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Colors, Scents, Contours, and Contrasts: Designing an Herb Garden
The Dirt on Soil
Regardless of where you garden, be sure to provide your herbs with well-drained soil. Most herbs do not like wet feet and will quickly die in standing water after a heavy rain. This is critical in the hot, humid climates of the southeastern and south central states, where deluges are common in summer.
Among herbs, only mints thrive in wet soil. Lavender and rosemary, both natives of Mediterranean climates, do best in soils that are dry and drain quickly after rain or watering. Parsleys, dills, and fennels will be at their most vigorous when grown in loose soils that have been amended with compost or other organic matter.
If your soil is heavy and drainage is a problem, consider installing raised beds. Built at least eight inches above ground level and filled with good topsoil, raised beds quickly solve most drainage problems. You can grow most herbs successfully whether your soil is somewhat acidic or alkaline. Almost all herbs are most tasty and fragrant when they are grown in a soil or planting medium that is not overly rich, so avoid heavy applications of chemical fertilizers. Light applications of balanced organic fertilizers (with an N-P-K formula of 10-10-10, for example) or compost early in the spring and again in late summer are all that herbs requireÑand they probably will thrive without any fertilizer at all.
Mulch the soil after planting to conserve water and suppress weeds: use whatever organic mulch is readily available in your area. Smaller-sized pieces are usually more attractive with herbs, so avoid the so-called "nuggets." Organic mulches will need to be replenished occasionally because they literally compost into the soil. Experiment with gravel or crushed granite mulch for Mediterranean-type herbs, which prefer a drier environment.