Herb Garden

I have a small yard. I have taken to herbs and want to put in an herb garden. I have several in pots but would like to actually put in a small bed which would have full sun. I want to do one at my Mother's also. Will lavender do well in the shade? Does anyone have pics of cute little herb gardens. I'd also like to do a taller border of something along my front east facing fence, full sun. Eventually after I get this gardening thing figured out I want to start using the herbs:) I just LOVE them. I'd really like to find some cool mint plants. Farmers Market downtown would probably work. OK, and what could I plant in a yard that has tons of shade and very little water? Neighbors need something.....Thanks, Somer~

Lavender likes full sun. I've got way more sun than shade, so I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions offhand for dry shade, but my Lamium (which I think is supposed to be shade tolerant) did well in a pretty dry spot last year.

Oh! I know.... let's check Bluestone Perennials... One of their "helpful lists" (look under "Features" on their front page) is "plants that tolerate dry shade." Here's a link that I hope will take you to the list, http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/results_hlist.html?listid=DRYSHADE&listname=Plants%20that%20tolerate%20Dry%20Shade
otherwise, go to http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/

It looks like they've got Ajuga, Heuchera (coral bells), some Hosta, Phlox stononifera, Lamium, on their list... but the only "herbal" plant that they recommend for dry shade is Sweet Woodruff.

As for your "taller border of something".... how tall? And are you looking for a backdrop with room to plant something else in front, or are you looking for more of a tall hedge planting that will be a focal point in itself?

I love Russian Sage, which gets 4-5 feet tall, loves full sun, drought tolerant, wonderful airy silvery foliage & clouds of blue flowers.... I think black-eyed susans or coneflowers are a pretty combination with it, but there are endless possibilities.

Some of the other sages get pretty tall, also, and I think it's Pineapple sage that gets those wonderful red flowers that the hummingbirds adore.

I have a hedge of 'Fat Spike' lavender (L. grosso) along my driveway that's nearly 4 ft. tall in bloom and probably 2 ft. tall otherwise... As long as there is good drainage in front of that fence, lavender would love to grow there.

With your zone, you can also grow lots of herbs that are tender perennials for me... but you might want to check with somebody more local to see what they grow where. For example, my mints thrive in pots in full sun (as long as they get regular water), but some folks in TX have mentioned that they must grow mints in at least part shade to keep them from burning up.

You might think about putting in a bay laurel, which can get huge or you can keep small by trimming. I have one that came as a twig and is now a small bush in a pot; it will go in the ground come October or so, and I plan to let it get about 5-6' tall and wide. Nice to have around for stews, of course, and I love the smell of bay rum... ummmmm... But it needs sun.

We're in the same zone, oddly enough -- most of my herbs do better in the shade, but then again, we have summer heat about 73 months of the year down here. Maybe keep things in pots at first, and see how they do up there. My oregano, stevia, basil, and mints all thrive in shade, with some full sun every morning.

Be aware that bay laurel will grow HUGE (I have one over the top of a one story house) if left in the ground. And they are hard to keep small. Just like to warn folks--as it was one of my worst gardening mistakes when I first started out.

Really? I was told all I had to do was keep it pruned! Forewarned is forearmed. I've heard they can get 60' tall if left alone. So... maybe I'll get a really, really, really big pot instead of putting it in the ground. Or I'll put it a lot farther from the house than I was planning! Thanks, Debbie!

Or maybe prune with a chainsaw?

Would you like to see a picture of mine? This was taken in March....its a good thing I have such a nice neighbor--he can hardly get in his gate. He usually hacks it back even with that 6' privacy fence once per season for me...it just grows 'over' more towards his gate evey year. West side of house--that fence runs east-west.

Zowie -- but what a beautiful bush!

It is a 'pain in the rear' to keep hacked back though--the more you top it, the wider it gets. I've asked my neighbor just to take it down to the ground but he saws he can't do it with the hedge trimmers and no one has a chain saw...lol
Debbie

Wait a minute -- you're in TEXAS and no one has a CHAIN SAW? Who are you, and what have you done with Debbie!?!?!

Well, I don't and the neighbor doesn't. I live in the suburbs Brigid...lol

Well........ my husband DOES have a chain saw and no, he was never in TX.
What is that bush? It would actually be great on a section of our fence. It could compete with our neighbors hedge that keeps trying to move in:)

I have my very own chainsaw. It comes with a cord. Small, electric and I love it. If I had enough cord... I guess I'd probably hang myself.

Or you could run it over here to my place and take this "thug" off my hands...

Just think what I could do with that space now that I know something...lol

Some Links from the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

Scroll down the page & see what plants are there.

A Garden of Shade-Loving Herbs:
http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/design/handbooks/herbgarden/7.html

An Herb Garden for Tea Time: http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/design/handbooks/herbgarden/4.html

The Shady Border: Knockout Plants that Light up the Shadows: http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/plants/handbooks/shady/index.html

Garden Design: http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/design/

~* Robin

DMJ, I'm curious, what's the "now that I know something". You must have something in mind?

dmj1218 - (Debbie,) you can chop off some of those branches & send them to me... I'd be glad to take some off of your hands! I really like to see if I could root some of them... for real!

~* Robin

It means at least I know enough not to plant a bay leaf in the ground anymore Pod...lol

Nature, it probably would easily root and I'll be glad to send you a box full in the fall (that's late Oct-early Nov here).
Debbie

Waite Debbie?....And your showing me a pic of the plant you hate!? JJ...:0).... I do have a enough space that it would be a great plant......... Let me rephrase that...I have enough space, along the fence, in the small parking section, of my small lot, on which my 1100 square foot home sits. I do want to compete with the grumpy neighbor's hedge...maybe this WOULD be a great plant for that!

I'm really looking for cute "Herb Garden" ideas. I'd like to put one out back......I DON'T KNOW! I just love herbs and want SOMETHING! I can't figure this out and it's making me crazy. I've decided I'm not a patient gardener....Why would I think I would be? I want it big and pretty yesterday. We will be doing a greenhouse at my Mom's. Next year you'll all be wanting MY herbs!:0) or just be laughing at me. Thanks for the links, I'm going now to check them out. S~
I'm thinking lavender, the bay laurel is nice(but can it withstand the NW WA rains!) Just a row of herb bushes along the fence.

Rains a lot in Houston too--at least most of the time.

Will lavender do better in 8b up north than it does here? I can't get it to do anything. Just wilts like a southern lady needin' a julep.

Humidity does them in about second year for me--I've pretty much given up on them too...lol

Lavender grows wonderful here and at my mother-in-laws in wester Oregon. We have several lavender farms in our area. I'm putting in lots more and different varieties for next year. Might even sell a little right from home:) I LOVE it!

Howdy, I have a red clay bank in East Tennessee that I am terracing somewhat. It's in full sun and a long way away from the water hose. I'm thinking junipers on the bottom, because water will collect there moreso than the slope or the top. Daylillies for the banks. Irises to hold the top. And I'd like to put in herbs -- herbs that will spread and tolerate full sun and dry conditions once they are established. I can set up a sprinkler, carry water, or depend on the rain. Ideas?

Trailing rosemary would be a suggestion.

Oh, fun -- a new bed!

Most perennial herbs (basil needs more water) fit your description.... oregano, thyme, rosemary, lavender, sage, etc. Trailing rosemary or creeping thymes would look great trailing down over any terrace edges. You might even think about letting some mints scramble around at the bottom -- I think the junipers would be able to compete with them, and vice versa.

While they're being established, or during periods of real drought, I would suggest running a couple of soaker hoses through the beds if feasible. If you put a quick-connect end on the soaker and on your garden hose, it's as easy as hooking up a sprinkler, uses less water, and doesn't wet the foliage. The only thing is your slope.... if you can run the soaker hose back & forth across the face of the slope so that there's not more than maybe 3 feet of difference in elevation between top & bottom, it should work fine, but if you've got a lot more slope than that you may be better off using the sprinkler. Spacing the soaker hose 3-4 feet apart works great.

Just put in 10 trailing rosemarys -- lovely!

Soarker hoses with quick disconnects -- gee, thumping my head, that would be perfect. I can connect at the high end of the terraces and run one per terrace. If I use herbs, I won't need to water every terrace every day.

> oregano, thyme, rosemary, lavender, sage, etc. Trailing rosemary or creeping thymes SNIP mints

I love ALL those plants. Can't find any locally as we're all sold out. I'm not good with seed, so does anyone have a suggestion for online herbs -- and this bank is HUGE so I'm thinking 12+ of each kind....?

THANKS all!

I love the mint family (mints, balms, thyme oregano, rosemary, lav, etc.), but I know how much they spread so I built this little herb garden from clay chimney flue tiles. It keeps them contained and covers the whole bed (round pots always have gaps between them) and drains into the ground. I just need to get some cute little plant labels before I forget what all the varieties are.

Lingle's herbs in california has a wide selection of interesting herbs. I think they're in the Garden Watchdog. All of the plants I bought from them last year are doing well so far.

Katlain--looks really good...where did you find the chimney flues? HD?

I picked them up at our local masonry place. They run $8 for the small and $20 for the large. Look under brick or stone in the phone book.

My lavender is doing really well but we have dry weather all year. I've heard their roots rot easily and they need lots of sand and drainage in other places.

Yes, good drainage is essential for lavenders and for most other herbs. But since you're terracing a slope, you should have excellent drainage as long as you amend that clay soil, maybe break it up with a little compost or leaf mold. Your soil may be far better than the clay that the builder left us, but it took us several years of tilling in compost until we got the soil in the garden beds looking good... I think we've put 40 yards of compost into our 1/2 acre lot, and the lawn areas and foundation beds didn't get any of it (the foundation beds were built up with topsoil).

I think I've been saying this a lot lately, but there's this myth that herbs prefer to grow in dry, poor soils. They *can* grow in poor soils and need little watering once established, but they like water and nutrients as well as any other plant and will reward you with vigorous growth. However, good drainage is a must, as all the herbs we've been discussing here will sulk and die in soggy ground.

BTW, check your soil pH before planting lavender... it prefers a less acid soil, and if your pH is lower than, say, 6.5 you will want to add some lime where you plant lavenders. Check out DeBaggio's catalog for some good culture info on lavender & other herbs... http://www.debaggioherbs.com/