Herb Garden Design

[Head Box]

I'm planning to lay out and make a herb garden this summer but although I can find loads of info on the herbs themselves, I can't find any good books about herb garden designs and layout, or on the best times of year to replant or sow the herbs I want.

Does anyone have any recommendations about where I can get this information please?

Thanks

[MagicLady]

I'd be interested to know too

[Florence Fennel]

Try searching the threads on here, or google it? Happy hunting.

[Snadger]

The two most common derivations are the herb wheel, with as many spokes as you have herbs or the herb spiral which is a raised bed formed in a spiral with herbs planted around the spiral!

[amandaandherveg]

I'm interested in doing this too Head Box.

I'm about to start buiding our new house and I quite like the idea of Snadger's Herb Spiral.

There's the remains on an old building on our building plot so lots and lots of sandstone. Something like this would look good, but like you I need to find out more about what/when and where to plant. I'm concentrating hard on growing pots of herbs this year so that I wil have loads when I need them (I hope).

Google Image Result for http://www.lifesagardenaz.com/gallery_images/baron_rental_herb_after_1_sm.jpg

[MrsC]

I'm planning to lay out and make a herb garden this summer but although I can find loads of info on the herbs themselves, I can't find any good books about herb garden designs and layout, or on the best times of year to replant or sow the herbs I want.

Does anyone have any recommendations about where I can get this information please?

Thanks

Hi Head Box

Depends what you want really. You can go for the more informal/messy look (as I have) or the lovely spiral wheel that Snadger created. I think design is it upto you really. Your choice

[greengardendesign]

herb garden design

There is a good book by Lesley Bremness called The Complete Book of Herbs, which has lots of ideas for different herb gardens. You need to decide between formal or informal designs to start. Have fun!
Linda
Green - garden design, surrey

[hmk]

There is a good book by Lesley Bremness called The Complete Book of Herbs, which has lots of ideas for different herb gardens. You need to decide between formal or informal designs to start. Have fun!
Linda

I was going to suggest this book Geraldine Holt's Complete Book of Herbs is interesting too, though the majority of it is recipes. Jekka McVicar's book is also good, though more about growing than garden design, I seem to remember.

Traditionally herbs were either grown as part of the cottage garden, so sqeezed in wherever possible, though not in quite such a picturesque way as the Victorian artists would have you think, or formally in a knot garden (large houses/monasteries). This is not a cheap option (lots of box/lavender/yew/santolina etc to edge) and requires a lot of upkeep to keep it looking good (mostly hedge clipping).
A good compromise is the wheel garden already mentioned. sometimes using a real cartwheel to seperate the beds.

My herbs are all over my garden and allotment because a) they are where they'll grow best (most like a relatively sunny well drained spot, but some prefer more shade) and b) a lot of the plants I grow are herbs in the sense they're useful for something, rather than the supermarket definition of a herb, so my whole garden is my herb patch, with other plants in it too

HMK

[Topcat36]

What i do if i'm looking for ideas is use Google type in herb gardens and click on images. should give you some ideas .

[IgglePiggle]

Maybe you could build a keyhole garden and plant herbs in it instead? It does look a nice way of growing things