Round Robin: Maritime Herb Garden Designs

Image Gallery Herb garden designs for your maritime garden.

NEWBERG, Oregon — As the rain pounds at the window, I find myself looking out and trying to picture a completely new herb garden. We recently moved into a new house with no plants whatever in the backyard other than a large, untended lawn. I feel as though I were an artist with a blank canvas before me and a palette of various herbs from my nur­sery to draw from. Living here in western Oregon, I enjoy a maritime climate similar to the Mediterranean area where most of my herbs originate. Because winter temperatures seldom drop below 15°F, winter cold-hardiness is less a factor than good drainage. Over the past few months, I have worked lots of organic material into the clay soil to improve the drainage. Now I’m in the planning stage, wondering how to include all of my favorite herbs—and because I’m a collector, there are myriads!

Unfortunately, the neighborhood is ridden with cats, and their daily presence in my backyard may dictate the exclusion of two of my favorite Teucrium species: T. marum (cat thyme) and T. subspinosum. These are small “evergray” cousins to the familiar evergreen germander (T. chamaedrys) that is used so much in hedges and knot gardens. These two, however, may surpass catnip (Nepeta cataria) in attracting cats, even the temperamental local Siamese. I am surprised cats even tackle T. subspinosum, whose tight ball of stiff branches looks much like a sea urchin, but they must do so, because my little plants are often completely squashed and broken in the morning. I don’t like the idea of caging my plants for protection, so I’ll probably have to leave them flourishing at the nursery, which remains dog territory.