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Written by Lesley Brown
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Before embarking on your design, consider how much
time and
effort you are willing to put into your herb garden and how much
maintenance any proposed scheme is likely to require. Don't be too
ambitious or it will become a chore rather than a pleasure. If you are
new to gardening, start with a small area or a few large containers and
a limited number of herbs. As your enthusiasm grows, you can expand
your herb garden and its contents.
The ideal site is quiet and sunny with a protective surround. These
conditions suit most herbs and will help to make a peaceful retreat.
Aim for an area where at least three-quarters of the space is in the
sun for most of the day. As many aromatic herbs are Mediterranean in
origin, a slope that faces the sun for 5-6 hours each day is ideal as
it will offer good drainage as well as extra solar energy. Consider
wind protection, particularly for evergreen herbs such as rosemary and
sweet bay in the spring, and around a proposed seat or bench. A
traditional hedge or wall, or a screen supporting climbing plants,
creates a feeling of seclusion, confines the perfumes of aromatic
plants and reduces wind buffeting.
Apart from the physical aspects of a site, think about its location in
terms of how you plan to use it. Will herbs be close to your kitchen
door for convenient picking? Will their scent drift indoors? Or do you
want to create a herb garden retreat, removed from household activities?
Designing Your Garden
Having selected your site, decide on the style of garden you want;
whether it is to be a formal scheme following geometric patterns or an
informal collection or grouping that dictates its own shape.Formal herb
gardens are based on well-defined patterns and geometric shapes, with
the beds and paths designed to give a sense of order and balance as
well as access.
In informal gardens, plants are massed together in a profusion of color
and different species, with the herbs often intermingled with flowers
and vegetables. The effect is natural and romantic. However, such
seemingly disorganized growth requires some planning so neighboring
plants complement rather than clash, and have sufficient sunlight.
Paths must still provide access so some structure is necessary to make
the overall design work and to allow for maintenance.
Working out a planting scheme
Once you have planned the garden's physical layout, plot out where you
might position the plants you want to grow in terms of their
requirements and usage: culinary plants by the kitchen door, aromatic
plants under the windows, further beds for historical or medicinal
plants, depending on your interests. As a guide, one plant per square
foot or ten per square meter allows plenty of space for perennials to
grow.
Position annuals so you don't have to disturb perennials when planting
or removing them. Use tall plants as focal points in central beds or as
screens. Where you have the space, group several plants of the same
species together to increase their effect.
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