by Susan Klatz Beal

Created on: July 18, 2009

An herb garden can be a wonderful addition to one's kitchen or vegetable garden or it can be a separate garden unto itself. The foliage, the fragrance, and in some cases, the flowers of herbs can be as attractive as anything else. An herb garden can provide the gardener with the most wonderful possible seasonings to use on their food that one could begin to imagine. At the end of the season, some of the herbs can be dried and used over the course of the winter months.

There are many things to consider when planning an herb garden. Some of those considerations are more essential than others. Here is a look at some of the most important or essential of those considerations.

LOCATION -

The first and most important consideration for anyone who is planning an herb garden is the location. Most herbs will do best in full sun. A location that provides full sun is essential. In especially hot climates, it would be wise to put the herb garden in a location where it can get full sun early in the morning, but where the sun exposure will be more filtered later in the afternoon.

HARDINESS ZONE -

Another consideration is the hardiness zone. Some herbs aren't hardy in colder zones and therefore have to be grown as annuals if they are grown in the ground. A possible way to get around that is to grow those herbs in containers so that they can be brought indoors when the weather starts to get too cool.

SPACE -

The amount of space that one has for an herb garden is something that should be evaluated before deciding what kind of herbs to plant. If space is limited, it would be wise not to plant things like mint, chives or dill because they can all become incredibly invasive.

It is important to use the space wisely. Some herbs like lavender will form clumps and spread out in subsequent years. Planning for that from the onset will eliminate the need to figure out a resolution on the spur of the moment.

Make sure that you allow enough space between plants and between the different herbs. Cross pollination might result in some unintended or unwanted surprise. Additionally, when very fragrant herbs are planted too closely together, it may be impossible to discern one fragrance from another.

If space is really limited, consider building a raised bed. A raised bed can be built up in levels, making it possible to plant more in a smaller amount of space. Another possibility is to plant herbs in containers and to group herbs together in a container in a manner much like that by which they'd

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>