Herbs in the Landscape: Beyond the Herb Garden

Herbs have earned a place in nearly every home garden, but more gardeners are freeing them from dedicated beds and weaving them throughout the landscape. Here’s how to integrate herbs beautifully and functionally.

Mix Herbs with Flowers

Many herbs boast stunning flowers that blend seamlessly into ornamental beds. Try catmint, borage, bee balm, yarrow, pinks, lavender, purple coneflower, pot marigold, feverfew, and nasturtium for floral impact. Foliage stars like parsley and silver‑gray Artemisia provide elegant contrast. Pair purple basil with red or blue blooms; use Artemisia to complement white or blue flowers.

Learn to make herb‑infused vinegar.

Use Herbs as Groundcovers

Low, spreading herbs create fragrant, attractive carpets. Oregano, chamomile, creeping thymes (woolly and others), mint, and prostrate rosemary are excellent choices.

Plant Herbs in Containers

Containers deliver the superb drainage many herbs demand. Pots, planters, window boxes, and hanging baskets all work. They’re ideal for tender herbs like scented geraniums, bay, and rosemary—cold‑climate gardeners can simply move them indoors for winter. Nearly all annual culinary herbs (parsley, cilantro, basil) thrive in containers.

Create Herb Edging

Plants at the front of a border need season‑long appeal. Classic edging herbs include chives, lavender, lavender cotton, and lamb’s‑ears.

Tuck Herbs into Cracks and Crevices

Thyme, lavender, oregano, and other Mediterranean natives love the hot, dry, well‑drained conditions of flagstone paths, stone walls, and rock gardens. In fact, lean soil often intensifies their flavor and scent.

Use Herbs in Larger Landscaping

In warm regions, rosemary (which can be clipped into formal shapes) and germander make ideal shrubs; bay becomes an attractive small tree. Herbs also serve as groundcovers weaving around conventional trees and shrubs.