Building a Herb Garden

     We've had a particularly nice spring this year here in Wyoming. No late unexpected snow or frosts. Our garden is blooming up a storm. I thought in this post I would share photos of our herb garden. As I've mentioned before we've been in this house over twenty years, building the garden from nothing. 

 The above photo was taken in 1993 and shows the laying out of the pathways.

    I'm sorry this photo isn't better but it was before the digital age. But you can see the path goes through the structure with two off shoots on either side and a circle area in the center.

     This photo was taken the following year and you can see things are starting to grow. 

     This photo was taken in 1997. As you can see the grape vines are doing nicely. The far end arbor has hops growing.

     This was the following year. We found that hops was not a good idea, also the store bought arbors were not holding up under the weight of them or the grapes. So my husband built sturdier ones that are still doing well.

     Here's a winter shot. We had to wait until the grapes died back for the winter and rebuilt that arbor in the early spring. You can see more photos of the grape arbor in my post from last year, Invasion of the Grape Snatchers.

     Here's a recent look at the pathways. You might note that I have my basil planted in a pot. It is very tender, so this makes it easier to move inside if there is a threat of colder weather.

We replaced the hops with these beautiful 'William Baffin' roses.

                                                                                                                 

In the center is a sun dial surrounded by lavender. 

     I love mint and have several varieties growing. But if your not careful it can take over the garden. We came up with a way to keep it under control.

     Because mint's roots spread close to the surface we were able to bury metal and plastic culvert about six inches in the ground. This contains the plants nicely. The photo below shows the start of the spring growth.

     The next photo shows my pineapple mint now. I also have apple mint, spearmint, chocolate mint and orange mint. All of them add a lovely fragrance to the garden. And can be a wonderful addition to certain drinks and other recipes. 

     Here are a few more pictures of some of my herbs. Starting at upper left; oregano with some chives in front, thyme, sage, parsley. A few others that I have growing are; lemon balm, tarragon, rosemary, lemon thyme, catnip, savory.

     Having an herb garden right out my back door makes for easy access when I'm cooking and want fresh herbs. Some days I just enjoy walking through and touching the herbs to release their aroma. 

Participating in:Grand Social, Share the Joy, Seasons, Outdoor Wednesday, Share Your Cup

A thought to ponder: "Herbs are the friend of the physician and the pride of cooks."                                                                        Charlemagne