Herb gardens are attractive additions to your landscape. Here's the garden at the Australian College of Health Sciences in Portland, OR, just one year after planting. (Photo by Erika Yigzav)
To start an herb garden, ideally you will need to locate a sunny spot that drains well. However, if your yard is filled with shade, you can still grow herbs. Use containers that can be moved into patches of sunlight. If possible, grow your herbs near the kitchen, where you can reach them easily, especially when it is raining.
Choose your herbs based on your interests. If you are an avid cook, you will want to grow culinary herbs, such as sage Salvia officinalis, Savory Satureja montana, fennel Foeniculum vulgare, or basil Ocimum basilicum.
You can also design an herb garden that is a fragrant hideaway, especially when you plant drifts of lavender Lavandula spp, spearmint Mentha spicata, or scented geraniums.
For home remedies, plan to cultivate some of the old-fashioned medicinal herbs, such as chamomile Matricaria recutita (German) or Chamaemelum nobile (Roman), lemon balm Melissa officinalis, or comfrey Symphytum officinale.
There are many examples of herb gardens in public gardens, parks, and even museums. It is well worth visiting local gardens before planning your own for ideas of what works well in your area.
There are many books on herb gardens and design, or you can research “herb gardens and design” online. In addition, there are some wonderful books on medieval and monastery gardens, such as Brother Cadfael’s Herb Garden: An Illustrated Companion to Medieval Plants and Their Uses by Robin Whiteman and Rob Talbot.
Some useful sites include:
- Better Homes and Gardens
- HGTV
Sunny Herb Garden
Much of this herb garden’s charm derives from its varied foliage colors and textures; conspicuous flowers appear chiefly on the chives, catmint, lavender cotton, rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis, and rose.
The following are some herb garden designs to use or adapt to your own setting.
Just 48 square feet is space enough for a diverse assortment of scented herbs, plus a compatible fragrant rose. Seven of the nine herbs have culinary uses, making this planting especially appealing to cooks (particularly if it’s located near a kitchen door). The two non-culinary choices—lavender cotton and catmint—add to the plot’s beauty with their soft textures and equally soft gray-green to gray-white leaf color.
Check your local nursery for substitutions that will grow well in your region. Plant list for the herb garden shown:
- A: Allium schoenoprasum Chives (3)
- B: Artemisia dracunculus French tarragon (4)
- C: Nepeta x faassenii Catmint (3)
- D: Origanum majorana (Majorana hortensis) Sweet marjoram (1)
- E: Origanum vulgare Oregano (2)
- F: Rosa ‘Sunsprite’ (1)
- G: Rosmarinus officinalis Rosemary (1)
- H: Salvia officinalis ‘Icterina’ Common sage (1)
- I: Santolina chamaecyparissus ‘Nana’ Lavender cotton (3)
- J: Thymus x citriodorus ‘Aureus’ Lemon thyme (1)
Other Herb Articles:
How To Preserve Home-Grown Herbs
Creeping Winter Savory Is Tasty Addition to Any Garden
Erika Yigzaw is the Senior Vice President and Master Gardener of The American College of Healthcare Sciences. ACHS, with a campus in the John’s Landing area of Portland, is one of the only accredited, online schools offering degrees, diplomas, and career-training certificates in complementary alternative medicine. Founded in 1978, ACHS is committed to exceptional online education and is recognized as an industry leader in holistic health education worldwide. For more information about ACHS programs and community wellness events, and to enter our booth competition, visit us at the Energy Trust Better Living Show, March 26-28, Booth #811. You can reach Erika at (503) 244-0726, or stop by the campus located at 5940 SW Hood Ave., Portland OR 97239.
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