Traditional Garden
The rules for outdoor, in-the-ground herb gardens are pretty much the same as container gardens with just a few exceptions and some special tips.
- Start with healthy plants like VIVA! Herbs, available exclusively at The Home Depot.
- Some plants, like mint, are very invasive and will spread rapidly to take over your entire garden. If you're looking for a fragrant, fast-growing groundcover, mint or some varieties of thyme are good choices. But if you want well-behaved herbs, avoid or contain the fast spreaders. Your nursery or garden center can advise you.
- Woody perennials like rosemary can be used as fragrant windbreaks on the edges of your garden. Prune them back often to encourage bushy growth.
- Before transplanting to the sunniest spot in your garden, break up the soil and dig in a bit of amendment such as peat moss or rotted manure to promote aeration and good drainage.
- Plant herbaceous annuals in rows, and plan to make successive plantings once a month throughout the growing season. Pinch back flower spikes immediately to prolong life.
- Snails and slugs like herbs as much as you do. If you can't put out bait because of pets or small children, try poison-free methods such as a saucer of beer placed flush with the dirt or a ring of diatomaceous earth, a natural insecticide available at most nurseries and garden centers.
