Not just for the vegetable garden, herbs are a wonderful addition to the flower garden, providing both a sensory experience and a culinary experience.
It’s easy to tuck rosemary, thyme, or oregano into a spot at the front of a flower bed. Peppermint is another great herb to add to the flower bed, though I highly recommend using a container in the ground to keep it in check or plant it in its own bed. I have mine in a small bed at the back of the garage which tends to be drier than the other beds. The mint does fine in this spot, and it doesn’t take over the rest of the yard.
Thyme can also be used as a ground cover. I put several plants under our grape vine trellis this year. The trellis is surrounded by grass, but it’s hard to cut the grass right where the trellis is. The spot gets plenty of light for the thyme, and we no longer have to worry about cutting the grass under the trellis.
If you have the space, setting up a permanent herb bed is easy to do. Our herb bed was once the location of a pine tree. When we first moved into our home, we had 2 enormous pine trees that we immediately had removed.
One tree was located in our current vegetable garden, and the other was at the front of the yard. We left the wood chips in place at the front of the yard, and dumped a lot of free leaf mulch from the local transfer station on top of the pile. Then I started planting herbs, along with a butterfly bush in the middle of the bed.
Currently, we have tarragon, comfrey, lemon balm, St. John’s Wort, and lavender in the bed, along with a seasonal planting of parsley.
For other ways to use your yard to grow food, check out my Edible Landscaping series about fruiting vines, strawberries, and fruit trees and shrubs.
For more information about herbs, visit Herbgardening.com
Works for Me Wednesday at We Are That Family and Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Dreamer
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