All Decked Out in Herbs

Imagine being able to stroll out on your deck and pick fresh thyme, oregano, marjoram, and basil. While you're at it, imagine you've won Powerball. You might not be a lottery winner...but you can have an herb garden off your deck without fearing that foot traffic will squash your savory.

Raised herb garden boxes are ideal for decks, because you don't have to squat down and you can spread out all your tools over a large workspace, and sit on a bench while tending your herbs. Make sure that your deck is placed in an area that gets the most sun so that dill, for example, soaks up all those rays. Deck vegetable garden design depends on good sunlight without the vegetables in your vegetable garden or herbs in your herb garden being overexposed.

Writer Jennifer Wickes of Suite 101 advises that chervil, for example, likes the sun but not the heat of the day, so place chervil in a raised vegetable garden bed near the back of the deck, preferably under an overhang. While you may not be able to spend the whole day lounging about on your patio unless you win Powerball, you can use herb garden design to make the most out of your time soaking up the sun.