Herbs are a fascinating group of plants
with a history of cultivation stretching back to the dawn of civilization.
In the past, the family herb garden was a practical project, necessary
for supplying flavorings for the kitchen and medicines for the family.
Today gardeners are more likely to grow herbs for their attractive
looks, pleasing fragrances, and tasty favors than for medicinal
purposes. Whether your interest is kindled by history, taste, aroma,
or beauty, you'll find herbs a satisfying addition to your garden. We'll introduce these useful plants
and their qualities, suggest ways of using them in your home landscape,
and outline how to get started growing them.
WHAT IS AN HERB?-
Simply put, any plant useful to human beings is an herb. The oregano
and thyme that season your pizza are herbs. The cotton in your jeans
and the indigo dye that makes them blue come from herbs. Your perfume
may incorporate fragrant oils from roses; if you have heart trouble,
you may take the drug digitalin, extracted from foxgloves. The insecticide
pyrethrin, derived from the painted daisy, may protect other plants
in your garden from hungry bugs. The list goes on and on-we encounter
herbs and herb products every day.
Gardeners usually take a narrower
view of herbs when selecting them for the garden. We focus on plants
used as seasonings for food, those with noteworthy fragrances and,
increasingly, those that please the eye. We grow angelica, basil,
chives, marjoram, rosemary, tarragon, and thyme for their flavorful
leaves. Coriander, dill, and mustard provide tasty seeds. For scent,
we plant geranium, mint, sage, sweet woodruff and wormwood. And
we grow lamb's-ears for its soft, silver leaves; bee balm for its
fiery bowers; and germander for its compact form, ideal for an herbal
hedge.
HERBS IN THE HOME LANDSCAPE-
With such a wide variety of
flower, foliage, and form to choose from, you can consider herbs
for a spot in a flower bed or border just like you would any other
annual, perennial, or shrub. Take advantage of aromatic herbs like
lavender, clary sage, and clove pinks, whose scent wafts through
the air, by placing them near seating or upwind of open windows.
Place herbs such as mint and sage, whose leaves or flowers must
be crushed to release their fragrance, within easy reach or, if
they bear light foot traffic, as do chamomile, pennyroyal, and thyme,
plant them between flagstones on a path or patio.
You may wish to explore the long tradition
of herb gardens. If your interests are culinary, it is conve nient
to plant herbs used for food and favoring near the kitchen. Such
kitchen gardens are often small, perhaps laid out geometrically
in a square or circle. You might divide the planting with narrow
paths of wood chips or brick, which emphasize the geometry and provide
easy access. If you're ambi tious, consider a knot garden, where
low hedges of box, germander, or santolina establish an outline
and backdrop for an unfill of other herbs, often with foliage or
flowers in contrasting colors. ("Knot" refers to the intertwining
pattern of the outline.)
Herbs are also good candidates for
rock gardens. Plant herbs such as creeping thyme, artemisia, and
low-growing sages in soil filling the spaces between stones in a
wall or rocky outcrop (natural or man-made). Several herbs, including
chamomile, thyme, and germander, are fine ground covers. If your
garden is restricted to a patio or balcony, mint, chives, basil,
bay and many other herbs make excellent pot plants.
