Herb Gardening Landscaping
"Welcome to Herb Gardening Landscaping"
Landscaping, using herbs for decorative purposes, can really beautify the most drab of settings. The mixture of colors, leaf-textures, and perfumes can transform the “ordinary” into the “extraordinary.”
Of course, using herbs as a landscaping feature is steeped in tradition. This stuff is all tried and tested. Even the ancients of Babylon, Greece and Rome used such methods to not only grow their edibles, but to transform plain, rocky areas around their homes into beautiful gardens. Thecontrasts that can be created are virtually endless. There are hundreds of ways to grow herbs, to variegate their distribution among your landscape design and then to – simply let them be. Herbs are hardy. They are very undemanding, non-attention-seeking plants. Easy to grow, they need very little attention.
Sunshine and Shade for your herb garden!
Most herbs love to bask in sunshine. They like a well-drained soil in full sun.* But you can grow a lot of them indoors. Likewise, half in and half out- that is, partial shade, is favorable to their growth. A common way, is to place them in hanging-baskets on the edge of a patio or veranda. This way they get sunshine for part of the day only. Herbs also flourish between pavers in a courtyard, or can just as easily peep from the bricks surrounding your barbecue. If you can think of a place to plant ‘em, chances are they will thrive.
Landscaping, using herbs for decorative purposes, can really beautify the most drab of settings. The mixture of colors, leaf-textures, and perfumes can transform the “ordinary” into the “extraordinary.”
Of course, using herbs as a landscaping feature is steeped in tradition. This stuff is all tried and tested. Even the ancients of Babylon, Greece and Rome used such methods to not only grow their edibles, but to transform plain, rocky areas around their homes into beautiful gardens. Thecontrasts that can be created are virtually endless. There are hundreds of ways to grow herbs, to variegate their distribution among your landscape design and then to – simply let them be. Herbs are hardy. They are very undemanding, non-attention-seeking plants. Easy to grow, they need very little attention.
Sunshine and Shade for your herb garden!
Most herbs love to bask in sunshine. They like a well-drained soil in full sun.* But you can grow a lot of them indoors. Likewise, half in and half out- that is, partial shade, is favorable to their growth. A common way, is to place them in hanging-baskets on the edge of a patio or veranda. This way they get sunshine for part of the day only. Herbs also flourish between pavers in a courtyard, or can just as easily peep from the bricks surrounding your barbecue. If you can think of a place to plant ‘em, chances are they will thrive.
Herb Garden Landscaping |
Herb Garden Landscapes Great for Garden BordersBecause of their variety, herbs can be used for anything from low, garden-bordering at the edge of pathways, to tall varieties that are idea for the typical “Cottage Garden.” Edging a garden path or entrance way close to your door with lovely aromatic herbs such as lavender or mint will bring wonderful perfume wafting in on evening breeze.
Rockeries Herb Garden Landscaping is ideal for rockeries. You can put them in almost anywhere. In the majority of instances they are tolerant to the wider temperature gradients you get in such a setting; able to put up with the heat of a rockery in the midday sun, and the cold of the night. Ease of Access Our garden gnome, Stumpy, advises that if you’re growing herbs mainly to eat them, place ‘em close to your kitchen! Nothing worse than having to trudge right down the yard on a dark, rainy night slipping on the snails, to get some parsley, eh? Plan according to lifestyle. All right, let’s get to it for some great herb gardening tips and ideas… Herb |
Herb Garden Landscaping Beneficial Light!
LIGHT AND HOW MUCH?
All herbs need light. However, while most herbs enjoy full sunlight, some need full shade. Others, thrive satisfactorily under just about any light condition.
Morning Light
For some reason, ‘early morning light’ is very important to herb growth. Its presence, or the lack of it, can have a marked effect on growth and development. A plant exposed to early light is faster in its development than a plant which does not receive same. Maximum height, for example, may occur as much as a month earlier with plants having morning light.
Try to always take the morning light as your first option. This light is much softer on plant life as it is filtered through the moisture of the morning air. Afternoon air is generally both dryer and hotter. Still, if you don’t have any morning sun, don’t give up, just plant where you can- and use the tips we provide in this site to help you grow your herbs in the optimum conditions you have available.
All herbs need light. However, while most herbs enjoy full sunlight, some need full shade. Others, thrive satisfactorily under just about any light condition.
Morning Light
For some reason, ‘early morning light’ is very important to herb growth. Its presence, or the lack of it, can have a marked effect on growth and development. A plant exposed to early light is faster in its development than a plant which does not receive same. Maximum height, for example, may occur as much as a month earlier with plants having morning light.
Try to always take the morning light as your first option. This light is much softer on plant life as it is filtered through the moisture of the morning air. Afternoon air is generally both dryer and hotter. Still, if you don’t have any morning sun, don’t give up, just plant where you can- and use the tips we provide in this site to help you grow your herbs in the optimum conditions you have available.
Wind And Shade For Your Plants?
Inadvertent Shading
Be careful with "Herb garden landscaping" where you put those plants you wish to expose to specific conditions of light. The effects of shade, cast by buildings and trees can have a big impact. For example, a garden may slope ideally to the north (in the southern hemisphere) and yet be without sun much of the day because of a high-rise building or the shade of trees.
Wind
Strong and persistent wind is detrimental to many plants. Some thrive: most do not. Wind imposes stress in many ways: the soil dries out, top-soil can be blown away. (Mulch can provide a remedy here) and, of course the actual strain of the plant buffeted by the wind itself.
The combination of wind and heat can wreak terrible effects. Tall-stemmed herbs can have their somewhat brittle stems broken, and for such plants a sheltered position is essential.
Be careful with "Herb garden landscaping" where you put those plants you wish to expose to specific conditions of light. The effects of shade, cast by buildings and trees can have a big impact. For example, a garden may slope ideally to the north (in the southern hemisphere) and yet be without sun much of the day because of a high-rise building or the shade of trees.
Wind
Strong and persistent wind is detrimental to many plants. Some thrive: most do not. Wind imposes stress in many ways: the soil dries out, top-soil can be blown away. (Mulch can provide a remedy here) and, of course the actual strain of the plant buffeted by the wind itself.
The combination of wind and heat can wreak terrible effects. Tall-stemmed herbs can have their somewhat brittle stems broken, and for such plants a sheltered position is essential.
Temperature and Your Herb Garden
Temperature for optimum growth!
Most plants have an optimal growth temperature; that is a range or spectrum of temperatures in which they grow best. For example, the majority of herbs cannot tolerate frost. Others, wilt in high temperatures. (* These latter need a shaded position)
Catabolic wind (Yep, cat’s come out at night) are caused by cold air rolling down from high ground into lower areas. Watch out for this when planting herbs. Cold air, trapped against a fence or wall with nowhere to escape to, can kill the herbs planted there. A frost pocket is formed and herbs abhor frosts.
The temperature variation between the upper reaches of a garden, and a frost pocket at a lower end can vary by vary by several degrees. So, if you’re obliged to plant at the lower end, you can alleviate the situation somewhat by building the plant-beds up high, so that the colder, descending air can drain away to even lower terrain.
To avoid extremes in temperature affecting your herb garden landscaping, keep their soils well-mulched. This will not only enrich the soil and retain moisture, but keep the plant’s roots cool. Just as important: protect those herbs from the hot, afternoon sun.
Most plants have an optimal growth temperature; that is a range or spectrum of temperatures in which they grow best. For example, the majority of herbs cannot tolerate frost. Others, wilt in high temperatures. (* These latter need a shaded position)
Catabolic wind (Yep, cat’s come out at night) are caused by cold air rolling down from high ground into lower areas. Watch out for this when planting herbs. Cold air, trapped against a fence or wall with nowhere to escape to, can kill the herbs planted there. A frost pocket is formed and herbs abhor frosts.
The temperature variation between the upper reaches of a garden, and a frost pocket at a lower end can vary by vary by several degrees. So, if you’re obliged to plant at the lower end, you can alleviate the situation somewhat by building the plant-beds up high, so that the colder, descending air can drain away to even lower terrain.
To avoid extremes in temperature affecting your herb garden landscaping, keep their soils well-mulched. This will not only enrich the soil and retain moisture, but keep the plant’s roots cool. Just as important: protect those herbs from the hot, afternoon sun.
Herb Garden and Soil Advices!
Herb garden landscaping top tip!
Soils
Clay soils are well-known and often disliked by gardeners. For myself, I believe they are very workable. They can be changed quickly from sticky, clumpy blocks, or dry fine dust, to a beautiful manageable soil with just the application of the knowledge you’ll glean from Herb Garden Landscapes and a little TLC. The truth is there are loads of minerals and all types of nutrients in clay soils. They just need to be unlocked so your plants can uptake and feed. How to do this?
By building up generous quantities of organic matter, Gypsum or Lime, this clay-soil will become productive and break up to be a crumbly soft soil that holds moisture, thus releasing the what is within. Organic matter is the key.
Firstly, break up the clay but keep it blocky in shape. Don’t go overboard breaking up the soil. Your organic matter and worms will do the work for you. Just exercise a little patience.
Add some Gypsum or Lime, so it is a nice fine white color. One handful per square meter will do. Add manures such as horse, cow manure, compost and leave it to rest on the top of the soil. Lay on top mulch, preferably hay or Lucerne.
Add chicken manure only after the plants have matured.
Raise the planting into mounds to increase oxygen and drainage to the soils.
Sandy Soils
Sandy soils will also improve with the adding of organic matter and mulch. The truth is sandy soils are easy to dig so gardeners love them, but they don’t retain moisture well, and are low in nutrient. That’s why deserts are deserts, after-all …well, rain does have a bit to do with it. I joke.
The key is to raise you garden up high and add copious amounts of organic matter to improve moisture retention.
With sandy soils, use twice as much as organic matter that you would with clay soils. Once you find earthworms in your soil, you have it made. But keep adding organic matter every spring.
Loam
Loam is just beautiful. It’s the soil of gardeners’ dreams. It contains sand, silt and clay and can vary from sandy-loam to clay-loam. Water retention and plant food availability are at optimum. If you’ve been blessed with a loam covering in your area, you are blessed indeed. Still you must still add organic matter to loam every spring for healthy happy herbs.
Soils
Clay soils are well-known and often disliked by gardeners. For myself, I believe they are very workable. They can be changed quickly from sticky, clumpy blocks, or dry fine dust, to a beautiful manageable soil with just the application of the knowledge you’ll glean from Herb Garden Landscapes and a little TLC. The truth is there are loads of minerals and all types of nutrients in clay soils. They just need to be unlocked so your plants can uptake and feed. How to do this?
By building up generous quantities of organic matter, Gypsum or Lime, this clay-soil will become productive and break up to be a crumbly soft soil that holds moisture, thus releasing the what is within. Organic matter is the key.
Firstly, break up the clay but keep it blocky in shape. Don’t go overboard breaking up the soil. Your organic matter and worms will do the work for you. Just exercise a little patience.
Add some Gypsum or Lime, so it is a nice fine white color. One handful per square meter will do. Add manures such as horse, cow manure, compost and leave it to rest on the top of the soil. Lay on top mulch, preferably hay or Lucerne.
Add chicken manure only after the plants have matured.
Raise the planting into mounds to increase oxygen and drainage to the soils.
Sandy Soils
Sandy soils will also improve with the adding of organic matter and mulch. The truth is sandy soils are easy to dig so gardeners love them, but they don’t retain moisture well, and are low in nutrient. That’s why deserts are deserts, after-all …well, rain does have a bit to do with it. I joke.
The key is to raise you garden up high and add copious amounts of organic matter to improve moisture retention.
With sandy soils, use twice as much as organic matter that you would with clay soils. Once you find earthworms in your soil, you have it made. But keep adding organic matter every spring.
Loam
Loam is just beautiful. It’s the soil of gardeners’ dreams. It contains sand, silt and clay and can vary from sandy-loam to clay-loam. Water retention and plant food availability are at optimum. If you’ve been blessed with a loam covering in your area, you are blessed indeed. Still you must still add organic matter to loam every spring for healthy happy herbs.
Herb Garden Landscapes Feeding and Fertilizer
Feeding and Fertilizer
To be truthful, if you have been adding plenty of organic matter to your soil feeding is not really needed. Microbes, worms, etc. help the matter break down into friable soil so the nutrients can be up taken.
Secret tip-
Planting the deep-rooted Comfrey Plant will help soil improvement, and a water fertilizer can be made from the leaves. I have actually found that planting it throughout the herb landscape definitely improved the soil.
To be truthful, if you have been adding plenty of organic matter to your soil feeding is not really needed. Microbes, worms, etc. help the matter break down into friable soil so the nutrients can be up taken.
Secret tip-
Planting the deep-rooted Comfrey Plant will help soil improvement, and a water fertilizer can be made from the leaves. I have actually found that planting it throughout the herb landscape definitely improved the soil.
Herb Gardening Article Resource Links
Click the link below for more source articles to help you setup and start up your own herbal garden.
Herb Gardening Video Resource Links
You can also check these video for more information, especially for herb gardening beginners.
Horticulturist Marty Ware
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Please Retweet This Gardening Article!Thanks for reading my article Herb Garden Landscaping. If you found it useful and really benefited from it. Which I hope you did. Then please"RETWEET" or share it on Facebook amongst friends!
Happy Gardening!
Marty Ware
Please Retweet This Gardening Article!Thanks for reading my article Herb Garden Landscaping. If you found it useful and really benefited from it. Which I hope you did. Then please"RETWEET" or share it on Facebook amongst friends!
Happy Gardening!
Marty Ware
