| If you plan to harvest your herbs for a | | | | culinary herbs, a third for aromatic herbs, or any division |
| purpose-crafting, culinary, medicine-you will need a | | | | you want. Grouping or arranging herbs in pots in the |
| garden designed to make this easier. Garden centers | | | | same way will increase productivity in even the |
| and libraries have dozens of books full of traditional | | | | smallest herb garden. |
| and modern herb garden designs. Productive herb | | | | Within your herb beds, you can further divide the herbs |
| garden designs have several things in common. | | | | into how they are to be used. For example, marjoram, |
| Herb gardens are attractive even when scattered and | | | | basil, lemon verbena, and peppermint area all medicinal |
| disorganized, but for efficient harvesting of herbs, the | | | | herbs used for stomach upset. Group them together |
| productive herb garden needs a planned design. | | | | and you won't need to reach far to get what you |
| Walkways, compact-sized planting beds, and planned | | | | need. Creating an Italian dinner? If you've designed your |
| sun/shade exposure are three commonalities in herb | | | | culinary herb plot to group Italian spice herbs together, |
| garden designs. | | | | gathering the spices you need will be a snap. |
| The layout of your herb garden or multiple beds in your | | | | Some herbs will need more sunlight than others. Ideal |
| garden should take into account your need to harvest | | | | conditions often include 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight |
| the herbs. Walkways or pathways between beds or | | | | per day. You can still plant your shade-loving herbs in a |
| within a larger garden plot will allow you to reach each | | | | bed with sun-loving herbs if you arrange them so that |
| herb. Paths can be grass, steppable groundcover | | | | taller, sun-loving herbs block the sunlight. Sunflowers |
| plants, stone, gravel, wood-any flat surface wide | | | | are ideal for this-they love to hog the sunlight, and will |
| enough to allow you to avoid damaging one plant to | | | | protect more delicate leaves from the direct rays if |
| reach another. | | | | planted on the southern side. |
| Small planting beds make harvesting easier. Shapes | | | | How will you be using your herbs? Large-scale |
| such as circles, small squares and narrow rectangles | | | | productions such as commercial lavender farms need |
| are ideal designs for reaching all your herbs. Formal | | | | to simplify problems of harvest, weeding and pruning. |
| gardens often outline these shapes with shrubby herbs | | | | Heavy landscaping cloth laid in rows, with small |
| such as boxwood, lavender, marigold, or thyme. | | | | cut-outs for each plant, takes care of all three |
| Productive designs allow you to reach every herb | | | | problems at once. Each plant is distanced from its |
| easily from your pathways. | | | | neighbor to allow the farmer pathways between them. |
| Herb garden designs that place herbs with similar uses | | | | Planning and measuring before you plant, and knowing |
| together make productive harvest much simpler. | | | | the needs of individual herbs, will increase your herb |
| Designate one bed for medicinal herbs, another for | | | | garden's productivity no matter what herbs you grow. |