herbs | Young Wifey's Blog

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cooking, France, French, gardening, grilling, herb garden, herbs, landscaping, potager

Since our potager isn’t located close to our kitchen at all (it’s further away from our house down on the first bank), it wasn’t an ideal location for my herbs. I can’t just run out quickly when making dinner to add a spring of something or another.

Four years ago, The Town Mouse posted a picture of the herb garden at le château de Chenonceau (Chenonceaux, France) that I have coveted ever since. The recessed pots are adorable and would help deter mints and other herbs from taking over the entire garden.

Town Mouse’s picture of an herb garden at le château de Chenonceau (Chenonceaux, France)

The perfect spot for the herb garden was just off the back deck. It is the perfect location for both kitchen and grill access. At the beginning of last year, we turned a tight v- shaped corner (between the deck, pool deck, and pool) into a garden bed. We removed the grass, lined it with black plastic, mulched, edged it with mountain stone, while lining the pool side with small river rock. The only plant in the area was a spiraea we transplanted (and rescued) from next to the AC unit.

Last night, I purchased terra-cotta pots and herbs for my new garden. On the upper lip of the pots, I brushed on 2 coats of a terra-cotta sealant, 2 coats of paint (formulated for terra-cotta), and finished with two more coats of the sealant. I had these supplies left over from a previous project.

This morning, we were ready to create our new herb garden. I’m actually surprised Hubster was so agreeable to this design, when I first showed him the picture years ago, he didn’t care for it. First, I laid out the pots to determine their arrangement. Then, I pushed aside the old mulch and cut a hole in the plastic, and Hubster loosened holes in the clay soil. Once I recessed the pots into the new holes, I back-filled any exterior gaps with the clay soil and filled the pots with potting soil. I smoothed the old mulch back around the pots and planted the herbs.

I planted thyme, rosemary, oregano, sage, fennel, chives, peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint, and bee balm. I actually think we’re going to add two more pots and create a fourth row in the back. I already have two types of basil and a lavender that I’d like to add there. Most of the herbs are perennials and will come back each year, so it’ll be easy to supplement the annual varieties.