Edging Rose Beds with Edible Herbs

15 years ago

This weekend I was working in my mother's Zone 7b no spray rose garden and cut a large bundle of Rosemary from just one of the plants I use to edge her China, Tea & Shrub Roses. Actually there are three different kinds of herbs that I use to edge the bed: Rosemary, Lavender and Sage. All three are killer fragrant and add a nice freshness to the tea scented roses. The herbs also have a wonderful upright habit that lends perfectly to working as border plants, and because the garden is organic the plants do double duty as culinary herbs. I'm so glad how this experiment has worked out. I brought the rosemary to work today and everybody got at last three or four sprigs to take home.

Something to think about when planning your next flower bed...

TIPS: Both rosemary and lavender benefit from a sand mulch. Also whenever possible choose dwarf cultivars. Rosemary, in particular, can get big. Provence is a variety of lavender that is tolerant of clay soil. Yes, rosemary blossoms are really that blue.

Best wishes,

Patrick

Image of Rosemary blossoms by Herbert at Hortiplex.

Here is a link that might be useful: A Not So Tired Rose Garden

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Comments (10)

mauirose
15 years ago
There's also a variegated oregano that's very pretty if you can find it. Thanks for the tip on Provence-my thumb has been black when it comes to Lavender.
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
15 years ago
One herb that is never mentioned as an ornamental is marjoram. It blooms clouds of tiny white flowers for months on end, can be cut back ruthlessly when it needs it and thrives on neglect. It's very bushy and the bees absolutely adore it. It gets about two feet tall at the most and I love it. Also, it's something different that not everyone has. I also love rosemary which thrives in hot places in my garden where almost nothing else will live. I plan on planting more since it's perfect for a water-starved garden.

Ingrid
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It's not a god idea to plant anything edible with roses in the same bed or close by, because roses need spraying to keep BS at bay. If the spray could cause you or anyone else physical harm, you should not do it. Unfortunately, there are many poeople who feel that if here is any space left over in a rose bed or garden, it should be filled to the gills with something. Not cool. Either you have roses or you have edibles, but not together.
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I grew Spanish Lavender, the one lavender that is tolerant of Florida rain & humidity, but I planted it in pure builder's sand (the same for rosemary). Both did great. Bronze fennel grew huge (as did the others), was stripped to bare wood by caterpillars, and grew back beautifully - twice. I love Lemon grass - tall, swishy, fragrant grass. I dug it up and moved it twice because it outgrew its space (almost too big to move by myself) and it kept on ticking. Hated to get rid of it but had to put the shed somewhere. Just bought fennel, oregano, marjoram, bush basil & Italian parsley, and plan to put them out among the roses so I'll let you know how they do here. Sherry
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I grow all my roses with abundant companion plants, including many herbs, as the dry climate ones are well adapted here--this part of the world is where many of them come from, after all. The biggest problems I've had has been planting herbs that got too big for their space: some of the lavenders get large (3' x 3') and so does rosemary (4'-5' wide). Common thyme (T. vulgaris) in my garden is easily overwhelmed by larger and more vigorous plants, mine having been outcompeted by self-seeding culinary sage (S. officinalis). I agree that mint gets out of hand and ought not to be planted in most gardens; two other pretty and invasive pests are lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and Chinese garlic, both of them to be avoided. There are many kinds of thyme with varying growth habits and scents, and I pretty much like them all. I don't think anyone has yet mentioned lavender cotton (Santolina, various species and selections) and the various artemesias (Artemisia, ditto), also Helichrysium and then there are catmints: I think I have one in my garden but I don't know the group at all. There are lots of sages, too. These herbs I'm talking about are mostly gray-foliaged plants best adapted to a fairly dry climate; people who live in wetter places may or may not be able to grow them. I think good drainage helps: I've seen rosemary grown in north Florida. And people in wetter places can grow things like basil and cilantro that require watering. Most of the perennial herbs are easy to grow from cuttings. Melissa
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Pansy/viola is a herb - it has medicinal uses, and is edible. Here is my definition of a herb. See what you make of it! I share the opinion of many experts that a herb is accurately described as 'any plant form which may be useful to mankind, whether it be for culinary, medicinal, pest-control, cosmetic, aromatic or practical purposes (such as shelter, making of musical instruments, or for clothing)'. We can add to this list the use of some plants to obtain dyes, and of other plants to obtain deadly poisons. Many plant forms are not restricted to one or the other purpose to mankind - eg. the Elder tree provides food products, has medicinal and cosmetic uses, is used to make wooden toys and has some use in pest-control in the garden. A herb can take a variety of forms. It may be a product of the sea (Bladderwrack), it may be a tiny ground-hugging plant (Thyme), or a large tree (Bay) or a fungus (mushroom). Or anything in between. We may use the leaves (lettuce, rosemary), the roots (carrots, marshmallow), the seeds (sesame, mustard), the fruit (apple, elderberry), the stems (rhubarb, angelica), the bark (cinnamon) or the flowers (roses, chives) of a plant. (Though we should be careful to know which parts of which plants are edible!) As for what else to grow - you have a choice of thousands! Literally. Why not consider a golden oregano instead of the common one? Don't forget my favourite lavender for its wonderful perfume - and if you get the English lavender it's edible, and has medicinal uses too. A herb garden isn't complete without lavender, IMO. Also think of hyssop, anise hyssop, parsley (I think the curly parsley is very pretty and it makes a lovely border). You can consider something with silvery foliage like santolina, or a curry plant, or (if you have tons of space) an artemisia - maybe wormwood or southerwood (though both might inhibit growth of nearby plants). I'm partial to Winter Tarragon (Tagetes lucida). It's a good substitute for French Tarragon (to which it is not related), and it is covered in the brightest yellow flowers for most of the year. Think also of basils. For a colour contrast, go for a purple basil, or a Greek basil which will last forever. Any of the scented geraniums (pelargoniums) would be suitable in a cottage garden. You have a choice of many 'flavours', including cinnamon, nutmeg, rose, lemon, carrot, peppermint, coconut etc. Think of Chaste-berry, a very pretty but deciduous shrub. You could have a standard bay tree as a centrepiece, perhaps. Since you like ferns etc, consider a Saw Palmetto palm. IMO, you must have something 'lemon-y'. Aside from the lemon-scented geranium, think about a lemon verbena (also deciduous), lemon savory, lemon thyme, lemon balm. And why not a lime balm? Or even a lemon tree? Take a trip around a herb nursery to see other options. You might like meadowsweet, or sweet woodruff or calendula or a zillion others you see!...
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duchesse_nalabama
15 years ago
I am planning to winter sow some germander seeds, teucrium chamaedrys, for edging next year.

Here is a link that might be useful: germander
mkrkmr
15 years ago
I've grown parsley, basil, coriander/cilantro, thyme, winter savory, chives, garlic, tarragon. Lemon verbena just went in, since we've been rezoned to zone 8 (fingers crossed). I even snuck a few tomatoes in. May look funny, I don't, know -- no one down here ever asks why you have tomatoes. I put fennel in, too, which adds a different texture.

Mike
cweathersby
15 years ago
Mike,
Lemon Verbena works just fine for me, and we are in the 7b / 8a zone. I love it.
My mother has germander, a really silver kind, and it looks great. Kind of a round ball.
sherryocala
15 years ago
I have Rosemary, Lemon Balm, Spanish Lavender and Bronze Fennel. The Rosemary & Lavender are planted in pure sand for drainage since we have rather wet, humid summers. The Fennel has had several caterpillars on it. I was so impressed with the Rosemary the other day when I was watering with the hose. That delicious fragrance spread all over the yard. I'm going to have to get more of these next year, especially since their size seems to be more reasonable compared to perennials and some annuals that get huge here. Haven't seen those flowers yet on the Rosemary. Amazing!

Sherry
peachiekean
15 years ago
Patrick,
I read your post on you re-doing your mom's rose garden. Your mom must be thrilled! I would love to see pictures.
And reading about The McCartney Rose, you helped me realize I probably have mine in the WRONG place. I better move it in the near future to give it the space it will need. Thank you for that info.
Another herb that works well in the rose garden is a thyme by the name of Doone Valley. It's a spreading type and has little pink flowers. The leaves are citrus smelling. I think it's hardy to Zone 6.
Mary
buford
15 years ago
Don't forget chives. It has bright blue round flowers (similar to allium, but not as large) and grows very well. Be careful not to mow it down, because it will scent up your entire yard!
bbinpa
15 years ago
I have Rosemary, Tarragon, Oregano and Garlic Chives. I also have Lemon Balm and am trying to get rid of it. It is a weed in my garden. Prolific reseeding in just about every bed within 100 yards. Ugg! The garlic chives reseeds too, but at least it isn't invasive.

Barbara
mendocino_rose
15 years ago
One of the prettiest edgings I have ever made was of globe basil and lemon gem marigold. They are both perfect little green globes and grow together like a tiny hedge.

Edging Rose Beds with Edible Herbs

Comments (10)

mauirose

ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9

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