inville, Washington. “The main western culinary herbs—thyme,
rosemary, oreganos, sages—lend themselves to pot culture
nicely.” Root running herbs, such as mints and monardas,
however, “won’t like containment for long, and need to be
divided when they fill the container.”
Container gardening also allows you to bring plants indoors,
extending your herbs’ growing season (by outwitting Jack
Frost). “Even tender perennials can overwinter here [in
the Pacific Northwest] if they’re brought inside a cool
greenhouse,” notes EagleSong, who finds this technique works
for scented geraniums, lemon verbena, and pineapple sage,
which wouldn’t return in spring if left outside. This holds
true in Santa Fe, too, where “culinary rosemary is likely
to be subject to cold kill,” according to Gage. She recommends
bringing rosemary and culinary bay indoors before the onset
of frost, unless you choose to treat these plants as annuals.
Larson notes the use of the scented geranium in South Africa,
where the herbs are traditionally planted along walkways
leading to the gardener’s front door, their heady fragrance
releasing as passersby brush against the leaves. Since varieties
of this species emit a powerful fragrance (even without
being handled), tending them provides aromatherapeutic benefits
for any gardener, especially those with disabilities. Lacy
Gage of Santa Fe Greenhouses in Santa Fe, New Mexico, points
out, “Since [herbs] are, generally speaking, quite fragrant,
that offers a dimension for those with limited vision.”
Once you’ve chosen your plants, consider several container
options: Attach a window box to a deck rail, or place a
few pots on a patio table—anywhere you can easily reach
your flowers. Or plant seeds in a sack filled with soil
and tie it to your mailbox or stairway railing. (Poke drainage
holes in the bag’s bottom.) However you choose to grow your
plants, remember that containers can be heavy once full,
so place them in their intended location before filling
them with soil. Flowerpot holders on wheels are commercially
available, and a child’s wagon works well for moving pots,
too.
Raise
Your Standards
Containers can also be placed within tabletop planters.
The planter at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, for instance,
stands 31ž2 feet off the ground, so that it can be accessed
by wheelchair. Keep your garden bed less than 4 feet wide.
This width allows an average-sized adult to access the middle
of the bed—a 2-foot reach on either side— without excess
leaning or stretching. If this width still proves difficult,
don’t fret. Just determine how far you can comfortably reach,
and make the bed’s width twice the length of your reach.
Growing herbs in a raised bed, where the
top of the soil is elevated above the rest of the ground,
provides another option for easy gardening. These beds help
the gardener by reducing the need to bend over, and enhance
soil drainage. Raised beds also warm up faster in the spring
than ground soil does, allowing for early spring planting
and a longer growing season.
Kits for building raised beds are available,
but you can easily make one yourself (or have a family member
help you) by creating an enclosure of concrete blocks— which
doubles as a seating ledge— and filling the resulting pen
with soil. A child’s wading pool is easier still, though
it lacks seating. Just remove its base, place on a spot
of ground free of weeds and grass, and fill with soil. What
type of soil to add? EagleSong uses “lots of compost, lime
to bring the pH to 6.5, and gravel or pumice to ensure good
drainage for Mediterranean herbs.” Note that if you build
the
