Content
- Mediterranean herbs for the rock garden
- Which herbs are suitable for the rock garden?
- Common lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
- Thyme (Thymus)
- Spice sage (Salvia officinalis)
- Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
- Winter savory (Satureja montana)
- Tips
Herbs and stones are not only visually good together
Mediterranean herbs for the rock garden
A rock garden is not only something for the eye, because you can attract tasty and healthy herbs for the kitchen here. Blossoming lavender, fragrant thyme ... especially herbs of Mediterranean origin find ideal site conditions in a sunny rock garden.
Which herbs are suitable for the rock garden?
Many of the Mediterranean herbs, such as some types of thyme or ordinary lavender, form over time large-scale carpets, which offer a special sight at the height of flowering. Alternatively, the herbs can also be cultivated in a specially built herbal spiral.
Common lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
This winter hardest of all lavender species is a popular and widely used fragrance and aromatic plant. It is very versatile to combine and is well suited as a small hedge or enclosure. Usually lavender flowers purple, but there are also pink and white flowering varieties. 'Munstead' grows compact and blooms a bit lighter. 'Hidcote Blue' grows slowly and flowers appealingly deep blue-violet. 'Dwarf Blue' stays smaller. 'Lumières des Alpes' has purple-lipped lips and dark blue goblets. 'Miss Katherine' is blooming pink and is about 60 centimeters high. In the rock garden also very pretty, but less hardy is the Provence-Lavender (Lavandula x intermedia). Both types of lavender combine well with sacred flowers, palm trees, spur flowers and pearl grass.
Thyme (Thymus)
Many types of thyme and their varieties form large, floor covering carpets. However, the true thyme survives safely only in warmer regions outdoors. Particularly suitable for the rock garden are for example:
Thyme works well next to Blue Fever, Wool-Zest, and Low Catnip.
Spice sage (Salvia officinalis)
Sage is not only a versatile spice and medicinal plant, but also has a high jewelry value. Since outdated specimens are not hardy, you should cut them regularly. Again, there are many different varieties. 'Berggarten' has remarkably broad leaves, but hardly flowers and is very hardy. 'Purpurascens' shows purplish toned, 'Ictarine' yellow-burned foliage. Both varieties need a light winter protection in rough conditions. 'Rosea' flowers pink. The lavender-leaved sage (Salvia lavandulifolia) has narrower leaves and is very hardy. Suitable planting partners for all varieties are lavender, thyme, mugwort, pelts and grasses such as Atlas fescue or blue oat grass.
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Rosemary is just as valuable a kitchen spice as a decorative evergreen leaf and flower decoration plant. But even in mild areas, only a few varieties can be cultivated outdoors without protection - rosemary is not hardy. 'Arp' and 'Weihenstephan' are more frost-hardened than other forms. Both are light blue.
Winter savory (Satureja montana)
Depending on the variety, this frost-hardy and winter-green semi-shrub blooms in very nice white to light purple in late summer. In the garden, the plant looks beautiful next to wool-Ziest, blue fescue and stonecrop. The subspecies, Satureja montana subsp. illyrica 'is only about 15 inches high and presents brightly colored, purplish-purple inflorescences.
Tips
Herbs should always be cut back towards the end of winter.