Growing Herb Rock Gardens

One of my first herb gardens was in the middle of a clay field and it was not a cinch to get herbs to grow right. When you are planning your garden, you’ve got to put sunlight and soil quality at the top of the list of things to consider. Without the right amounts of both natural light and water, your garden will not thrive. With the right combination of water, soil and sunshine, you can grow just about anything.

To solve my clay sod problems, I turned to rock gardening, which focuses on adding lots of rocks to your landscape and focusing on herbs that only need a few inches of good dirt.

A rock garden focuses on the positive features that you may have in your yard already or those that you want to create. Usually this type of garden is found in dry, rocky areas that have poor sod. If you don’t have the rocky sod and want the aesthetic of a rock garden, be sure you have got room for roots to grow and also some good drainage.

When planning your herb garden, be sure that you are choosing herbs that will stay compact, because with limited room you don’t want anything taking over. Look at your reference books for the right plants for rock gardens. Good ones are those with silver or gray leaves. This is a big tip-off that these plants will do well in that type of environment.

• Hen-and-Chicks: Also known as St. Patrick’s cabbage, Hen-and-Chicks is a succulent herb that was once thought to heal warts. I cannot imagine cutting open a hen or chick and rubbing it on a wart, but this perennial succulent herb, which is also known as St. Patrick’s cabbage, has a long history of healing them. Each leaf will hold enough water to make it through one day without water. Each one will grow to 4 inches across and each “hen” will grow numerous off-shoots or “chicks.” In the summer, a nine inch spike will arise from the center of each mature cabbage to show pinkish-red blooms. The plant will continue to add off-shoots and grow into a colony of plants.

• Wild Oregano: This perennial from the Mediterranean region can grow vigorously up to 30 inches high with its oval leaves and purple flowers that come out late in the summer. Although you certainly may eat this variety of oregano, it will not quite be the same as the Greek oregano you are familiar with from Italian meals.

• Marjoram: It is fantastic when you can sculpt a wonderful rock garden using culinary herb plants like Marjoram. It is a perennial that has a sweet scent with oval gray-green leaves and tiny white flowers. Keep it snipped back so that it will stay lovely and full and do not forget that it appreciates full sun and good drainage.

• Thyme: Because there are so many varieties of thyme, you’ll want to be sure you are getting the right kind for your rock garden—below a foot tall. Try those with shiny, small leaves that are huddled along the woody stems. As an added benefit, they usually have white or pink flowers. Thyme grows best when the sod is sandy, well-drained and gets a whole lot of sunlight. You’ll want to keep this herb trimmed back to maintain its shape and to help it remain hearty.

Part of the beauty of rock gardens is the contrast of the hard rocks and the soft plants. The differentiation in colors also helps in achieving a sense of the brilliant. You can even use aromatic and culinary herbs in your rock garden, which will give you all the benefits of a regular herb garden.

Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.

Here is more information on Herb Garden Designs. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.

No related posts.

Tags: Gardening, growing herb rock gardens, herb garden designs, Herbs, outside, rock garden

Posted in Gardening 1 Comment