Herbs as ornamental greens

[Elliot]

In our front we have lots of mint which returns every year and arangao which is also beautiful green. We have a space between them where we are filling it in with double impatiens and some geraniums

Elliot

Long Island, NY

[Tracydr]

I Haney a lot of herbs for ornamentals. They are so hardy, pretty and great for the beneficial insects. I have mint, Texas tarragon, salvias, edible sage, oregano, thyme, different basils, rosemary, bee balm. Lavender, rosemary.
I'm always adding to my herb collection, tucking them every corner of the garden and yard.

[Elliot]

This year we are doing basal, thyme,Orageno, mint and lavender. What I like about mint is that it grows and spreads and comes back every year. Oregano does it too. I am allergic to rosemary, so I can't grow it. We also have been growing pineapple sage. it grows very quickly. I am amazed at how fast. It smells like pineapple and in the fall has beautiful red flowers.

[RayR]

Normally I grow Thyme in containers and take it in the house for the cold winter, but I planted some Thyme in my herb bed last year next to the oregano and it came back in the spring.

[Elliot]

So thyme is a perenial. This is the first years we are growing it

[delltraveller]

The mints, lemon balm, oregano, greek oregano, thyme and sage are perennials, but for the latter four a hard winter or a rough freeze-thaw cycle can result in die off. Rosemary is perennial in milder climates. I have a hedge of lemon balm that I trim with hedge trimmers or whack off with an 8" chef's knife when it gets too big and it doesn't seem to mind it at all. My hedge is along one edge of the garden plot, the one that a certain nameless uncle couldn't seem to not run over on his riding lawn mower when he's "helping". Works great for that purpose, and smells like lemon Pledge when he grazes it.

For me, pineapple sage doesn't seem to survive the winter. I've made several attempts at wintering it over, but haven't been successful. I've also had trouble with tricolor sage surviving. I've had good luck with common sage.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by Elliot

So thyme is a perenial. This is the first years we are growing it

Yep, it's a perennial. I wasn't so sure it would survive a northern winter, but it seems if its in the ground in a sheltered area and mulched over for the winter, it'll come back. I didn't actually mulch it myself, but we had a late November snowfall last year and it sat under the snow all winter. Snow makes a good protective winter mulch, I even had a few lettuce plants and a swiss chard plant survive the winter under the snow.
If you grow some thyme in pots, you can bring it indoors for the winter and it will keep growing provided it gets enough light, but it tends to go dormant after awhile, may look dried out, even dead but then it will sprout fresh new growth again toward spring.

[Elliot]

For me, pineapple sage doesn't seem to survive the winter. I've made several attempts at wintering it over, but haven't been successful. I've also had trouble with tricolor sage surviving. I've had good luck with common sage.[/QUOTE]


We grow Pineapple sage as an annual it is amazing how fast it grows. you can smell and eat the fragrant leaves and in the fall the flowers are beuatiful

[Tracydr]

I haven't seen my pineapple sage bloom yet since I planted it this spring, really looking forward to it. I think I'm probably on the edge of it's hardy zone, it probably wouldn't have survived our winter last year.
I sometimes lose thyme in the summer, even in the shade, just too hot.
Just went out to check the gardens and my bee balm is wilting. I hope it makes it through summer because I've never seen it flower. We're headed into a nasty heatwave the next ten days.

[roper2008]

Tracy, my pineapple sage blooms in fall. Which is perfect because a lot of flowers
are done by then. It never survived the winter before until I planted one near
my brick house. It's going on it's third year now.

[Tracydr]

I have mine near the house, too. Does it get huge? I may want to move it or at least divide it and put some in a larger garden. Also, the heat radiates off the house and it's getting wilted now that it's well over 100.

[nolabelle]

I now have a success herb garden for the first time in containers. I had issues with heat and sun. Now they are in containers on a mobile cart and doing exceptionally well.

I LOVE peppers. Yesterday I bought an ornamental pepper called Purple Flash. Purple leaves and pearl shaped deep purple (almost black) peppers that have a floral taste. A very appealing plant.

My goal is to create a tropical rain forest on my carport. Everything is in containers because in the yard bugs and weeds just overwhelm. With containers, I have more control.

[tlintx]

I love herbs!

I do what Tanya described above; tuck them here and there. Then I lose track of them and can't remember what I'm supposed to be not eating.

This year I planted only roses and edibles (well, other than the veggies), and made a separate bed for them.

I did accidentally buy an Australian rosemary, which is not a rosemary apparently. But it died before I could get it in the ground.

Good luck with your rainforest! Are you going to add any vines like luffa or Cape Gooseberry?

[nolabelle]

My rainforest will be mostly edibles. I have to keep things out of reach of three large dogs and monitor the heat. I move things around a lot, lol. Right now the patio table is holding a bay leaf plant, basil, pineapple sage, regular sage and the purple flash pepper. The rolling cart has parsley and citrus mint, oregano and thyme, rosemary and some seedlings of tarragon.

We made a table to hold two tomato plants, four containers with radishes and some kind of pepper plants that stepson bought. We also made a wire shelf that hangs on the fence. I try to keep the delicate plants sheltered from hard rain. The dogs already got to one of my marigold planters that was started yesterday. I put it too low on the wrought iron plant stand we have by the fence. They love to eat dirt.

[Redbaron]

Might try purple basil. It is stunning.