Growing Herbs For The Home
Planting a culinary herb garden does not need to be an elaborate affair. Herbs may be grown in a container outdoors or even in little pots on your window sill. So whether you have a big area accessible or just a small area on your balcony, there is no reason why you shouldn't try your hand at raising culinary herbs.
What you choose to produce will depend upon what your prefer to eat and what circumstances your plants will be exposed to. Locations facing south and west tend to be hot and sunny and suit herbs that naturally grow in hotter environments like bay, thyme, dill and lemon verbena.
Shade loving herbs such as parsley, borage and mint will flourish better in a north or east facing situation.
If you intend to grow your herbs in a raised bed vegetable garden or straight into the soil, be sure your site is as close to your home as is possible. This will stop you from being put off using them when it's raining or cold. This is a handy tip should you choose to grow a vegetable garden also.
You can make the collection look more attractive by picking culinary herbs in a variety of colors and shades and with varying foliage such as that produced by mint, thyme and sage. The varying shades of greens, reds, purples and greys can be very attractive however it's a great idea to draw out a highlighted diagram before you in fact plant anything, to enable you to get a good impression of how the garden will literally look. It is easier to reorganize on paper than once the herbs are in the soil or pot!
Be aware that some herbs multiply very swiftly and deplete the water and impede sunlight from the other herbs. A popular example of this is the mint variety. If you want this type of herb it is better to plant them in their own pot.
Should you cultivate them in the ground be sure to add boundaries so your herbs can not proliferate so effortlessly. An above ground instance of this would be a small hedge of something similar to lavender. Or you can make use of stone pavers, bricks, or create narrow channels from chippings. These have the additional advantage of generating a landscaped design and you'll be able to gather your herbs without difficulty from the footpaths without disturbing other nearby plants.
