Herbs are easy-to-grow, accessible plants with delicious uses. Ornamental and delightful in the kitchen, freshly cut stems also offer a boost of aromatherapy fresh from the garden.
Edible landscapes provide unique opportunities for beauty, pollinator resources, and growing fresh food. They range from container gardens to homesteads and everything in between. Grow what you love to use and experiment with new options. Don’t forget the edible flowers as garnish.
Harvest herbs fresh from the garden and expand your culinary selection with creative design options. Tailor your culinary paradise to your style and growing area for seasons of enjoyment.
3-Minute Raised Bed and Extension Kit
The 3-Minute Raised Bed assembles tool-free in minutes with easy-to-follow instructions creating a stress free start to your new gardening space! The lightweight, slim package is a breeze to move, and the box even doubles as sheet mulch for a no-fuss setup. These beds are perfect for small spaces, making any area one you can garden in!
Raised Beds
We have to begin with raised bed designs because they are versatile and accessible in various garden spaces, from small to large. Raised beds are benchmarks of herb and vegetable arrangement for easy access and growing. They allow us to choose placement for optimal sun exposure and to provide high-quality soil at the onset.
Raised beds are ideal for growing edibles independently or as mixed arrangements and companion plants. Combine them with vegetables and flowers for a well-rounded system. They’ll grow upright or tuck into bed edges for gentle trailing. For best success, use plants with similar sun and moisture requirements.
Herbs thrive in elevated planters, from cedar to galvanized metal to other food-safe options. The beds make planting, harvesting, and tending a breeze. Employ a small elevated planter for quick and easy harvests.
Kid-Friendly
Growing and harvesting herbs is a wonderfully easy and unfussy way to involve kids in gardening. It lets them draw a direct connection between cultivating, harvesting, and using plants as food.
Herbs are durable, rugged, and forgiving plants. Many thrive with neglect and often don’t require extra resources. Kids have fun watering and picking, exploring the different scents and flavors of the leaves and blooms. They can experience the gratification of planting seeds or seedlings and seeing them grow into whole plants. They can pick or clip the leaves for use in the kitchen and bouquets to share. They’ll also learn about pollinators as plants flower.
Setting up a child-friendly arrangement is as simple as a sturdy pot with a single herb or a mixed planting for little hands to access. A casual vessel with a blend of selections gives more to explore. Let your budding naturalist help with soil and planting as they create their garden. Paint and write on stakes or popsicle sticks to label their plants.
Rock Wall
A dry stone wall creates a natural foundation for many plants, offering unique opportunities for herb garden design. Trailers like thyme and oregano take well to nooks and crannies. Mint and lemon balm provide soft, sprawling aspects (sometimes too sprawling). Rosemary, lavender, and sage work well as upright and mounding features in beds defined by the walls.
A rockery includes plants and stones, whether loose and heaped or straight-stacked and neat. The gaps between stones create a habitat for insects and amphibians while allowing growing space for hardy greens.
A stone-stacked wall lends a naturalized aesthetic. Incorporate native rocks to blend the site into your natural growing area.
Spiral
A spiral herb garden design incorporates permaculture practices that rely on a circular raised configuration for a whirl of thriving edible and ornamental companions. Plantings at the top of the spiral receive full sun. Others get partial shade from the low walls and taller plants, offering protection from direct rays at certain times of day.
Water filters from the top tier down to the lower layer of the spiral. Save the bottom for growers that prefer moisture while leaving the top for dry-soil species.
Spirals are as simple as layered rocks and soils (scaled down, rustic terracing) or a more uniform brick-lined structure. The size is adaptable to your crop goals, and harvests are accessible as with other raised bed setups.
Potted
Herbs are exceedingly well-suited to container culture. Nothing says they need much more than a pot as long as it’s well-draining and has a high-quality potting mix.
The Mediterranean natives are lovely in simple terracotta, especially in a cluster of varying shapes and sizes (although any material will do). Opt for a pot at least two times the size of the root ball, or choose a large vessel for a blended arraignment.
Be mindful of moisture needs, especially in hot weather, as containers dry out more quickly than inground paintings. Since containers are portable, consider overwintering tender herbs indoors or in a cool, sheltered space like a garage or basement.
Accessible
Elevated beds are accessible without excessive bending or reaching. They make planting and maintaining achievable from a standing or sitting position.
Harvests and clippings, too, are easy to take from elevated containers. Adjust the height to your comfort level and for enjoyment by all ages. When situating your elevated bed, consider access and walkways around it.
Wattle
I love a wattle border for its natural simplicity and rustic, historic charm. Wattle walls are centuries-old fences and supports used since the Middle Ages.
Evoking the English countryside, wattles form raised bed planters and borders between beds and walkways. Make your own by weaving willow, grapevine, or other local whippy branches between anchored support stakes.
Wattles break down over time with exposure to the elements, but they’re a lovely vegetable garden addition. They’re sure to pique visitor interest.
Mini-Parterre
Parterres lend formal structural design to herb gardens. They add patterns and can also help separate garden zones. Usually, parterres incorporate hedged borders like boxwoods to separate gravel walkways, grassy pads, or beds. This display houses a boxwood perimeter to hold cutouts of vegetables, herbs, and flowers, which loosens the look.
Scaled-down parterres offer a unique way to showcase plants regardless of the size of your growing area. Even small plots adapt. For example, try the repetition of planter boxes, cutouts, or patterned arrangements.
If you’re working on the ground level, create distinct beds by mounding the soil. This allows good drainage, differentiates the space, and keeps it above surrounding materials (gravel, turf, woodchips, etc.).
Indoor
A sunny windowsill is ideal for overwintering potted herbs or growing them year-round. Choosing the right species is the key to success, as some perform their best outdoors.
Add herbs to your indoor jungle by providing plenty of bright sunlight from a west or south-facing windowsill. Rosemary, mint, oregano, and many others depend on at least six hours of sunlight to thrive. Keep fresh selections handy for clipping by growing them indoors in a bright kitchen or sunroom.
To create a fresh crop for spring, take extra cuttings next time you clip to harvest. Stick them in water or potting media to root. Let them grow in a bright, warm spot over the winter for transplanting outdoors or potting up in the spring.
Hanging Baskets
Hanging baskets aren’t just for showy blooming annuals. Herbs make beautiful combinations in baskets, intermixed with seasonal bloomers, or on their own. The suspended pots take advantage of vertical space.
Hanging baskets fit easily into patios and porches from hooks, railings, and awnings, making them good small-space garden options. They have multi-season appeal and make overwintering easy.
As with other containers, ensure proper sun exposure and check soil moisture regularly. Hanging pots dry out quickly in warm conditions.
Border
Whether a single species or a mix of perennials, an herbaceous border display bursts with flowers and foliage. Contrasting textures and colors create an abundant, useful, and low-maintenance arrangement.
Borders fulfill many roles, from filling a strip along a sidewalk or fence to a large bed between garden spaces. Use herbs for their full forms, aromatic foliage, and waterwise qualities. Allow plants to go to seed or deadhead known spreaders.
Native
Native herbs offer a wide range of benefits, doubling as ornamentals while increasing diversity. In their native habitat, they perform beautifully with exciting foliage and flowers. Adapted to the natural environment, the low-maintenance growers need little care.
Their flowers provide valuable nectar and pollen for beneficial insects. Seeds become a food source for birds and small mammals. Leaves and stems host butterflies and moths and provide shelter. Edible parts are an asset in the kitchen.
Natives with edible flowers or foliage (or both) include echinacea, monarda, feverfew, yarrow, and anise hyssop. These showy species bridge the perennial and vegetable garden with high ornamental and ecological value.
Potager
The potager is a French-inspired kitchen garden design where vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers grow together. It’s the romantic cottage garden style in food-producing form.
Since kitchen gardens provide a function, they must be accessible for tending crops and seasonal turnover. Artfully arranged raised beds and planted rows cushioned with beneficial companion plantings create aesthetically pleasing and diverse gardens. Additionally, companion plants attract beneficial insects and promote healthy food crops.
Perennials and structural plants provide multi-season appeal and unify the edible garden. In keeping with the potager’s loose style, incorporate climbing vines, wildflower borders, and rustic elements like trellises and gates.
Upcycled
Highly adaptable, herbs perform in versatile situations. A simple pallet makes a vertical option for direct planting or suspending pots. The pallet mounts on a wall or fence as a space-saving measure for upright growing.
For culinary selections, make sure the pallet is new and untreated, or line it for extra safety. Paint or stain it as a framework to support pots free of food-safe concerns. Alternatively, try a vertical Greenstalk Planter.
Grow For Flavor
While herbs are beautiful, beneficial to pollinators, and withstand challenging growing sites, we mostly grow them for their flavorful and fragrant attributes. Choose selections you love and are apt to use, experimenting with newcomers, too. Curate themed planters or beds based on culinary and aromatic uses.
For Asian-inspired dishes, incorporate lemongrass and Thai basil for bursts of flavor. Pizza gardens blend in basil and oregano. Grill-ready sets rely on rosemary, chives, and thyme.
The mixologist may want mint, pineapple sage, lemon balm, and lemon verbena for fresh beverages. Specialty gardens are as unique as you make them.
Sensory
Sensory garden designs delight through plant attributes that engage sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, especially with a diversity of aromatic herbs. Our senses awaken when we experience nature differently, with therapeutic contributions to our well-being.
Incorporate fragrant plants and rely on herbs like lavender and rosemary for smell, touch, and taste. Pluck edible flowers, fruits, and veggies to engage the taste buds. Enjoy the buzz of bees and songbirds with pollinator-attracting plants.
Engage the sense of sight through plant colors and textures, using high-contrast tones and leaf types. Blues, purples, and whites evoke a sense of calm, while hot colors in reds, yellows, and oranges energize a space. An upright bloom spike against feathery foliage draws the eye. The fine blades of ornamental grasses add rich texture and movement, rustling in the breeze for an element of sound.
Small Space
Courtyards and patios bring wonderful opportunities as intimate, multifunctional garden spaces. Feature potted specimens and accents to add overall style and for growing food.
Rely on containers, the mobile architectural elements that enliven gardens of any size. Use pots or beds to showcase herbs for fragrance, color, form, and culinary delight, all adding multi-season interest.
Consider container placement, creating a single focal point or a clustered grouping of varying sizes. Hanging baskets and trellises introduce a vertical element for a sense of enclosure and added growing room.
Planter Box
Planter boxes make use of marginal spaces like deck railings and window ledges. They expand the capacity for growing area, while allowing us to easily customize site placement, sun exposure, and soil moisture.
More plants in more places is a beautiful thing! Keep planter boxes in convenient locations for easy harvesting and tending. The deck is perfect for adding that rosemary to the grill.
Mediterranean
With so many Mediterranean natives, it’s easy to adapt this laid-back, sun-soaked design for your herb garden. Mediterranean plants are often drought-tolerant, going for long seasons without rain and with low maintenance requirements. Drought-tolerant plants suit a variety of landscape needs, making the Mediterranean a fitting style.
Mediterranean herbs include lavender, rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage, mint, marjoram, and parsley. Use terracotta and ceramic planters to embellish and overwinter tender plants in protected areas. Incorporate fruit trees like lemon, tangerine, peaches, pears, and olives for vertical interest and tasty additions.
Invite color through vibrant plantings and accessories like tiled pieces or a painted wall. Gravel makes a prime permeable surface for walkways between beds.
Vertical
Growing vertically maximizes space while expanding visual interest. Upright structures take the greens beyond ground level. Whether suspending pots from an anchored structure or creating a green wall, the options to add dimension are only bound by imagination.
Living walls and pocket planters provide a lush infill of fragrant foliage. Let them trail and run freely for a wilder look. However, it’s best to trim regularly for a quick harvest, as this encourages full, leafy growth. Green walls rely on regular irrigation or hand-watering to keep soil from drying out completely.
Glasshouse
A glasshouse or greenhouse is optimal for overwintering herbs and propagation. Even small structures house tender tropicals, annuals, and perennials during the cool months until spring.
Enclosed structures with bright light also give a jumpstart on seeding. Start seeds before the final frost to harden off and transplant in spring.
Create a greenhouse over a raised bed to extend the season. A simple cold frame also protects sensitive specimens.
Waterwise
Like the Mediterranean style design, the xeric herb garden is relevant for water-conscious landscapes (and for many of us, the need for naturally drought-adapted plants is increasing). Xeric landscapes are water-conscious. Plants need little to no supplemental irrigation.
Xeric conditions may be due to exposure on a slope or terrace or due to waterwise landscaping. Use walls and arbors to provide cooling shade, while rocks reflect heat and offer quick drainage.
Rosemary, lavender, yarrow, and santolina are drought-tolerant herbs. Catmint, oregano, and thyme tolerate dry conditions. They all need regular moisture when newly transplanted and as they establish roots.
Pollinator
Like native compositions, pollinator-friendly plantings increase biodiversity and benefit overall garden health. Pollinators and other beneficial insects love herbs for their flowers. Additionally, many species use the foliage as host plants.
Allium, rosemary, lavender, yarrow, catmint, bee balm, feverfew, Roman chamomile, and many others draw pollinators. Milkweed, parsley, and dill support monarch and swallowtail butterflies. Young butterflies feed on the nectar-rich flowers, while caterpillars rely on leaves.
Let some of the herbs in your bed go to flower, deadheading those you want to prevent from reseeding. Use herbs in mixed combinations with flowering perennials and annuals for a real pollinator attraction. Herbs are just as at home in the perennial border as they are in the potager.
Balcony
A balcony, rooftop, or deck is a blank slate for exciting herb garden design opportunities. Not only will it improve your view from the inside, but it will also bring a connection to nature, add biodiversity, and yield a bounty of blooms or food crops.
The sky’s the limit (mostly) regarding what to grow in these spaces. Essential factors to consider as you get started are temperature, light exposure, wind conditions, access to water, and how to get the most growing room out of a small area.
Choose plants that match the site’s specific conditions, especially sunlight and temperature exposures. If you plan to install raised beds or multiple large containers, verify the balcony’s weight limit to stay within the threshold. Small raised beds may be the perfect fit.
Greenstalk
GreenStalk 5 Tier Vertical Planter
A 5 Tier GreenStalk Original Vertical Planter comes with a total of 30 planting pockets that you can plant with a variety of small and large vegetables, herbs, flowers, root crops, and strawberries. Simply fill each tier to the top with 1 cubic foot of high-quality potting mix and plant with starter plants or seeds.
Consider going vertical with upright planters that maximize the growing area. Greenstalk planters are versatile structures with stacked pockets for easy growth and harvesting. The columnar pockets and water reservoir streamline planting, growing, maintenance, and space.
While space-saving, the Greenstalk doesn’t limit growth potential. Herbs grow well in the planter’s various configurations, alone or mixed with flowers and veggies.
Vertical growth adds interest and dimension to the layout. It’s space-saving in small sites like balconies, courtyards, and patios and fits easily into corners. With plenty of circulation between plants, disease problems lessen.
Cottage
The cottage design stems from informal gardens that historically combine flowers and culinary herbs to blend beauty and function. They intersperse herbs and vegetables among flowering perennials and annuals. Selections like lavender, rosemary, nasturtium, sage, catmint, and bee balm bridge ornamental and edible themes.
English cottage gardens imbue charm through classic flowering plants in loose arrangements. There is no need to overdesign the cottage garden – leave room for whimsy and nature to set the stage. A range of pastels and spring colors with pops of bright colors add to this romantic style, as do varying plant textures.
Cottage gardens feel exuberant and spontaneous. As your garden matures, cultivate the star performers and weed out unwanted volunteers to maintain a bounty of blooms. Enjoy fresh herbs and florals in the vase.
Community gardens give us space to grow, connect, and share bounty. If you don’t have growing space of your own (or even if you do), they provide opportunities for cultivating and sharing resources.
If you have a single plot or raised bed, consider a blend of companion plants, including flowers, herbs, and vegetables. Companion planting promotes healthy growth through natural services provided by plant pairings.
Some towns and cities offer herbs in public spaces for fresh clipping. In innovative shopping centers and malls, they adorn interior planters for residents to harvest and enjoy.
Terraced
Given their ability to tolerate various soil conditions, herbs are perfect candidates for walled or terraced situations. A mixed bed of flowering perennials and unique foliage varies the display, extends visual interest, and enhances pollinator appeal.
Herbs happily fill in sunny spots on the terraced bed. Some withstand partial shade, making them adaptable across light conditions. When bound by walls or terraces, ensure plenty of air circulation around plants for the best vigor. Upper terraces may dry out more quickly than lower beds in sites with multiple levels.
Aroma Library
This collection of fragrant foliage is the equivalent of a fresh herb shadowbox. Sculpted boxwood hedges line planter “boxes” or cutouts to showcase the sensory plants.
A mini mini-parterre, the topiary hedge contrasting the looser foliage creates a striking formal display. For a lower maintenance alternative, consider a larger bed bound by a low evergreen hedge.
Naturalistic
The naturalistic style is one of the loosest and most carefree, and it’s among the prettiest and most ecologically sound. While natural landscapes lend a wild aesthetic, it takes finesse to distinguish between wild and unmaintained.
Wild gardens reflect a return to nature in style and function. They often incorporate native plants and minimize turf areas, converting lawns to planting beds or alternate groundcovers.
Naturalistic gardens rely heavily on perennials and involve plants with varying textures and colors. Rugged herbs show color in their blooms and silvery or dark-needled leaves, even in xeric situations. Incorporate natural elements like wood and rock to tie the landscape to its broader surrounds.
Contemporary
Contemporary landscapes embrace simplicity, efficiency, and functionality, often through linear beds, tiers, and hardscaping. Sculptural plants balance the design with color, form, and texture. Modern landscapes often use soft textures to balance high structure. Flowering perennials and ornamental grasses enliven the spaces.
Repetition and variation play a significant role in modernist gardens. Repeat plants to achieve patterns and layers in color, form, and texture.
Keep the color palette streamlined but recurrent, relying on green, white, and silver foliage as the base and punctuating with additional seasonal interest. Contemporary and futuristic gardens often use metallic hues and unusual colors.
Rows
Planting single specimens in distinct rows gives the arrangement a formal and organized layout. The streamlined method offers color blocks of foliage and blooms.
Of course, we use row planting in large-scale vegetable production and even in small plots for ease of planting and maintenance, to ensure pollination, and to foster the proper growing conditions. On a lesser scale, small rows become a distilled version of row cropping. It lets us grow many plants in a set area with the proper spacing.
Topiary
Herbaceous growers span the spectrum of plant forms, from soft and cascading to stiffly upright. Fine-leaved selections with woody stems make prime topiary candidates. Trim them to create shapes (like lavender and rosemary standards) or borders in beds (like low germander hedges).
Topiary is a learned practice. Admittedly, the rosemary “trees” I love during the holidays don’t last as long as in-ground, naturally formed specimens for me. They do, however, make gorgeous seasonal container features. Herbs are forgiving and a good place to try your hand at the art.
Topiary forms bring structure to the design. Evergreen specimens and roses are stunning topiary features that anchor a landscape. Surround them with flowing herbs to soften the formality.
Informal
There are no rules for growing useful herbs as long as we meet their needs. The naturally informal growers easily tuck into existing spaces among shrubs, trees, and perennials.
If your style is informal, herbs will fit right in where you’ve got the room. As with cottage and naturalistic styles, there’s no need to overthink a layout for aesthetics. Maximizing growth and plant health are the main goals when situating herbs among other specimens. Continue to allow ample airflow to prevent fungal problems.
Mixed Greens
We know that our favorite aromatic performers make spectacular container specimens. They also create elegant simplicity through easy arrangements of mixed greenery in interesting vessels. Bay laurel provides a tall backdrop to spilling thyme, contrasting forms and foliage textures.
Upright specimens anchor potted displays throughout the seasons, even in winter when they are hardy. They make lovely seasonal embellishments, potted or clipped fresh, from the Thanksgiving table to the holiday porch. Use a petite potted herb at each place setting as a take-home token for your guests’ garden.
Fabric Grow Bags
Fabric bags offer a versatile way to grow. The bags are portable, available in different sizes, and easy to fill, making gardening possible in spaces with poor drainage, weed issues, or challenging soils. Instead of hauling heavy containers around, choose a grow bag for seasonal crops or to grow out plants for transplanting.
Simply fill a bag with the potting soil of your choice and grow your favorite plants. Lined fabric bags retain moisture and insulation to promote healthy roots. They don’t dry out as quickly as unlined or thin bags, lessening watering frequency. Grow bags are easy to store when not in use and long-lasting.
Groundcovers
To complement the overall design, incorporate tough selections as groundcovers. Use them to soften bare areas and infill between stepping stones. The same rugged specimens that trail from stone walls and rock crevices creep and spread along the ground level.
Thyme, for example, is a tough plant with delicate features like tiny leaves on wiry stems. Creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum) forms a groundcover, and wooly thyme (Thymus praecox) is useful as a turf alternative. Thyme also works in areas between stepping stones and along rocky ledges. Its small flowers attract pollinators.
Oregano and mint are aggressive spreaders that quickly form a groundcover. Be sure they don’t get out of bounds with regular trimming and deadheading.
