Kensington Garden Design – Stand out from the Crowd
We have done the yen garden, the rose garden, the oh-so-boring privet hedge and bedding border garden, the single cherry tree over a carpet of spring-flowering bulbs garden, the little white lights through the trees garden, and even, horrors of horrors, the gnomes’ garden. What comes next to make sure that your garden is unique and different from all the others?
A casual yet free-flowing herb garden! Herbs have everything. There is an enormous variety of shapes, heights and textures, they have scents and blossoms, they positively like poor soil and no feeding, they need very little attention and they will self-seed and spread as much as you want them to. Formal herb gardens are neat and tidy places and have much charm, but they are relatively common. The informal garden gives an impression of wild abundance, of winding overgrown paths and nature run wild (although it requires every bit as much planning as a knot-design garden). The advantage of the informality is that it gives an impression of much greater depth and space than the garden actually has.
The initial preparation for transforming the entire garden into a herb garden is relatively simple. Ideally, you want a layer of sandy, weed-free, gravel for the herbs to grow in, particularly if you expect them to self-seed – herb seeds get washed down and rot in soil but can germinate easily in sand and gravel. But they will grow on almost any soil provided it is not too waterlogged.
Use plants that will grow into all-season bushes or small trees to conceal the boundary walls or fences; rosemary, bay and witch hazel all provide height and year-round interest. Have winding paths carpeted with chamomile and creeping thyme, both of which benefit from being walked on and release heady scents underfoot. Fill all the empty spaces with perennial herbs grown close together.
Use the contrast between heights so that the lines of the garden are broken up. The taller herbs – fennel, angelica, evening primrose, lovage – are focal points, while the mid-level can be tightly filled with lavender, marjoram, wall germander, bergamot, hyssop, clove carnation, and a variety of thyme. All of these are flowering; bee-friendly plants and can form a useful contrast to leafy herbs such as sage, sweet cicely and savory. None of these herbs are difficult to obtain and, planted in the spring, they will delight the senses throughout summer and have spread into a thick carpet by the autumn.
For more exquisite designs and to view the work of one of the UK’s best garden designers click here – Garden Designers London
A designer who can transform your garden and outdoor space into something you couldn’t even imagine!
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