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GARDEN 16 |
The Herb Garden contd.
(L) A carpet of chionoxoda bursts through in early Spring. (R) Close up.
(L) The intense blue flowers of Hyssop, a magnet for bumblebees. (C) Echinacea. A useful herb that makes a splendid border plant. (R) Verbena bonarariensis is a good plant for poorer soils-indeed, it prefers the cracks in the paving to the soil in the borders. It also has the added bonus of being another superb nectar plant.
Marshmallow has velvety soft foliage and has been used to dress open wounds for centuries.
Hyssop is one of the most useful herbs here. It remains reliably evergreen to provide respite for back ache all year round. Its deep blue flowers are beloved by bees and butterflies and it has a strong "astringent" aroma when brushed against or bruised. It is also used extensively in the rose beds to keep aphids away. I plant it with St. John's wort and a white flowered form of Herb Robert. Another white flowered, herb is Myrtle. Tender to a fault, even in our favourable climate, it never grows much taller than two feet high. I grow it in close association with a form of Artimesia, "Lad's Love" or Southernwood. Self-sown Borage can become a nuisance although it is another herb I could not be without. The pink form is strangely, more prevalent on our alkaline soil and looks wonderful when poking through the leaves of purple sage. (All the many sages here have their flower spikes removed lest they detract from the foliage). The best companion to purple of all though, is still, the most maligned plant in the garden. Dismissed out of hand as either being too common or too easy to grow, good, old-fashioned, Pot Marigolds, are second to none in providing scent, a long season of interest and just plain cheerfulness. Generations of gardeners were spawned by a packet of marigold seeds-including me! I grow a variety called "Hen and Chickens". It is a little odd in that it has smaller flowers, (the chickens) emanating from the normal, main flower, (The Hen). This has been grown since at least the 16th century and there is an equivalent "Hen and Chickens" daisy that can still be found in specialist nursery catalogues to this day.
(L) Purple alliums mix well with pot marigolds. (C) Pot marigolds peep through the foliage of purple sage. (R) These alliums are exactly the same shade as the flowers of the French lavender behind. Gertrude Jekyll would have approved.