ideal herb garden?

Bear with me here because I know I'm asking a lot of questions tonight.. the thing is that we have decided not to go on holiday later this summer and to use the money to do up the garden instead. (We aren't talking a lot of money here, only about £600 becase we were just going up north for a few days..)
Ok question here is - is there a foolproof or (highly likely LOL) recipe for a small herb plot ? I love herbs and spend a lot of time and money buying them but they always die on me. It's supposed to be poor soil for herbs and there isnt any poorer than my front garden ! The things that grow freely and do well are Aquilegia, Lemon Balm, and Feverfew. Everything else dies sooner or later. My lovely Rosemary has lasted 4 years but isnt 100% this year.
Can you give me directions on how to do a small but lovely herb plot ? Peat? Compost? Sand? Prayer?

 

I've heard somewhere else that poor soil is good for herbs. That's not my experience. My Sage, Lemon Balm, Rosemary and Oregano all did far better after I'd dug in some soil improver (I think it was a mix of topsoil and manure). My mint grows in a different patch, which is always moist and well fed. It did ace until I got bored of it an put a goosegog bush in its place. The mint still comes through though.

I haven't got my herb patch anymore though. I blitzed it last year because bindweed was taking over.

 

My mint does ok too, sorry forgot to mention that. I had to make a special bed with compost at the lowest part of the garden in shade, and keep it moist. Before I made this bed , it kept dying. Thanks for this, I am writing down everthing you say ! xxx

 

Herbs seem to do best in a raised bed, in my experience. Feverfew and Lemon Balm will grow anywhere and self seed in profusion. Mint likes shade - the best way to grow it I find is to plant in a largish pot and bury it somewhere with dappled shade, then lift once a year to divide it.

A lot of herbs used today are Mediterranean in origin, so think along those lines - sun, dry but decent soil.

 

Ok many thanks both. I do have what used to be a rockery and is now a mess. Squarish bed enclosed by bricks. I could sit and dig that over and plonk the herbs in there. it's also on a slope so is free draining but I can fork in compost or something liek that. Is for next year anyway.
I wish we didnt jsut have one shot a year at gardens - is a long time to wait if you get it wrong !

 

I used to think that too, now I'm not so sure.

Lets start from the beginning on the herb patch idea. What herbs do you want to grow? What herbs have you already got? What are the soil and local climate conditions like in your garden? We know the soil is poor, but how so? How much sun do you get in the garden?

Also, I think you said in another post that you are at a fair altitude on open moor. Assuming all moorland has a lot in common, I'm guessing you are on peaty, slightly acid soil, are prone to sudden gale force windows from nowhere, can get quite warm and sunny but winter can be a bit severe. Does that sound about right?

 

Hi Ming

You're already getting some good advice here. The only thing I'd add is that one of the commonest and most useful herbs is parsley and that has similar needs to mint. In other words, it likes a bit of light shade and deep, moist soil. The root on a parsley plant is surprisingly big! They only last two years so you need to keep a supply coming. Parsley seed is a bit iffy to germinate and so you might prefer to buy parsley plants.

 

Parsely is an excellent suggestion, and sometimes overlooked. It can take surprising punishment once established, from a good drowning to a hot dry spell, and when I grew it for a while, I was able to harvest it through the winter, even when there was snow settled on top of it but it was no worse for it.

Parsely seed can take ages to germinate. There is some piece of folklore about its roots needing to meet the devil before the top will grow, which I'm pretty sure is rubbish but it does highlight that it has long been acknowledged as a slow starter.

Once established though, it gets going quite well, and although many books I've read recommend you treat it as an annual, I found it just as good when it was in its second year, although it gets a bit chew just before it goes to seed.

 

Sorry I forgot about this... as well as the garden we have a family wedding this weekend.
The herbs I have got already are all in bits where I've added a lot of compost. When I read that herbs liked poor soil, I moved some out into the main garden - but they dont look very well. That was lavender, basil, and oregano. I will aim for an enclosed brick square bed, with a good mix of compost and soil in.
Clueless, I'm on the edge of grouse moors, don't know what kind of soil. Nobody here has fancy gardens at all though. We have a lot of gales, lot of snow, and are a month/5 weeks behind gardens further down. But we never ever get humid or fog.

 

Does loads of heather and bracken grow there? Moorland is usually very peaty and acidic, so chances are your garden is full of such soil (unless you are on limestone). A pH meter or test kit will tell you, they only cost about a fiver and are simple to use.

If the soil is very acidic, as is often the case on the moors, then you might find it tricky to grow anything other than acid loving plants. I'm not sure what herbs fall into that category.

I'd be tempted to take a pH reading, it takes away all the guesswork.

As for the gales and snow, I'd be looking at sorting a bit of shelter around the whole garden. What do you have as your perimeter? A good thick hedgerow is said to be better than a solid fence for example, although obviously it takes some establishing.

 

ok. Will look out for one when I go to the garden centre. And tubs or compost-filled beds are the way to go. The moors are heather covered with bracken and ferns, this is a tiny village beside a road.
Re winds, they almost always come from the west, and we planted a beech hedge at the front west side when we moved in. The back garden however is open to next doors garden , no windbreak. I saw some hawthorn hedge plants at the GC last week, that might do ..

 

I don't think we can argue with hundreds of generations of farmers, who all used hawthorn for their hedgerows, so good choice I reckon.

Tubs and containers are a good plan, because then you know exactly what soil is in them, plus you can move them to a sheltered spot for winter.

 

Hi Ming

So much good advice so far but a few things I can add. I see you are in Scotland......short growing season, low light, peaty (perhaps) soil which is probably acid. So my suggestions are to choose a south facing aspect to maximise the light, preferably out of the wind. You're already doing that with your hedge. And also add some lime to the soil. Remember most mediterranean plants grow in lime rich soil on rocky limestone slopes. Raised beds are also an excellent idea to drain away that Scottish rain. Good luck.

 

a fascinating and insightful thread... and useful for me as i'm venturing into attempting to cultivate some herbs in a scottish garden (though this one is in glasgow!). conditions maybe not the easiest as the garden is at the back, north facing, and the soil is clayish... i've enriched it with some compost and some organic feed pellets. borage and lemon balm seem to be doing fine. thyme so far is not protesting. the rosemary remains in a container for now, but i do want to try and get it into the ground. my question for now is this: can i, postfactum, add a bit of lime if i am worried that the soil is on the acidic side? i've also had a stab at planting out a bergamot plant, which i understand produces lovely red flowers in the right conditions... even if it doesn't it smells great!