Creative Gardening

A Child's Garden Creating a Cook's Garden Herb Teas Herbs in the Garden Series - Herbs as Groundcovers Herbs in the Garden Series - Herbs for Moist but not Soggy Soil Herbs in the Garden Series - Herbs for Poor Soil

Herbs in the Garden Series - Herbs for Shady Areas Herbs in the Garden Series - Herbs that Attract Butterflies Living Wreaths Making Herbal Vinegars and Oils Planting Herbs in Combinations Preserving Herbs

Every good cook knows that the first step to preparing a terrific recipe is choosing the freshest and highest quality ingredients. As far as herbs go, there is no higher quality than homegrown and handpicked! Fresh herbs from the market are usually days and even weeks old. Dried and bottled herbs are great when that is all you have, but they can't measure-up to the depth of flavor of your own homegrown fresh herbs.

A kitchen herb garden is one of the easiest gardens to maintain, even for those who don't consider themselves to have a green thumb. Most common herbs are drought tolerant, thrive in poor soil, do not require fertilizer, and critters generally tend to stay away from them. One exception is butterflies who like to lay their eggs on some varieties of herbs. Some people buy parsley and rue just for the caterpillars and butterflies they attract.

Preparing the garden site:

Choose a site that is close to your kitchen door. The easier it is to access while cooking, the more likely you will utilize it.

Pick a sunny location for your garden. You will want a site that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight a day. Any less than that will cause the flavor of your herbs to be less potent.

Be sure the location of the garden is one with good drainage. If your soil is high in clay content, you will need to work in some compost to the top 3 to 4 inches of soil.

Garden design:

The most important component to planning a cook's garden is that you make it accessible even in muddy conditions. My experience has proven the need for pathways, stepping stones, or a long narrow layout. You can create pathways with gravel, thick mulch, bark chips, paving stones, flat rocks, bricks or even mowed grass.

Grid Design: Simply till up a rectangle or square shape and divide it in a grid pattern with your pathway material so each type of herb has its own section accessible from the path.

Wagon Wheel Garden: Till a circle and make your paths as spokes meeting in the center. Plant each section with the taller plants towards the center.

Ladder Garden: Find an old wooden ladder and lay it over freshly tilled soil. You will have instant sections for your various herbs.

Raised Beds: Use 2x6" or 2x8" lumber or layered rocks for long narrow beds. If you wish, make divided sections with the same material to keep spreading plants from over-extending themselves.

Additional Tips:

Search our data base for the herbs you most commonly use, but also search out some others that you are not familiar with but intrigued by so you can broaden your horizons in the kitchen.

Keep your annual and perennial herbs in separate sections to make maintaining and replanting easier.

Keep in mind while planting, the height your herbs will be when mature. Depending on the layout of your garden, put the tall plants on the north or east end.