Classic Herb Garden Designs: A Geometrical Garden
It's time to look at classic garden designs. If you have done a bit of research on gardens or if you have been to some old homes around England, you are likely to have seen some of these designs. Herbs were often incorporated into formal English gardens, though pure herb gardens were not developed till a little bit before the beginning of the 19th century.
These classic designs always look beautiful when done right. Some may require more work than others, so choosing a design can depend on how much time you have. We will look at four of the classic garden designs and describe how each one should look, incorporating some traditional elements, as well as what needs to be done in order to create the design.
Geometrical Garden
This classic design works well if you have a large area to plant with. It uses perfect shapes separated by quadrants to divide the various herbs, and the shapes should complement the house. For example, a Victorian home with its straight lines can be well complemented by rectangular or square shapes. Circular shapes will look odd in this type of a home, but oval shapes may be okay.
To picture the design, draw a rectangle on a piece of paper. Divide the rectangle into four equal parts. Each of these parts are the different divisions of your garden, meaning a different plant is placed in rows within each of the smaller rectangles. Each division is bordered by a different plant, and often times walkways are placed to border off the divisions as well.
Giving a concrete example, choose to plant three rows of thyme inside one of the quadrants, and border off this quadrant with coriander plants. Coriander grows shorter than thyme and so the border will be an accent to the taller inside plant. You can do the same in the other quadrants, only choosing different herbs. With four quadrants, you will have eight different herbs (border plants included.) Though you can of course choose to grow more than one kind of herb within a quadrant to increase the number of herbs. For example, basil and chamomile grow well together and can be placed in the same quadrant.
As previously mentioned, you can further separate the quadrants with tiny pathways or walkways. This makes the quadrants smaller, which means less plants. Notice how the height of plants were also mentioned in the example. This is because the geometric design relies on height to create a sense of balance in the garden. Stick to border plants that grow up to a foot to a foot and a half tall. Coriander, parsley, and dill are some good examples. The plants found inside the quadrant should be slightly taller, around two to three feet tall. Test thyme, basil, marjoram, or tarragon for inside plants.
Remember to also take leaf shape and size into consideration. Leaf textures can complement each other well. Coarse or thin leaves make better borders while full leaves look better inside. With all of its clean cut lines, a geometric garden is rather neat, and that also makes it easy to care for. It's relatively formal, but can be casual depending on the herbs chosen.
Next Article: Classic Herb Garden Designs: Formal Garden, Centerpiece
