How To
Plan an Herb Garden
by Monica Resinger
An herb garden can bring a person a lot of pleasure because
there's so many things that can be done with herbs such as herbal crafts, herbal
teas and herbal seasonings. On top of this, you get to care and tend for the
plants which, if this is all you do, is enough reason to grow an herb garden.
Seeing how the herbs mingle together and enjoying their fragrance are other
benefits.
By planning your herb garden, you will eliminate any frustration
that may arise from planting an herb in the wrong area. For example, if you
plant Basil in a very shady area, it will not grow as well as if it were planted
in a warm, sunny area. Also, your herb garden will bring you more satisfaction
if you plan which herbs you will use.
The first thing to think about when planning your herb garden is
location. Full sun is the best for herbs, but it has been my experience that
most herbs will grow in partial shade. If your herbs are planted in partial
shade, they may not grow as fast as when planted in full sun, but they will do
just fine. The place to avoid is full shade, herbs simply will not do well in
full shade.
When you have decided on a location for your herb garden, it's
time to figure out which herbs you'd like to grow. To figure this out, ask
yourself why you want to grow herbs. Is it for cooking, teas, potpourri,
fragrance, or a combination of all these? Whatever reason you decide you're
growing herbs for will help you decide which herbs to grow. If it's for cooking,
which herbs do you currently use? You could grow these, plus others that have
caught your interest in the past. If it's for any of the other reasons, do some
research first to find out what herbs are good for that interest. Visit the
library and choose books on that subject, or search the Internet for
information. Ask your herb growing friends. My e-book 'Getting to Know Mint'
will help you learn about the the herb Mint with Description and Varieties,
Growing Mint, Mint Problems, Caring for Mint, Using Mint: Culinary Uses
(includes 17 recipes), Medicinal Uses, Garden and Household uses, Harvesting
Mint and Preserving Mint; for more information, click here:
http://homemakersjournal.com/mint.htm
You will also need to find out if the herbs you have chosen will
grow in your zone and soil type. Again, the library and Internet will be good
sources of information.
Now that you have chosen the herbs you want to grow, it's time
to put them into a plan. First, make a list of the herbs you will be using,
leaving a space for its' description of height, foliage and/or flower color, and
spacing requirements. To find these requirements, look these plants up in a
gardening reference book. Decide what shape of bed you'd like and what size.
Keep in mind that to be easily accessed, an island bed (a bed that can be
accessed from all sides) should be no wider than 5 ft, and a border bed (a bed
that can only be accessed from the front) should be no wider than 2 1/2 ft.
Now take a piece of paper and a pencil and sketch in the shape
of the bed. Look at your list of herbs and place your herbs according to height,
and which plants would compliment each other. You can do this by sketching or
writing in the names of the plant. If you change your mind about something,
simply erase and change. As you are placing your plants, make notes of how far
apart the plants should be spaced. You may even want to go as far as using
colored pencils to do some color coding or to color in the color of the plants.
This sketch is your rough draft. You can use this as your planting guide.
The planning process can be just as enjoyable as planting and
caring for the herbs. It also enables you to get to know your plants before they
are even planted. Finally, as mentioned above, it will save you a great deal of
frustration, so take the time to plan your herb garden.
Monica Resinger is the creator of 'Homemaker's Journal E-Publications' where you
will find many fun and informative home and garden related e-books, tip sheets
and how to sign up for her FREE home and garden newsletter! Click here to visit:
http://homemakersjournal.com/