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By SHERRY WOODARD
Spring comes through the door like a breath of fragrant air. With the first touch of warm breezes, my fingers itch to be digging in the soil. Out pop the tools and carefully drawn plans as all thoughts turn to gardening.
Planning the herb and vegetable garden can be a bit overwhelming to the novice gardener. The first year is usually the hardest.
I always caution people to start small and add on in years to come. Otherwise, the tendency is to plant too much and then run out of time to care for everything properly. I would like to give you some hints on starting your herb garden.
There are many gardens for many purposes. Some of your choices are: 1) fragrance, 2) culinary, 3) decorative, 4) dye plant, 5) Shakespearean. 6) medicinal, and 7) potpourri and dried flower gardens. There are other choices but these are the main categories.
Depending on your interests you may want to combine several of these selections. Once you have decided on the type of garden, you will be able to pick the plants you wish to grow. A very helpful book to read is Herb Gardens of Delight by Adelma G. Simmons.
A small bed, eight foot by eight foot, is a good size to start with. This site can be prepared in several hours, placed in a good sunny spot in the yard and easily expanded as desired. Creating the right soil mix is an expense, but it is considered more of an investment than anything else.
Herbs will grow in poor soil but they will do better in soil that has been prepared carefully. To fill an eight by eight area to a depth of 6-8 inches would cost about $30 if you have to buy all of the ingredients listed below:
Topsoil: this is the basic food source for the plants.
Sand: this allows the soil mix to drain rapidly (budding sand is OK to use).
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