How to Design Herbal Beds

Locate an area of the yard that gets at least six hours or more of full sun and contains rich soil. If your soil is clay, add compost to infuse nutrients into the garden area.

Design the shape of the garden. Use a geometric shape to determine the layout, such as a square, rectangle or circle. Use pebbles or flagstone to create pathways or add a boxwood hedge around the perimeters of each garden section to imitate an English garden design.

Lay stones or gravel down to create pathways or sections in the herb garden. Within a square garden, use pebbles to create two rectangles: one placed horizontally across the center of the square and the other vertically down the center to recreate the look of a Celtic knot. In a circular garden, place a decorative feature, such as a garden statue, in the center of the circle and use flagstones or pebbles to line a path from the center of the circle out to the edge, imitating the look of a pie. With an English-style garden, map out rectangular plots for each herb type and plant a hedge around the perimeter.

Dig small holes around the garden after determining the final placement of the herbs. Set each plant down into the hole and fill with soil. Place small herbs such as parsley, chive or thyme in the center of the garden, medium-sized varieties such as mint, basil or spearmint in the middle and larger herbs such as lavender or rosemary around the perimeter.