4/30/2023 0 Comments Well sweep herb farm![]() ![]() Medium-textured leaves like basil fill a space nicely, but are boring in excess. The fine leaves of thyme can soften nearby coarse foliage, but too much fine texture can look fussy. Leaf and flower texture are an important design element, too. Give variegated-leaf sage a plain backdrop like the deep green of sweet basil. Or try bronze fennel behind the red blossoms of pineapple sage. For example, set silver artemesia behind purple- and pink-flowering sages. In The Herb Gardener, Susan McClure suggests sticking with a color scheme of two or three main colors, then picking a contrasting foliage for background. Consider, along with your own personal style and plant preferences, a pleasing combination of plant sizes, colors, textures, and seasons of bloom. While bees and butterflies don't object to a jumble of plants, you'll be happier with an herb garden that has been thoughtfully planned. How about the dense green foliage of rosemary, with its tiny blue blossoms, or ferny yarrow with its fat clusters of red or cream blossoms? Why would anyone prefer a lackluster lawn or a tangle of juniper tams?īees, butterflies, and a host of beneficial insects make their preference abundantly clear: they flock to a rich habitat of herbs, flowers and grasses, while ignoring conventional lawns and shrubs (which may offer little as nectar or larval host plants and which may contain pesticides). ![]() They'll also do well in cooler, wetter climes, although they may die back in winter.Īnd what a knockout visually! Picture the textures and colors of spiky lavender spilling over a pathway, the stone crevices softened by creeping thyme. They're tough customers, used to the spare soil and dry heat of the Mediterranean region, where many originated. Herbs are enjoying renewed popularity as xeriscaping (drought-tolerant gardening) takes hold, especially in the arid Southwest. Then, too, you get to spend hours explaining the history and uses of each herb to your unwary acquaintances. And as I've discovered on my tiny parcel of land, a bit of creative mixing can be attractive and enjoyable. The truth is, butterflies don't care how you approach herb gardening, so long as you set out their favorite nectar and larval plants. "It's very true that if you plant it, they will come." Īre you fascinated by the history and lore of herb gardens? With choices like medieval monastic gardens, Elizabethan knot gardens, cottage gardens, Colonial physic gardens, Chinese medicinal gardens, and kitchen gardens, you could landscape several yards and barely make a dent in the pile of books written about herbs. "I'm always learning something new about butterflies," she says. Lately she's expanded her outreach to include butterfly gardening. An expert on medicinal plants, she gives lectures and garden tours on that topic. While Peltier didn't set out to attract butterflies, she was quick to notice that her yard's abundance of nectar-rich herbs and flowers drew in bees and butterflies by the score. When it's time to harvest the blossoms, they'll move to the nearby flowering oregano. Later in the summer, skippers will mob the border of lavender. ![]() Western Tiger Swallowtails and Lorquin's Admirals glide among rose campion and opium poppy. Curving paths and herb beds fill the space once taken by a circular driveway. Six-foot fennel brushes the mailbox, its fronds be-decked with green and yellow Anise Swallowtail caterpillars.Īs I walk through the gate, I feel as if I've discovered a secret garden of flowers and herbs, buzzing with bumblebees, honeybees and hummingbirds, fluttering with butterflies' wings. In a modest neighborhood under the Sea-Tac flyway, Janice Peltier's nursery, Herban Renewal, sends bursts of color and exuberant foliage sprawling out to the parking strip. Herb Gardens for Butterflies by Claire Hagen Dole ![]()
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