by Kriss Erickson

Created on: June 17, 2008   Last Updated: June 02, 2011

Landscaping with easy to care for herb plants makes for a beautiful, versatile and sustainable environment. Many herb plants make wonderful landscape choices. Among my favorites are lavender, St. John's Wort, Rosa Rugosa (Rose Hip Rose) and rosemary.

USING LAVENDER

Lavender is a perennial plant with evergreen, silvery-gray foliage that grows into a somewhat upright, bushy plant. There are hundreds of varieties of lavender. One web site, Tuscan Heights Lavender Gardens (

http://www.tuscanheights.net), grows over 200 varieties. True to its name, many varieties of lavender have purple flowers. Other varieties of lavender have pink, white, blue, yellow or reddish flowers. The flowers rise from slender stalks with flower heads consisting of bundles of tiny flowers. Some, such as Spanish varieties like Otto Quast, also have several larger petals emerging from the top. Lavender prefers a sunny location. If planted in the shade, lavender will send branches in search of the sun, creating a spreading shape.

Lavender sizes vary from 12 inch-tall lavender vera to several feet tall and two to three feet wide. Dutch Mill and White haze can grow as tall as four feet, making them excellent choices to place behind annuals or other shorter plants.

Lavender is a hardy plant that is resistant to drought and disease, making it a good choice for rock gardens, borders and flower beds. All varieties of lavender have fragrant flowers. Some varieties, such as munstead, can also be dried and used as potpourri or in recipes. Culinary uses of lavender include ice cream, candy, tea and pizza sauce. Lavender makes excellent cut flowers. Cutting lavender flowers helps to shape the plant and encourages the plant to flower again.

USING ST. JOHN'S WORT

St. John' wort is another perennial, evergreen herb that grows well on slopes, making it an idea choice to protect against erosion. St. John's wort's long, tongue-shaped, medium green leaves grow on opposite sides along the length of slender stems. In late spring to early summer, large yellow flowers appear, with pompom shaped stamens in the center of roseate petals. St. John's wort grows well in sunny locations but also tolerates shade, and prefers moist soil conditions. St. John's wort is disease resistant and easy to care for, only requiring a pruning or two each growing season. It spreads via rootlets that spread about a half inch beneath the ground.

"The Herb Book" by John Lust says that St. John's wort has a calming effect on the nervous

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