Herbs are basically known for being useful to people due to their fragrance, culinary attributes and medicinal qualities.  Their traditional definition of an herb, short for herbaceous, is a plant growing from a soft stem, it doesn’t become a woody stem.  But the stem issue no longer defines the herbs, they are popular no matter which type of stem they are growing upon.

Usually people grow herbs in an herb bed or along with vegetable in their beds but there are many other uses in the landscape for some types of herbs.  Many of them can contribute with their beautiful foliage, interesting shapes, and other attributes which make them useful in a wide range of design applications.  They can be used to soften hardscapes, fill in cracks and crevices, and add a little something to perennial beds among many other purposes.

Most of these herbs can be fairly easy to find, but if you need help finding them or placing them into an established landscape Nature’s Friends Landscaping can help you with those landscape issues in addition to being available for other design efforts.  These herbs love the sun, are very hardy and require little care once they are established.  Many of them don’t really need much irrigation at all after they have gotten their roots into the soil.

All types of sage are excellent additions to any garden, they come in a variety of green color shades which include some variegated versions.  Berggarten Sage has some of the loveliest foliage of all the sage family, sporting a compact habit and beautifully rounded leaves.  Silver Thyme is beautiful for filling in edges and providing some softening for them.  It has a great bushy texture but only gets up to about twelve inches so is good tucked into many spaces.

An additional foliage plant which is outstanding in a landscape setting is Salem Rosemary, it has a very upright habit so you can actually use it like a small hedge or it can be an excellent accent plant.