THE SECENTED GARDEN”
--Mary Austin--
Premier Nursery & Garden Center
4641 Sudley Road, Catharpin, Va 20143
703-753-3454

Herbs can be one of the most useful plants in a landscape. In addition to culinary potential, herbs can be used in wreaths, potpourri, and oils! Herbs serve as more than a crop for harvest; the can be used as a groundcover, border, or accent plant. They add texture and a variety of color and fragrance to your landscape. Anyone who is handy with a watering can is eligible to become a successful herb gardener.

The word “herb” is derived from the Latin “Herba” which means grass or green crops. In ordinary language, however, “herb’ refers to and plant with leaves, flowers, roots, seeds, or other parts that can be used in food, medicines, cosmetics, or as a fragrance.

When determining where to place your herb garden, keep in mind that most herbs will prefer at least five hours of sunlight per day and will-drained soil. Be sure to allow plenty of room for you plants to spread to their fullest potential. Also, when positioning your plants, consider the various colors of bloom, blooming times, and fragrances. It is a good idea to keep plants with powerful aromas separate from each other. Mulch will discourage weed growth and reduce your maintenance and watering.

When choosing the particular plants you’d like to cultivate, keep in mind what you’ll be using them for. If you tend to use herbs frequently in cooking, plant basil, dill, chives, oregano, tarragon, and coriander. If you’d like to make potpourri, plants lavender, woodruff, cinnamon basil, lemon balm, lemon thyme, and of course some roses. A garden for vinegars and oils should contain tarragon, chives, opal basil, dill, borage, lemon thyme, and sage.

There are many cultivated herbs available. Choosing the ones you’d most like to grow may be the hardest part of herb gardening.

Herbs can aid you in discovering new ways to add beauty and color to your garden and fragrance and flavor to your home and foods.