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FORMAL GARDENS

Formal herb gardens have taken many forms over the centuries. Knot gardens are one of the most traditional. Another form is the "sundial" garden of flowers that open at different times of the day.

Designing and maintaining a formal herb garden requires more time and work (especially in year-round gardening areas) than less formal plantings, but the reward can be a uniquely peaceful garden with an atmosphere of serene beauty.

The first step in planning a formal herb garden is to decide its size and location. The site must receive enough sunlight for the herbs to thrive. The garden can be as small or large as you want it to be or have room for. Perhaps you have a sunny utility area between the side of the house and a fence that is too narrow or small for other plants. A place in the yard that you have not landscaped because no one spends enough time there could make a peaceful retreat for meditation. Or, you might simply use a corner in the yard formed by two intersecting fences. Wherever you think about placing the garden, remember that it does not have to be square or rectangular, though most are symmetrical in layout.

After deciding a place for the formal herb garden, decide which herbs you want to use. Keeping the size and shape of the garden in mind, plan the layout of the planting beds and walks.

There are limitless designs for formal herb gardens. The planting beds can be geometrically shaped like triangles, rectangles, or semicircles, with one or two herbs planted in each and paths separating them. Or, you can plant a number of different herbs in each bed to emphasize their differences in texture and growth patterns. For example, taller herbs could grow at the back of the plots with lower ones in the front. Herbs with varying shades and tones of gray and green offer interesting contrasts and harmonies. You could design an Elizabethan knot garden with line-like plantings of low growing herbs interweaving one another in patterns emphasized by different tones and textures of foliage. Even small areas can feature herbs growing in a formal plan as on either side of a path which leads to a piece of garden sculpture or encircles a bird bath.

After planning the design of your garden, prepare the planting beds as described. To make the garden easier to maintain and to help keep the herbs growing neatly, sink divider boards into the ground to define the areas in which each herb or group of herbs will grow. These retainers will provide guides for planting and to some degree keep the roots and runners of the herbs within their bounds.

Next, establish the garden's paths so that you will have a convenient place to stand while planting the herbs. Flagstone or brick (especially used brick) lend an antique appearance to a formal herb garden, enhancing its "traditional" quality.

In many herb gardens paths are covered with one of the fragrant ground cover herbs. If you decide to plant one of these herbs on the paths, cultivate the ground where the walks are to be at the same time you prepare the rest of the garden. Then, after you have finished planting the borders and beds, re-cultivate the paths as necessary and plant the ground cover, working backwards toward the entrance of the garden as you would when waxing a floor. (Plant the paths last so that you will have a place to walk while you plant the beds.)

You may want to enclose the herb garden with a wall or hedge. Fragrant hedges such as lavender, rosemary, or germander can be planted around the perimeter of the garden to give it a feeling of intimacy, or you can use lower growing hedges such as boxwood and dwarf sage to border the paths. Be sure you allow enough space for the hedge plants to grow without encroaching on other herbs that are next to them.

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