My Herb Bed was one of the first made in this garden, and is in the warmest, driest spot, facing south and near to the house. It has turned out to be an ideal spot as it enables me to grow a lot of different culinary herbs, such as rosemary and some slightly tender salvias, that might not survive further out in the garden. And I can quickly cover anything in winter if needs be. I am constantly on the lookout for new herbs to try growing, so am sharing what already grows there and would love suggestions for what to add!
Lavender with Meadow Brown Butterfly
First of all, the Salvias. A couple of tender Salvias have survived at least one winter here. Icing Sugar is already trying to flower, but the others are still gathering their strength.
Other salvias I grow are Salvia viridis, both pink and purple. The bees go mad for this and here is a video I took last year when they were in full flower. Make sure your volume is turned up!
And Salvia sclarea. It will set seed which grows very slowly, and the new plants will not flower for another two years. That seems to be the cycle in my garden anyway.
My culinary sages are all delicious, but I like Salvia officinalis ‘Nazareth’ best. It is said to have a marzipan aroma, which I do not detect, but it is a softer and more refined flavour than my others.
I occasionally lose a sage to a late frost or mice, so this one is a relatively young plant added to be sure I never have to go without my sage!
This Monarda fistulosa is doing really well. I like the colour a lot. It isn’t a cultivated sort, so perhaps that is why it is looking so healthy. If you haven’t tried tea made from Monarda leaves, you must! It is delicious!
An Echinacea paradoxa that has increased in size since being planted last spring has surprised me with a very faint but lovely fragrance, like many other cone flowers I suppose. Here it is surrounded by S. sclarea, Stipa tenuissima and Stachys officinalis.
I have finally managed to grow an Angelica plant! Has anyone any experience with these? This is the second (or third?) plant I have tried, after failing with seed, so hopefully it will produce a flower for me one day. It hasn’t grown much this year, but then I only planted it last autumn…
The non-herb elements are visible below – Geums in May and and June for some early summer colour, and I grow quite a few spring bulbs here too – herbs tend to become dormant and look brown and boring in winter, so adding spring colour is essential for me. I have tulips and daffodils, a winter Viburnum and then lots of chives in April/May.
Herb Bed, early June 2024
Then a couple of Helianthemum…
And Stipa tenuissima all year round. This serves as my ‘nursery bed’ for it as I am constantly removing seedlings to plant elsewhere in the garden.
Stipa and Geums in the Herb Bed, early June 2024
Things tend to move around in this bed, with self-seeders and mice excavations at work! So I thought my fennel had completely disappeared this year, but now I see a baby one is growing in a different spot. Getting close up for a photo made me realize what had possibly happened to my last one… 🙄
Now this is my pride and joy!
Leonurus cardiaca, grown from seed a few years ago and getting bigger and better every year! This has amazing medicinal properties, but I just grow it because it is so pretty.
The wild strawberries are allowed to go mad in a small area…
I try to stop them from spreading up into the rest of the bed but am grateful for them in May and June as they smell and taste absolutely delicious. If you do consider planting them, beware – they can become very invasive! The succulent is my extremely hardy Euphorbia myrsinites, which also spreads vigorously.
There is also a witch hazel planted in the Herb Bed for winter interest. The Borage self-seeds every year, as does the St John’s Wort , which I weed out as it can also try and take over. No dill this year though… no idea why!
Other herbs I grow here are various Thymes and Oregano, Estragon, perennial rocket, Tansy, Lavender, Rosemary…
Mint….
Mint
…. and Lemon Balm, among several others I have perhaps forgotten to mention.
Lemon Balm
The Curry Plant, is something I have yet to try tasting. On a sunny day I can smell it when I walk past, and the leaves have a very intensive curry smell – apparently you can add them to curries for flavour and remove them (like bayleaves) before eating. (One day I will be courageous enough, but I do rather like my curries as they are!😉) The yellow flowers are an added bonus in June. The plant does get rather untidy, and this one has been chopped down to the ground a few times already and bounces back regardless.
Hyssop and Satureja montana (Winter Savory) are both herbs I had never grown before planting this bed. And both flower in the early summer and attract bees. Here, everyone puts a sprig of Savory in dishes with green beans, as apparently it aids digestion.
Satureja montana (Savory)
So, what is missing? What herbs do you use or grow? I would love suggestions for either hardy plants or ones that can easily be grown as annuals.
Here are all the photos again, as a slide show.
Thanks for visiting my Herb Bed,
and
Happy gardening!
Words and Herbs 
I wish there was a way to smell the fragrances and feel the warmth in your video. Both an important aspect of having a garden. Still, the video managed to convey the beauty and life of your piece of paradise, thanks for sharing.
Thank you Chuckster. Sadly there were fewer bees this year, but still enough wildlife out there. 😀
Well, you do have a lot! It looks absolutely fabulous and probably smells divine. I have sweet cicely which is rather pretty and you can add leaves and flowers to stewed fruit like rhubarb as a sweetener to reduce the amount of sugar you need to add (remove before eating the fruit) and the seeds are wonderfully aniseedy. Also feverfew, garlic chives, cha cha chives, society garlic, calendula, nasturtiums, marjoram and oregano. And lemon bergamot, lemon verbena, common valerian and French tarragon. I try all sorts of herbs and edible flowers too, mainly for the flowers for the pollinators though I do use some in cooking. Sadly all my thymes died this winter so I shall have to buy new ones.
I will look into sweet cicely Jude. Thanks for the suggestion as I have never grown it. I must admit I have avoided calendulas and nasturtiums after bad experiences with our slimy friends, but garlic chives sound like a good idea and lemon bergamot sounds lovely too. Cha cha chives? I must look them up! Thank you!
I may have lost my chat chat chives when I redid the herb garden last year. I must look for more, they are very interesting.
Forgot parsley!
Oh yes, I have parsley in a separate raised bed where I can keep it hydrated in summer. 😃
I usually have parsley self seeding all over the place, but can’t see any new plants 😔
Oh dear…
What a great herb garden! I have, and have grown, some of those plants, too. And the scent…yum! Love the video with the bees. 🙂
Thanks Beth! Yes, the scents meet me as soon as I turn the corner of the house! 😄
Wow, that’s an impressive herb garden, Cathy! If you’re missing anything, it’s not much. As coastal Southern California where I live is deemed to be a Mediterranean climate, herbs of all kinds do well here too and, while I have many (including more rosemary than anyone needs), I should push more into my driest beds. I have 2 nice clumps of Tanacetum parthenium (feverfew) in my cutting garden now, which would fit nicely into my back garden border. I like Coriandrum/Cilantro, although my garden is short on that herb this year.
https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/
Oh yes, Feverfew is missing. We had some pop up on the compost heap last year – I should have saved some seed! I haven’t had much luck with Cilantro/Coriander this year, but have a little growing in the vegetable patch. I also grow basil, but in containers where it is protected from the rain. Rosemary is borderline here for hardiness and I usually manage to keep some for a couple of years before it succumbs to a cold or wet winter. My latest one is supposed to be extra hardy though….
I love your salvias, of course! And the herb mixed garden. I had a mixed garden like that until my husband mistook the Larkspur for Rosemary, not good. My favorite herb is Giant of Italy Parsley. I always have it.
I always have parsley too, but in a raised bed where I can water it easily. Fortunately I am the only one who picks herbs, and I would usually notice by the smell if I got it wrong! 🤣 (I hope larkspur isn’t poisonous!)
Larkspur is badly poisonous and that was the last time he ever picked herbs.
🫢
I especially loved the slide show of the plants. It was so pretty to see them that way.
I used to have the tiny wild alpine strawberries but an extreme cold snap killed them all. What I especially loved about them is that although I and the chipmunks used to fight for the earliest of the berries, I knew that if the chipmunks won, they would wind up spreading the seeds and making more plants so it really was a win/win situation.
Every so often, something that’s “hardy” for us will get killed off like that despite the fact that we supposedly have just warmed up a half zone. That’s okay–that gives us more room to try more plants, right? 🙂
Right! I like that way of thinking! 😉
I think my strawberries are probably indestructable. I made the mistake of planting them in other parts of the garden and they have taken over! The only thing that eats them apart from me is insects, usually ants. I believe they spread the seeds too.
Ants are actually great at doing just exactly what you suggest–moving seeds all around the garden. Certain North American wildflowers have developed these special features called eliaosomes to take advantage of that. The eliaosome attracts the ants so that they bring the seed with them. And then the seed is transferred to another place to reproduce and grow. It’s genius really.
The more we learn about the natural world, the more amazing it is.
Oh absolutely! I have just been reading about a beetle I identified in our garden, an Ant Bag Beetle, and how its larvae grow in anthills. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clytra_laeviuscula
It really is fascinating!
Your herb garden is fantastic, I can just imagine how lovely it smells. I second the chives & tarragon. I tend to eat those (and basil) the most.
Thanks Tracy! I love basil too, but it has to go in containers here to get it to grow well. I have tarragon, but am never sure what to use it for… how do you use it?
Tarragon is good with chicken. Sliced breast, shallots, tarragon and cream. Mushrooms too if you like them.
I’ve missed your beautiful garden, Cathy, and delighted to come back today and see so may gorgeous salvias. I think they are one of the most rewarding plants to grow. Even in my desert hot climate they do well, and I use them to anchor a lot of much less showy native plants. I do love the way you think through your decisions and placements, all resulting in some beautiful garden areas!
It’s lovely to see you back Debra. 🤗 And thank you for your kind comment! Often my placing of plants is very haphazard, but the Herb Bed was intentionally put near the house. I don’t use all the herbs, just a few favourites. 😉
I was working in my herb bed today, cutting back sage, which had taken up more than its fair share of real estate. I have chives, germander, thyme and tarragon in there, too. In my annual bed, I grow tulsi, parsley, dill, lemon balm, bronze fennel, monarda citriodora, cilantro and basil, as well as garlic and onions. I guess I do grow a lot!
I chop and freeze cilantro, basil, dill, parsley and chives for winter use. Today, I harvested lemon balm to dry in the shed for tea, which is warm and perfect for drying. I need to do spearmint and peppermint, too. I have a tiered, fine-net system for drying herbs. I did my first tulsi harvest this week, last year I got four cuttings, so I’m hoping for the same. Tulsi tea is delicious and very healthful.
It all sounds wonderful Eliza. Tulsi is almost unheard of here. I also freeze or dry a lot. Parsley and coriander dry well, despite what people say. And I have lemon verbena in pots for my tea!
Wow all so impressive, I need to use more herbs in my cooking.
I should too, but I do tend to stick to a few favourites like thyme, rosemary, parsley and sage.
I think you have a dream herb garden and it must be so nice to have it close to the house. We had wild strawberries all over our apple orchard. Below freezing winter temperatures, snow and summer heat never bothered them.
Yes, the wild strawberries are wonderful in the right spot. 😃 They are great ground cover.
Loved the “bee – loud” video Cathy! Your herb garden must be a haven for them and it sounds so comprehensive. I grow far fewer herbs now than I used to when I had a sunny allotment. My allotment neighbour grew angelica successfully but sadly I can’t remember how she cared for her plants. Do you grow basils and mints or perhaps you plant them in containers? Other must have herbs for me are lemon verbena and shiso also known as perilla. What is estragon?
Hi Anna. Yes, I grow lemon verbena for tea in pots – I couldn’t live without that as I drink it every morning! And basil in containers as it does best kept out of the rain. Mint is in the herb bed. It is so dry there that it rarely tries to spread its roots. I have never tasted shiso/perilla. Oh, and estragon is tarragon. Just another name for it. 😉
So many herbs inhabit the landscapes that we have no use for a designated herb garden. We do not know where all of the herbs came from. Like so many other species out there, they just appeared sometime in the past. Some have been around for decades. A compact herb bed would be nice within my home garden though, for the herbs that are lacking here. I still lack chives, which grow like weeds in some gardens. (I have not relocated any because of that.) Because I do not cook, selection of herbs would be more challenging than growing them.
I don’t use all these herbs for cooking… most are just for the lovely scents and flowers, and the bees. We get carpenter bees and hummingbird-hawkmoths on the salvias.
You have a very full herb bed – so many different plants are growing there. Did you plan where each plant was to grow, with colour, texture and height etc in mind or has the bed evolved over the years? I have to be truthful, I’ve never heard of tea made from Monarda leaves – but I’m learning all the time! I love your early June photo of the Stipa and Geums with the forest in the background – it’s gorgeous!
Oh no! It wasn’t planned at all and is absolute chaos! LOL! I extended it at some stage and have just added things and filled in gaps, sowing things in any spare soil visible! 😉 The sloping part with the wild strawberries originally had thyme planted but the strawberries have taken over. I don’t mind though as they have been delicious this year and I have plenty of thyme elsewhere. 😃