If you have the good fortune to have the space for a herb garden, you have the pleasurable task of designing i. It is the ultimate artistic venture as you are dealing with shape and form in three dimensions, with texture and with color – and with the evocative powers of scent. You can also take a tip from the ancient Chinese garden builders and consider sound such as wind playing solar chords through stems. And over all of this, there is the changing panorama created by consecutive seasons.
Try to choose a site with at least three quarters of the area in sun to allow you to grow the widest range of herbs. Most herbs, like vegetables, prefer a slightly alkaline soil and most need good drainage. If the site is open, consider a wide break – either a wall or hedge of herbal trees or shrubs – to create privacy, confine the perfumes for your pleasure, and give a settled atmosphere where bees and butterflies can work undisturbed.
Paths are important in planning and their design and material will create the style of your garden. Herbs are such exuberant, generous plants that they need some form of discipline as a contrast. A geometric path design offers just such as contrast, gives the garden a pattern in wither months and, of course, provides access to your plants. Select the path materials with care. Grass, gravel or wood chippings can look attractive but require some upkeep. Hard surfaces last longest and old materials, old bricks and stone slabs offer the most beautiful colors. But sadly they are not easily obtained and often very expensive.
