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Sue
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 Posted -
31/03/2007
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17:34
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I have just spent the last 3 full days digging out a formal herb garden, laid out in a French style symmetry.( hence the bad wrist). Now I need to plant things quickly before all those weeds come back
I already have rosemary, thyme, chives, mint, lemon balm, marjoram, and lavender(multiple plants of each). Has any one any ideas about othe perenial herbs that can with stand long periods with very little attention. The soil is well drained and very fertile. I have 8 symmetrical patches in all. Two are already filled. This year I am putting potatoes in another two of them , but I need some ideas for a long term permanent herb plot. I did think I would do one patch with annuals and biennials like parsley and basil.
Sue
Sue
If you keep searching you'll find it
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belle
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Posted - 01/07/2009 : 15:06
My mum in-law has been using that for years Bradders, at 85 she still grows most of the food she eats!
Life is what you make it |
tripps
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Posted - 01/07/2009 : 15:07
I think comfrey is known as knitbone, a herbal remedy for broken bones.Personally I'd go to Casualty.
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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 01/07/2009 : 16:26
I know about Comfrey as a medicine and have both cream and oil in my cupboard but I had forgotten about the fertiliser bit. I need a small barrel.....
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 01/07/2009 : 16:26
PS Comfrey is wonderful for bruising.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Sue
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Posted - 01/07/2009 : 16:27
Looks good Stanley. I have had to cut back the rosemary in our french garden this visit as it didn't look very well. However it makes good wood on the BBQ. The Fennel is about 5 feet tall, and the celeriac and Angelica has been the same but I cut it back last friday. The herb garden gets regular additions and we now have several tyoes of mint and lavender. The horseradish looks pathetic and I have been advised to grow it by itself. However it is on a warning, GROW or you are out. This year I have added an asparagus bed. It is only 4 days old and is battling with the heat. Iwill try to take a photo
Sue
If you keep searching you'll find it |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 02/07/2009 : 08:25
I find I don't use many of the herbs I planted but at least they look green and give good ground cover. I shall have to encourage the Thyme.... By the way, never plant cat mint? Apart from being useless it attracts cats who roll in it and leave calling cards!
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
wendyf
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Posted - 02/07/2009 : 08:31
Sue, I hope your asparagus bed thrives, I'm very jealous.
Talking about comfrey, one of my horses once had a hairline crack in his navicular bone, which is part of the delicate structure inside the hoof. The vet wasn't too confident about his future, but after adding dried comfrey to his feed for a couple of months it healed up.
Last year I went to see the doc about a mole on my arm that had increased in size. He didnt think it was nasty, but said he would remove it if I wanted. That evening I started dabbing it with comfrey oil, and within a week it had gone completely.
(Nettles make a good liquid fertilizer too)
Wendy
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Sue
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Posted - 02/07/2009 : 08:36
I have just planted catmint Stanley!!. The beds look a bit battered this morning after last nights storm. It is now only 20C but even more humid!
Sue
If you keep searching you'll find it |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 02/07/2009 : 13:24
get in a supply of plastic bags for the cat souvenirs......
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 02/07/2009 : 13:25
Wendy, if you want any comfrey for your horses come down, there's plenty to cut!
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
wendyf
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Posted - 02/07/2009 : 14:23
Thanks for the offer Stanley, no broken bones at the moment!
Wendy
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Sue
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Posted - 04/07/2009 : 22:51
This has come a long way since the I first carved up the field that was supposed to be part of a lawn
View from the back door
and from the mezanine window
The whole herb garden is too long to get in one view using my camera. There is a whole variety of plants that are now well established. The three humps on the lefta hand side are my recently dug and planted asparagus beds. Behind that is a bed full of different varieties of lavender, and at the back are 5 feet ( sory nearly 2 metres) tall fennel plants.
Sue
Oh yes, the lonely 3 plants in the middle of a bed are three horseradish plants which I have been advised to keep seperate as once established they can take over. $ of the beds still need a top covering of pine bark, but at 3 bags a bed and 6 euros a bag this will take some time
Edited by - Sue on 04/07/2009 10:59:25 PM
If you keep searching you'll find it |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 05/07/2009 : 13:11
Sue, I don't know what the position is there but over here (as I'm sure you know) a lot of councils compost green waste and mix bark and chippings in with it so it would be even better than straight wood chip. One thing I've noticed in my garden (covered with the aforementioned compost) is that the slugs don't like the chippings.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Sue
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Posted - 05/07/2009 : 18:59
We have used our compost , mainly from the lawn to cover the veggie patch. I wanted a more decorative look here. We do actually have our own garden shredder her here , but I didn't like the effect. The rest of the garden is totally 'green', not a chemical in sight ( apart from weed and feed on the lawn , English because it costs an absolute fortune in France). As we are not here often or for long periods of time it is a constant battle trying to keep the lawn from becoming a field
Sue
If you keep searching you'll find it |
Tizer
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Posted - 06/07/2009 : 10:30
The gardens look brilliant Sue - you must have put a lot of work into them! We find very coarse pine bark to be the best ground cover for keeping down weeds - the resins in the bark seem to help suppress their growth. We were warned off wood chip by a professional gardener who found that it led to growth of unwanted fungi.
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Herb garden, any ideas the gardeners amongst you
