insect and disease problems, and generally require only moderate fertility levels. Above all, herbs provide you with a continuing and satisfying hobby.
CHOOSING A SITE
Herbs flourish under the same conditions that you provide for your flower or vegetable garden. Although most herbs will grow in partial shade, it is better if the herb garden receives at least 4 to 6 hours of sunlight a day. A majority of herbs will grow well under a wide range of soil conditions, with the exception of extremely wet, poorly drained soils. Note, however, that sage, rosemary, and thyme require a well-drained but moderately moist soil.
If the garden soil is poorly drained, you can improve the situation by modifying or amending it. Even more effective would be the use of raised beds. To improve soil fertility and tilth, add several bushels of compost per 100 square feet of soil before planting. Spade it into the soil thoroughly.
In general, herbs do better in soils of low to medium fertility, so additional fertilizer applications are not needed. Soils with high fertility tend to produce lots of foliage that is low in flavor.
Prepare your garden site in the same manner that you would a vegetable garden, spading it to a depth of 6 to 12 inches. Then level and rake the site to remove any large clods and debris.
DETERMINING THE SIZE OF YOUR HERB GARDEN
The size of your garden will depend largely upon the quantity of herbs that you need and want to grow. A dozen annuals and/or perennials will provide you with a good variety.
FITTING HERBS INTO YOUR LANDSCAPE
Decide on a type of garden. An herb garden can take any form. They can be planted in a formal garden; informally with flowers, trees, and shrubs; or in theme gardens.
A formal herb garden generally is composed of a series of beds that are not identical but appear balanced. The herbs are arranged by height, foliage color, and/or use, often in rows. Wide walkways are used to separate the beds and give the garden a sense of spaciousness. Formal gardens of the 16th century were designed as knot gardens. This style used plants to create intricate, geometric designs within a square or rectangle. The designs were often edged with low-growing hedges of lavender or boxwood that showed off the subtle characteristics of the herbs. When choosing plants for a knot garden, select those that are compact, low-growing, and are manageable. Some suggested herbs are thyme, germander, rue, hyssop, rosemary, and santolina. Avoid invasive herbs such as the mints. In addition to the herbs, statuary, topiaries, and container-grown plants are important features to include in a formal garden.
Herbs are typically planted in a garden by themselves. Unfortunately, most herbs look great in May and June, and then get scraggy and unattractive the rest of the season. For this reason, they are often informally combined with annual and perennial flowers, trees, shrubs, groundcovers, vegetables, or other plant material. This allows you to take advantage of the various colors, textures, sizes, and shapes that other plants have to offer. For a listing of herbs recommended for Illinois, refer to Horticulture Fact Sheet VC-36 Culinary Herbs for Illinois Gardens, and Horticulture Fact Sheet VC-37 Ornamental Herbs for Illinois Gardens.
Some gardeners prefer to select a specific theme for their herb garden and choose the herbs accordingly. Some examples are a kitchen garden (including thyme, sage, basil, tarragon, dill); a single color garden such as gray-green (including horehound, lavender, artemesia, and wormwood); a scented garden (including mint, scented geranium, lemon balm, silver thyme, and rosemary); or a garden with different varieties of a specific herb (common sage, Tricolor sage, golden sage, purple sage, clary sage, pineapple sage). The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.
Don't limit your use of herbs to specific situations. You can use them to enhance most any garden. Of course, some grow better as groundcovers, others as edging plants; still others are best when intermingled with different plants in a mixed border. Most, however, are best used where their fragrance and beauty can be appreciated upclose.
Put your ideas on paper. Once you have decided on the type of garden you want, make a rough sketch or drawing on paper. This helps to visualize what the garden will look like and will help in figuring the number of plants needed. Think about the staging (shorter plants in front, taller towards the back) as well as succession of flowering. Consider the specific requirements of the herb (sun vs. shade; moist vs. dry soil). It is much easier having it on paper than trying to remember it.Consider color schemes and combinations. Use specific plant characteristics when deciding where to locate the plants. Color is one of the most noticeable features of a plant. By choosing a single color scheme, you can create a garden that gives a sense of space, openness, adn brightness. For greatest effect, vary the height, shape, texture, and size of the flowers and tones of the color. Colors can also be used in combination; some colors blend together better than others. For example, a silver-foliaged plant such as horehound is enhances a red or pastel foliage or flowers. Yellow and blue is always a good combination. Orange and blue, yellow and violet, and red and green are complementary colors and create a strong effect.
Contrast is another technique to use to make your garden more interesting. By definition, contrast is using opposing elements close together to produce an intense or intriguing effect. You can contrast textures, darks, lights, colors, shapes, lines, flower form, flower height....any design element. For example, rounded plant forms look best next to those that are upright; a plant with round flowers is complemented by a plant with spiky flowers.
Keep the plants together.It is very important to define the garden. The plant will look better if kept together rather than scattered through the lawn. Edging the herb garden defines the planting area and makes the garden look as though it belongs in the landscape. If the plants are located next to a wall, a sidewalk or path can provide the boundary. If they are located in a lawn area, a permanent edging of brick or wood can be useful. A defined area looks more "finished" and is easier to maintain.
Create a unified effect.In addition to the plant material, other things to consider are benches, sculptures, and other objects that serve as focal points or enhance the planting.

About the author:
Tom Takihi is the owner of this website and for more information please visit http://www.discoverdiy.info/GrowingHerbs/
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