50. A Herb Garden
There is an area towards the back of the walled garden which is tricky for planting. It is an open situation and gets sun for most of the day, but is adjacent on the north side to a neighbour’s very large Leilandii with its extensive root system, and on the other side is the fruit dome. It is a bare, inhospitable patch of ground covered in weeds and needs cheering up.
The boundary planting surrounding the area has been done. Along the back is a row of Himalayan silver birch trees - they are still young and won’t be casting any significant shade for a good few years yet. Against the back wall is the holly hedge, planted in containers to give them a chance at establishing themselves before they encounter the Leylandii roots. To the right hand side is a border, recently planted with climbing roses, fan trained japonicas and a row of small incisa cherry trees, floribunda roses and English lavender plants. To the left hand side is the fruit dome with its own chequerboard paving pattern. It is the area between these that needs attention.
The space is an ideal size for a herb patch. My favourite herb garden layout is a chequerboard pattern: paving stones alternating with rows of herbs. I searched the local FB Marketplace adverts and found some small (23cm x 23cm) Victorian terracotta tiles that are thicker (at 6cm) than most modern paving stones, so should work well. They are small enough to create a convincing chequerboard in that small space.
The next step was to clear the area of weeds, grass and any building rubble left there. The paving stones were laid out on top of that in a slightly higgledy-piggledy fashion. I like that they aren’t all perfectly level - it adds to the charm.
For the planting I have chosen low, compact growing herbs with different coloured foliage. They all do well in poor soil and will grow between 10-30cm high.
The back row is a low growing French lavender hedge, a mixture of pink, lilac, white and blue flowers.
There are short vertical rows of Welsh onion plants in between the larger paving stones. These will provide all year round interest - Welsh onions don’t lose their leaves like chives.
Next is a row of rosemary plants creating another low growing hedge. These will have lovely bright blue flowers in the spring.
The other herbs are planted in vertical rows within the chequerboard itself: thyme, marjoram, oregano, chives, sage, garlic chives and curry plants.
The LHS boundary will be another straight row of Welsh onions planted along the edge of the flower border.
The RHS boundary will be a low growing English lavender “little lady” hedge surrounding the curved fruit dome.
The last step will be to mulch the whole area with bark. This will retain moisture and hopefully keep the weeds down until the plants establish themselves. I’m looking forward to seeing the chequerboard fill out with the greens, yellows, silvers and blues of the herbs, softening the edges of the paving stones. It will make a very decorative and practical use of that tricky corner of the garden.
