Herb Garden Design Plans

Container Combo

• Two 18-inch round containers, three round 12-inch pots and two oblong containers are needed to create a deck or patio herb garden. Choose a sunny location with access to water. Herbs massed in large containers require less frequent watering than small ones. Place the oblong planting box in the middle area of the deck, with three small pots facing it and the large round containers at each end. Plant seeds of dill and dwarf cilantro in the oblong box, surrounded by English thyme, oregano, mint and flat-leaf parsley in the three smaller pots. Basil and curly parsley in one large container and chives, sage, tarragon and lemon thyme in the other complete the herb garden design.

Raised Bed on a Lawn

• A patch of lawn is transformed into an herb garden by installing a raised bed and filling it with ordinary garden soil. A 4-foot by 3-foot raised garden bed accommodates a diverse collection of culinary and medicinal herbs. Place the tallest herbs, such as rosemary and sage, in the middle of the bed. Delicate herbs such as tarragon and chives benefit from the partial shade created by the taller plants. Feverfew and lavender planted at the corners help create a strongly scented herb garden design. French or English thyme grows upright, and the variegated varieties lie flat.

Circular Herb Garden

• The Herb Society of America recommends a circular design for a beginner's herb garden. A sundial, strawberry pot or statue provides a middle focal point, with four pathways leading to it. Use brick to edge the circle and build the paths. Aromatic herbs such as lavender, meadowsweet, vervain and lemon balm are planted in each quadrant. Choose additional herbs to use as seasoning such as winter savory, tarragon, basil and caraway. Taller plants need pruning every few years to prevent them from overtaking more delicate herb plants.

Walkway Garden

• The edge of a walkway has solid level ground that makes a good kitchen herb garden. Choose herbs to grow from seeds and transplants that provide year-round kitchen seasonings. Grow sage, rosemary and dill at the back of the space, with several types of thyme and parsley near the walkway for easy picking. Basil prefers warm weather and is planted at the same time tomatoes are put into the vegetable garden. Cilantro seeds are sown directly in the ground and do not do well when transplanted. Arugula's leaves are best used when young and the plant becomes bitter when it develops seedheads.