Herb Garden Guide

We all use herbs and spices in our cooking. A lot of the time we can settle for dried herbs out of convenience – but sometimes the difference between a fresh herb and one from a pot is vast. With your own herb garden you have access to all your favourite herbs, fresh, right on your doorstep. Assuming they are well looked after and flourish you could well have a surplus – which is never a bad position to be in.

What do You Need to Start a Herb Garden?

There are a few things which need considering before you begin. The first is the position of the herb garden. Herbs love the sun – having full sun on them helps develop their full flavour potential. You need to choose a spot in the garden which receives at least four full hours of sun a day. Besides the taste benefits of this you also have to remember that herbaceous plants tend to go and find sunlight if it is not provided for them – they wander and can becomes a slight nuisance if not properly looked after!

You need good soil, good fertilization and good drainage to be truly successful at designing your perfect herb garden. Very few plants require or like really wet soil – so a good mix of compost and soil will usually sort this out. Mixing in a fertilizer will give your herbs the best chance – a good soil encourages good root structure, which in turn means good herb growth.

Another thing to remember before you plant anything is to group plants of similar water and feeding requirements together, this makes your life easier as well as theirs!

The final thing you need for your herb garden is, of course, some herbs!

Which Herbs Where?

Deciding which combination of herbs you wish to grow is easy enough – think of what you cook with! If you are unsure of whether you could grow it in your garden then a visit to your local botanical garden should give you some clues.

There are several types of herbs to think about – some are more work than others, which is worth keeping in mind when choosing them.

Annuals require replanting every season; they often grow to a reasonable size and are perfect for trying out a new type of herb you may not have used before.

Perennials such as thyme are likely to last two or three seasons before having to replace them – they can be grown from cuttings, seeds or divisions.
Shrubs are a much longer lasting option; they are also larger growing, up to 2 or more metres at their fullest height. Trees are even more long lasting and provide what is known as an herb canopy – this provides some shelter for some of the herbs below.

Herbs to Eat

Some herbs to get you started are the obvious baked potato favourite Chives – which have purple flowers in spring. Parsley is another favourite – getting them to germinate can be hard, so start the seeds 6 or so weeks before you intend to plant them.

Basil is a great herb to start growing because it is easy enough to get started –just remember that it is a summer herb and should only be planted outside once the summer has really begun. Rosemary on the other hand is reasonably hardy and is worth keeping outside for most of the year.

Hopefully this gets your mind working on ideas for your very own herb garden.