How to Design a Herb Garden

If you’ve always wished you had a garden filled with fragrant herbs, but haven’t made one because you are unsure how to go about it, take a look at these handy tips on how to design a herb garden. Planning an herb garden may seem an overwhelming task, but it is actually a fairly easy process.

One of the most important tips to remember when designing any garden is to plant in groups of three, five, or seven. For some reason, odd numbered groups of three or more plants look much better than a single plant or even numbered groupings of plants.

Of course, knowing how many plants to use in each grouping doesn’t help you design a herb garden if you aren’t sure where to place them. Take a look at nature. Plants don’t grow in tidy rows. Instead, they grow in a curve, with some plants jutting forward and others hanging back. Of course, you don’t want your herb garden to be completely unorganized, so you will need to take a look at each herb’s growth habit. Taller plants should be in the back of the herb bed, while low growers should be in the front. Occasionally, you can shake things up a bit by putting a taller plant in the front of the bed. Be sure the plant behind it can tolerate more shade though.

Once you know how to plant your herb garden, it is time to pick out the plants you will use. This is probably the most enjoyable thing to do as you design a herb garden. If possible, go to a plant nursery and actually touch and smell the different herbs. Place herbs beside each other to see how they look together before you actually bring them home and plant them.

Now that you know what the different herbs look like, it is time to decide which ones you want to place in your garden. Don’t forget as you design a herb garden that you want to make it functional as well as fun. If you enjoy cooking with fresh herbs, you may want to use plenty of culinary herbs in the design. For people who rarely heat up the stove, herbs that have healing properties may be a better choice. If you love scents, herbs used to make essential oils are ideal. Of course, if you like all of these things, you can always divide your herb garden into sections.