Herbs to Decorate Your Garden

It does not take a lot of space to have an herb garden. A few stalks of dill, a root of tarragon, a marjoram clump, some sweet basil, and Italian parsley are some great plants to use for salads and dishes. They are often planted next to a vegetable garden. However, did you consider using herbs as part of your garden décor?

Herbs That Leave a Lasting Scent

Try growing catmint, hyssop, lavender and rosemary together to make a lovely border. Great ideas of herbs that perfume the air when walked on and crushed are burnet, thyme and mint.

A special warning on mint, which I discovered the hard way. Though very aromatic, this plant is also very aggressive and invasive. Since I garden naturally, I try to situate my herbs and plants in areas where they thrive without becoming a problem later on. In this case, I have it planted between the back step and a patio stone to keep it contained. Even then, it has actually wrapped around the step and is growing in the cracks in the walkway! I still love how it fills an otherwise empty space, but I have to watch it closely.

Some herbs work great as vines. If you grow the “hop” vine, it can hang over a fence or wind its way over an arbor, and it produces masses of green foliage and flowers that fall into clusters. This great herb is overlooked in many gardens.

Rue is also an herb of rare beauty and elegance. Its delicately cut foliage shines with metallic lights that increase in luster as the season advances. Grow rue with pink phlox and michaelmas daisies for a lovely show in your garden. Make sure that you wear gloves when you handle rue, since the oil in the leaves bothers some people’s skin.

Drying Herbs For the Home

To dry herbs for winter use, cut off the tops of the leafy varieties in midsummer and wash them in with cold water. Hang them up just long enough for the drops of water to evaporate, then tie the stems together and place them in a paper bag with stem ends at the opening. Close the bag with a rubber band. Use a paper clip as a hook through the band and place the other hooked end over your line where you are going to hang the herbs to dry indoors.

After 2 or 3 weeks, remove them from the paper bags, crumble the leaves and place on a shallow pan. Dry them out further in the oven with the setting at “warm” or at least not over 100 degrees. Some herb enthusiasts dry them by spreading them out on trays or sheets of hardware cloth covered with cheese cloth and place in a dry area.

To dry seed heads, allow them to grow until seeds are mature and ready to drop from the plant. Cut seed heads on a very dry day and spread them on clean paper (not newspaper). It is better to keep them in the sun the first day as little insects, which may have been living in the heads, will leave as the seeds dry out. Store the herbs in glass jars or other airtight containers in a cool place.

Read more of Ena’s organic gardening tips at Goorganicgardening.com

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at 10:18 am and is filed under Gardening General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Create Your Own Organic Potting Soil

Soil for your indoor and outdoor potted plants can be made up of many different ingredients, so tailor make the one that fits your needs best. Making your own potting soil is not only easy but it can save you money by cutting out a trip to the store. Instead, you will buy bulk ingredients that you can also use as fertilizer in your garden.

Potting soil usually contains 1 part loamy topsoil, 1 part sphagnum moss or peat moss, and 1 part perlite, vermiculite, or sand. Other nutrients such as compost and organic fertilizers may also be added.

Heavier soils hold more water and need less watering. However, it is a good idea to lighten soil to give the plant roots room to breathe. Mixing sand or vermiculite helps breaks up the heaviness. Vermiculite holds a lot of water, so it’s a good idea to use this material to help prevent the mixture from drying out too fast.

Plastic pots don’t allow for water evaporation, and plants in them will need less water than those in clay pots. If you need the insulation factor that a clay pot gives, then, before planting, line your plastic pot with newspaper or bubble wrap. You can also plant in the plastic pot and then place it inside a clay pot. Mix small amounts of potting soil by shaking ingredients in a plastic bag. Use smaller sealed bags for leftover mix.

Soil Mixes For Different Uses

Outdoor container mix: An easy mix for outdoor plants is 1 part loamy soil, 1 part organic compost, and a well-balanced (15-15-15) fertilizer.

Plant propagating mixes: For root cuttings try peat, perlite, or sand as a base.

Seed-starting mixes: Commercial varieties are usually light, retain moisture well, and are sterilized to prevent fungal diseases. For your own, try soil, sand or peat, mixed with vermiculite. For example, mix 1 part vermiculite with 1 part compost, and sprinkle the top with sand to discourage fungal diseases after planting seeds.

Soilless potting mix: Plants actually do not need soil to grow, they need air, water and nutrients in the soil. Soil just happens to be the perfect medium to keep plants anchored in the ground. Indoors, try sphagnum or peat moss, perlite, or vermiculite

alone or mixed together, along with a bit of fertilizer.

Guest post by Go Organic Gardening.com. View the site to find more information on organic plant food and soil mixes.

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