Good neighbors – planning herb gardens

Good neighbors help you out with a cup of sugar, make sure no one breaks into your place while you’re on vacation, and have a similar idea of social togetherness as you do. In the plant world, it’s no different. Some plants can harmonize well in a bed or even help each other, while others make life difficult for one another.

Planning a herb garden with this in mind is not only useful for small beds that need to be used optimally. It also helps you plant only exactly as much as will actually be used in the kitchen.

What to look out for in a herb garden

Good herb buddies have similar requirements for their bed: the soil condition, moisture and light should be comparable. They should also have a similar season and lifespan.

Their need for nutrients, on the other hand, is ideally contrasting – because two plants with the same hunger take nutrients away from each other. Two friends with different appetites, however, benefit each other, because this prevents both deficiency and overfertilization.

They should also not compete for space, but grow at different heights or widths. Both the area above the ground and below the ground are important here, because plants rarely want to hold hands with their roots.

Some herb combinations are so successful that they also protect each other from pests or attract beneficial insects. Intensely scented plants in particular often take on such a role and thus make a decisive contribution to an ecological, sustainable garden!

Bed buddies: an overview

You can find an overview of which herb gets along with which here:

Ideas for your herb house-share

Of course, it’s not only important which plants can stand the smell of each other, but also the purpose of planting. In a self-sufficiency garden, you should also grow what you actually need.

Some combinations particularly stand out for their use:

Basil & Oregano

Basil and oregano belong on your next homemade pizza. Or on pasta. Or focaccia.

This combination gives every dish a moment of Italian cuisine. Both the flavor is harmonious, and the two herbs are real decorative eye-catchers.

Since neither herb shoots up in height, they can also be planted on a very sunny balcony.

Basil & Parsley

Basil and parsley are like your favorite colleague: friendly, reliable and up for anything.

With good care, both basil and parsley grow abundantly. A small herb box with these two plants therefore provides an almost unlimited supply of fresh pesto and decoration that is available at any time and goes with everything.

Savory, Sage & Lavender

These three plants are not only a visual highlight with their rich violet and white colors, but also bathe your garden in an intense scent that attracts bees as if by magic.

All three bear flowers that, when dried, still make beautiful decorations in winter.

Coriander & Ginger

Coriander is a little unpopular in the herb garden; no one really wants to sit next to it. However, anyone who likes to draw inspiration from Asian cuisine should try their luck with this combination.

Ginger is more demanding in terms of temperature than coriander and can be grown better on the windowsill in cooler or more humid areas.

Parsley, Dill & Chives

The most decorative trio since the Bee Gees and with the same hint of summer feeling.

Whether it’s a cheese sandwich, beef steak or vegetable stir-fry – a small bunch of parsley with a little chopped dill and chives visually perks up any savory meal. In addition, you can whip up fresh, delicious herb quark in no time.

Rosemary & Thyme

Not only does this combination sound like the title of a baroque romance novel, the two herbs also complement each other outwardly as a perfect pair.

While rosemary likes to spread out and take up a lot of space, thyme remains very modest in height and width and leaves it the spotlight. True love!

Sage, Lavender & Lemon Balm

Sage is the party animal among herbs – it basically gets along with almost everything except basil.

Together with lavender and lemon balm, it creates a light summer scent in your garden that feels like a vacation.

Lonely kings

Of course, there are also herbs that do not want to share their bed with anything or anyone. These include, for example, lovage, wormwood and angelica. Peppermint also prefers to rule over its soil alone.

Sebastian provided us with this informative article. He runs the blog: www.garten.schule. Take a look!

Read also: Information about wild herbs

Photo by Sabine or by Sebastian, meinhaushalt.at