A flowerbed is one of the most common and popular elements of decorating a plot of land in a country house; it is a small piece of geometrically shaped land on which flowers and plants are planted in a pattern. Currently, there is a huge selection of all kinds of ornamental plants, all the necessary fertilizers and garden tools are available.

A flowerbed can be made from a variety of materials, as well as different shapes.

The term “flowerbed” means a collection of flowering plants, a flower garden. Flowerbed flowers are planted in a bed, the shape of which can be extremely varied: rectangle, oval, circle, triangle, rhombus. can be designed in the form of a ridge, a narrow even strip along the foundation of the house or a twisting snake (arabesque) covering the areas and paths at your dacha.

Some parameters that tell you how to make a flower bed:

• harmonious color combination;
• the taller the plants, the closer to the center their placement;
• sparse planting of flowers in the center, dense planting at the edges;
• Avoid very small and complex designs.

Flowerbed layout. Materials and tools

With the help of a properly planned and placed flower bed, you can emphasize the overall individuality of a garden or cottage, identify its main elements and brighten up undesirable aspects.

In order for your flower garden to be bright and harmonious, you need to think in advance about the order of planting.

To create a beautiful flower garden with maximum aesthetic effect, flowers must be arranged according to shades, flowering times and sizes. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully study future flower beds in terms of the illumination of the place, its visibility, compatibility with the relief and background of the area, and the possibility of timely watering.

Most often, fertile soil is poured above ground level: this helps make the arrangement of drainage more convenient. From the point of view of modern landscape design, flower beds are considered not only as flower beds with herbaceous plants, but also as compositions of bushes and trees with a pronounced leaf color or their unusual shape. When preparing to build a flower bed, you first need to decide on its size, shape and visibility. Visibility can be circular or one-sided; shape and size indicators determine the required volumes of nutrient soil. The thickness of the nutrient soil depends on the depth of the plant roots; most often it is 20-30 cm. This amount is enough for the plants to survive for a long time without fertilizing. For trees and large bushes, small pits are made, approximately 60-80 cm deep, and also filled with nutritious soil.

To make flower beds in the country, you will need the following tools:

• shovel;
• buckets;
• pegs;
• curbs;
• small scoop.

And materials:

• planting material (flowers, shrubs, trees, plants);
• fertile soil;
• sand;
• geotextiles;
• compost;
• complex fertilizers;
• border material;
• mulching material;
• decorative soil (colored chips, pebbles, etc.).

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Flowerbed design

Scheme for designing a flower bed of perennials.

The flowerbed is given character not only by the color pattern and color scheme, the size and shape of the plants also create a volumetric color composition. Therefore, before starting all work, it is necessary to calculate all the nuances on a sheet of paper and draw up a rough plan for the location of certain types and varieties of flowers, a design of the shape, coloring and size, planting points and location of plants. When designing a beautiful flower bed, you need to take into account not only the duration and sequence of flowering, but also the wintering factor. Annual plants are planted annually, perennial varieties can overwinter.

If mixed-type flower beds are planned at the dacha, then shrubs and ornamental trees are first selected, with their help a vertical “frame” is created, which is subsequently filled with flowers and leaves of the desired colors. For this unique frame, it is advisable to use low, decorative, coniferous trees: thuja, pine and fir, juniper and small spruce. This composition will look alive and green even in the absence of flowers, and your dacha will look fresh and well-groomed right up to the snowfall. In spring, these coniferous trees can be supplemented with primrose tulips, hyacinths and crocuses. At the stage of designing a flower bed, the number of required plants and their assortment are determined, planting material is purchased: seedlings, seeds or ZKS, with a closed root system (adult plants in pots).

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Application of mulching materials

To prevent the growth of weeds, the creep of lawn wild grass into the flowerbed, to make the entire composition neat and tidy, you need to correctly calculate the amount of mulching and border material. At the selected location, the projection of the future flower bed is marked with pegs, then the turf is removed and all rhizomatous weeds are removed, the bed is deepened by 10-20 centimeters. If bushes and trees are planned, then pits are dug for them. If you use traditional methods, then separating the fertile soil from the mother soil by drainage in the form of a layer of sand will be considered the correct method. Often this process is neglected, which leads to soaking and acidification of the soil, which causes the plants to experience discomfort, slow down in growth and subsequently die. Non-woven fabric (geotextile) has proven itself very well as a mulching and drainage material; geotextiles come in different colors and densities and are sold under all sorts of commercial names: geospan, lutrasil, agrospan, spanboard and others.

For working with a flower bed, black or brown geotextile material with a density of 60-80 g/sq.m. is ideal. To do this, the flowerbed bed is lined with geotextiles, the edges of the material are secured with a border, curb stone, border tape, varieties of plastic borders or strips of natural flagstone. The powerful roots of shrubs and trees on loamy soils do not need drainage, so over the pits the geotextile is cut crosswise and sprinkled with a 5-centimeter layer of sand.

The use of chernozem brings excellent results, but often the fertile soil is prepared from high peat, one third mixed with sand and added compost, to increase nutritional value. It is not recommended to use peat in its pure form, since after a year and a half it loses its nutritional properties, and when it dries or swells, it breaks the thin plant roots of flowers. As a result of all the above actions, the flowerbed is filled with nutritious soil, it is watered and compacted in such a way that when you press on it with your foot, there is no deep mark left. An important aspect of the fight against weeds that actively grow on nutrient soil can be solved by standard timely weeding; small areas can be protected with geotextiles or other mulching materials.

Practicality has always been one of the best qualities of a successful summer resident. The economic owner of a country house will improve the house, reap a rich harvest, and grow the largest and most ruddy apples in the garden - and all because he uses only successful experience and is not afraid of experiments. Why not, for example, turn a flowering bed into a compact garden medicine cabinet or plant a medicinal flower garden in place of a vegetable garden? Let's try to figure out whether useful plants can replace traditional phlox and asters in terms of their decorative characteristics.

Our task is to arrange a flower garden at the dacha, but not an ordinary one, but an exclusively medicinal one, so that each plant in the flowerbed has useful properties - medicinal or cosmetic.

I dug up a few roots and prepared an infusion for gargling, steamed a couple of flowers, and the aromatic soothing tea was ready. But at the same time, our plants should bloom beautifully or, in extreme cases, have expressive leaves. Fortunately, there are dozens of such examples among the medicinal flora, but we will only dwell on a few in more detail.

The simplest solution is to plant several ready-made flower beds with medicinal flowering herbs. It is no secret that among useful plants there are specimens with lush buds and beautiful inflorescences

Instead of delphinium, you can plant a similar fireweed, better known as Ivan-tea, and replace hyacinths with lavender. The appearance of a flowering flowerbed will not change, but each new plant is valuable for its medicinal properties.

If you are not used to using a “green first aid kit”, you can do so, but experienced “healers” always stock up on useful herbs for future use, so a small motley flower garden will not be enough. Fresh stems, leaves, buds and roots are used immediately, but most of them are dried and used throughout the year.

Therefore, 2-3 bushes will not be enough; it is better to prepare several flower beds, a multi-level flower garden, or create a small pharmacy complex consisting of flower beds, plants in pots or containers, which can be stored on a closed terrace for the winter.

The fact is that not all medicinal perennials are able to survive a harsh winter, so containers are an excellent mobile means for seasonal decoration of a summer cottage.

For medicinal herbs, we recommend that you “stake out” flower beds near a residential building, a summer kitchen or a gazebo - that is, a place where it will be convenient to work with plants in the future (prepare decoctions, tinctures, dry, etc.)

If this is not possible, any corner of the garden, or even an area for children's games will do. The main thing is that our flower beds do not interfere, but, on the contrary, serve as decoration for the summer cottage.

Useful plants for a flower bed: planting, growing, care

Almost all medicinal herbaceous plants are in bloom. Some have small, inconspicuous inflorescences (yarrow), others have bright buds (officinalis, foxglove). You can plant both or combine them, creating wonderful compositions. You can alternate rows of brightly flowering plants with greenery, as the leaves of many herbs look impressive. For example, kupena officinalis resembles a lily of the valley, and chervil resembles a fern.

Let's consider the conditions for growing those herbs that are familiar from childhood, are freely sold in pharmacies and are actively used at home. Each plant is safe as long as the dosage is not exceeded. We also do not forget about individual intolerance and allergic reactions, so consultation with a doctor before use (or even garden experiments) is mandatory.

St. John's wort - for all diseases

Our grandmothers did not grow St. John's wort, but rather collected the tall stems with bright yellow flowers in the fields just outside the village. Nowadays it’s difficult to find a clean area with safe soil and plants; it’s much easier to grow healthy grass in your dacha. And we will sow St. John's wort right in the flowerbed.

St. John's wort is a perennial, this must be taken into account when arranging a flower bed. With proper care, it begins to bloom by the end of the first year, and in the second year numerous and lush blooms are observed.

You need to sow in the fall so that strong shoots appear in the spring. We choose a place closer to the center of the flowerbed, since the height of St. John's wort reaches 30 cm. We cultivate the soil: dig it with compost or peat, add a little floral mineral fertilizer. The distance between rows is 40-45 cm.

We do not bury the seeds, but leave them on the surface, slightly pressing them into the soil. In dry and hot springs, it is better to use a potted growing method and plant ready-made seedlings in the ground. A month and a half after germination, another feeding with nitroammophos is necessary - 2 g/m².

The main care for St. John's wort is weeding and additional watering during drought. Starting from the second year of planting, they give 150-200 g of dry raw materials per 1 m²

Mint – for vigor and freshness

Many people grow this unpretentious plant with a pleasant aroma in their gardens, but we will plant it in a flower bed.

Mint does not boast luxurious buds, but is perfect for edging taller flowering herbs.

One of the main advantages of mint is its undemandingness to growing conditions: it grows well in any soil, withstands dry periods, and develops well in sunlight and partial shade.

When planting in autumn, we add biological fertilizers to the ground - manure, compost, wood ash. We will need pre-prepared sprouts or rhizome cuttings. Given the rapid growth, we leave intervals of up to half a meter between nests. In spring, mint requires abundant watering.

To achieve a decorative effect and make the bushes even, pinch the tops of the main stems. Mint grows actively, so care consists of weeding, watering and infrequent loosening. In the sun the bushes will be more lush and tall, in the shade they will be miniature.

Due to increased humidity, mint may develop rust. Do not rush to feed with chemical fertilizers (sometimes the disease occurs due to their fault) - remove large branches and add a little compost to the soil, new shoots will be healthy

Material about the intricacies of growing fragrant herbs will also be useful:

Solar calendula

There are so many varieties of calendula that only with its help you can decorate several flower beds. The height of the plants (from 20 centimeters to one meter) allows you to create all kinds of multi-tiered compositions. Many people love calendula for its long flowering period. Thanks to their cold resistance, the plants do not wither even in frosts - down to -5ºС.

The decorative possibilities of calendula are endless: many varieties (Hamlet, Favorite, Sensation, Kabluna, Medallion, Golden Ball, Meteor, Radio) are rich in shades from soft yellow to bright orange or light brown

Calendula, or “marigold,” loves sun and moderately moist soil. In a shaded area, the growth of both stems and inflorescences slows down. It is better to sow it in October, directly into open ground. Spring crops will sprout and bloom much later.

We place the seeds in the soil to a depth of 2-3 cm, placing them in a 30x30 nesting method. With this planting, the plants will be tall and lush. If rows are needed, sow in a “path” at intervals of 5-6 cm.

To protect calendula from powdery mildew and similar spotty diseases, before flowering we treat the stems and leaves with the garden remedy “Topaz”, and remove wilted inflorescences and dry leaves in a timely manner

Fragrant lavender

The most popular varieties are pedunculate, Dutch, real, Stehad, and serrated lavender. Plants of different species differ in height, leaves, shades and shape of inflorescences.

Pink, blue and purple lavender is used in flower beds to create an expressive floral background or a neat bright border, combined with white, red and blue shades, as well as greenery

Lavender likes sunny areas and is intolerant of waterlogging, so drainage or raised beds are necessary in wet areas. To regulate acidity, you can add wood ash to the soil, and compost to loosen it, then flowering will be especially abundant.

If it is difficult to fulfill all the conditions, purchase the broad-leaved lavender variety - it is unpretentious and feels great on any soil.

Be careful with nitrogen fertilizers - they affect the development of stems and leaves, while the inflorescences become insufficiently lush. It is better to feed lavender with potassium fertilizers

The simplest method of propagation is by stem layering. We bend the branch, press it to the ground, sprinkle it and secure it with a weight or a pin. It takes several months for rooting. As soon as the roots have formed, we cut off the cuttings and treat the cut with charcoal for protection.

Valerian - cat's joy

The soothing drink with drops of valerian is familiar not only to people; our pets - cats of all kinds - happily gnaw the dried roots, for which this amazing plant is called cat grass.

Small, fragrant, pinkish-white flowers of valerian, collected in large inflorescences, are rather background flowers, so they will easily fit into any floristic composition; moreover, they bloom throughout the summer, which will only benefit our medicinal flower bed

We sow the seeds in July, then replanting will be required in September. We make shallow grooves in the soil, place the seeds and sprinkle them with nutritious soil, preferably humus.

In about a couple of weeks, seedlings will be visible, which, after the appearance of the fourth leaf, are transplanted to a permanent place of growth. The soil of the flowerbed must also be enriched with humus, dug up and loosened.

Plants that will remain in the flower bed for “wintering” must be fed with nitroammophos or a similar fertilizer (containing phosphorus and nitrogen), 50 g per 1 m² is enough

If you sow plants in early spring, then by autumn they will produce the first crop of rhizomes, and summer plantings will be useful only the next year.

Sage - a universal healer

In the northern regions, it is preferable to grow winter-hardy and useful varieties - Patriarchal Semko, Nectar, Aibolit, Breeze. The listed species are included in the State Register of the Russian Federation and are officially recognized as medicinal.

Sage forms tall, lush blue bushes, so when decorating flower beds the best place would be the central one or near the wall (fence) if the flower bed is adjacent to a fence

For planting, soil of medium acidity (up to 6.5 pH) and good lighting are required. Moderately moist loamy soil is suitable. As fertilizer we use compost, humus and flower potassium-nitrogen fertilizers.

We plant the seeds in October or early spring, arranging them in nests or grooves, at intervals of 25 to 45 cm. We make 2 cm indentations and sprinkle with loose soil. In one place, sage develops for quite a long time - up to 8 years.

Apothecary flower garden design

Let's start with the fact that the shape and size of medicinal flower beds are no different from ordinary ones. Let's assume that you have already selected several useful plants that differ in height, splendor, shades and size of inflorescences. Our task is to correctly design the flowerbed itself and arrange the plants on it so that the overall composition looks attractive and does not resemble spontaneously and haphazardly planted crops.

The shape of the flower bed can be round, oval, square, rectangular or elongated along the facade of the house or fence. If it is located in the center of the site, combined structures can be used.

The original two-tier design is ideal for creating a medicinal flower garden: sectors of different shapes can be filled with crops with inflorescences of different shades, contrasting or related

The idea of ​​raising flower beds is not new - it is with the help of raised structures that you can create magnificent flower beds-pyramids. From a technical point of view, such structures also have an advantage: it is convenient to arrange a drainage layer in them for plants that do not like too wet soil.

If you are used to working with beds, then you can create an interesting flowerbed in the form of a mini-garden: divide a large area into sectors that resemble separate beds, and plant them with flowering crops

It’s easy to plant plants of one type; it’s much more difficult to create compositions of different crops within one flowerbed. In this case, it is necessary to take into account all the nuances:

• flowering time;
• stem height;
• shape and shade of inflorescences;
• growth activity.

The rest depends only on the imagination of the gardener. Let's give an example of a flower bed with a composition of 12 plants. Of course, it will provide little medicinal raw materials, but the decorative effect is excellent.

Inhabitants of the flowerbed: 1 – parsley; 2- chives; 3 – thyme; 4 – mint; 5 – chamomile; 6 – rosemary; 7 – oregano; 8 – tarragon; 9 – sage; 10 – echinacea; 11 – lavender; 12 – medicinal hyssop

We remind you once again that before using any cosmetic and medicinal herbs, you must check whether you are allergic to them.

Bright and expressive nasturtium, which we are used to using as an ampelous floral decoration, is also useful: it helps with hypertension, bronchitis and anemia

If everything is in order, then we will consider in what cases our flowerbed-first aid kit may be useful just outside the city, when there are no pharmacies or clinics nearby:

• Pharmaceutical chamomile is indispensable for colds: inhalation, gargling with decoction, medicinal tea.
• Echinacea and St. John's wort will strengthen the immune system.
• The anti-inflammatory properties of calendula will help with sore throat and stomatitis.
• Tea with mint and lemon balm is not only tasty, but also healthy - invigorates, refreshes and improves digestion.
• Skin rashes and minor scratches are treated with decoctions of celandine, string and St. John's wort.
• Sage is indispensable for bronchitis and gastrointestinal inflammation.

If you use useful plants correctly, half of the medicines in your first aid kit brought from the city will remain untouched.

Common Echinops is known to those who have problems with the cardiovascular system. It increases the elasticity of the walls of blood vessels, and also helps with headaches, polio and multiple sclerosis.

It turns out that it’s so easy to be practical and harmoniously combine the beauty and benefits of plants! And medicinal crops require no more care than traditional flower beds.

And finally, about how medicinal herbs are grown in the north, on the island of Kizhi:

We bring to your attention diagrams of flower beds made from herbs. These are not just flowering beds - they are a collection of spicy and aromatic tea plants that can be a great addition to your table as seasonings.

Beautiful and useful: flower beds made from herbs

Flower garden scheme No. 1

This is a set of seasoning plants. We have collected the most necessary plants that most housewives use every day. And they combine perfectly in a flowerbed - it is not only a useful flowerbed, but also a beautiful one. Such a flower bed can be organized even in the smallest areas near the house.

Spicy flower garden diagram No. 2

This flowerbed contains only the most necessary seasonings and herbs. A distinctive feature of this flower bed is its simplicity. A small set of plants allows you to keep only the most necessary and popular herbs in your family. And not just plant them in a random order - but form them into a beautiful flower bed near the house.

Scheme of a flower garden of herbs No. 3

Another great scheme for a spice flower garden for your attention. The main herbs have been selected and arranged in the most optimal way - just for a small flower bed near your home.

Scheme No. 4

Using this scheme, you can easily form a cool flower bed from plants that are usually used to make aromatic and vitamin teas: mint, thyme, monarda (the smell resembles bergamot), strawberries. The queen of this flower bed can be called purple coneflower. Everything is thought out - the ideal flower bed for every family.

I really want to pamper my family with delicious food! It will be given a unique aroma not by chemical taste substitutes, but by a variety of herbs that are easy to grow in your garden. They are also simply beautiful and would make an unusual edible flower bed. Garden plants can be both decorative and useful.

First of all, you should decide what you like. Some people like tea with aromatic additives, some like to cook, and for others the medicinal properties are more important. Depending on this, we will determine the set of herbs that we will plant on the site.

Mint, lemon balm, dill, coriander, tarragon, basil, celery, marjoram, thyme, parsley, Rhodiola rosea... The choice is great.

The area for fragrant plantings is prepared in the fall.

It is dug up and freed from weeds. Over the winter, it’s worth estimating the assortment of plants, the amount of spices needed, and the shape of the future garden. By the way, access to the flower bed or beds with seasonings must be made open on all sides. When the soil warms up, loosen it again and remove the weeds. If necessary, add nutrient mixture to the soil and mix with a rake. Then we lay out the border and paths.

We try to sow taking into account the height of future plants. In the center of the garden flowerbed or bed we will place the tallest ones - lovage, wormwood, tarragon. We arrange the lower ones around them.

It would be good to plant some of the spices in pots, and as they ripen, simply replace them with new ones. Heat-loving plants, such as marjoram or rosemary, are also planted in containers. When it gets cold, they can be easily moved to a warm place.

Caring for spices

Caring for herbs is not burdensome. They thrive in poor soils and are resistant to diseases and pests. But drainage for planting must be created in advance. You should not plant them in the shade, they will stretch upward. It is better to choose a sunny or partially shaded place. We water daily. The main problem is overgrowth. It is necessary to regularly pick off fresh greens so that the sprouts do not stretch out. Try to weed out excess shoots. Otherwise, next year mint, dill or oregano will appear in the most unexpected corners of the garden.

Beautiful design ideas

Almost all spices have beautiful and dense foliage, and some form nice regular bushes. Small beds filled with fragrant plants, round, elongated, square, can decorate the site. Especially if the garden is designed in a rural style.

We offer you some interesting ideas on where and how you can plant spices. A very attractive and convenient option when everything is planted in containers.

If you use a cart wheel, you will get another simple and useful garden decoration that will beautifully diversify your area.

The photo above shows the idea of ​​plastic bottles mounted on a vertical board. Original and simple! Approximately the same option can be made using glass jars.

The old pallet also looks nice. We will tell you how to make a fragrant flowerbed out of it in a separate section with photographs, literally step by step.

Almost all herbs are easy to grow and even beginners can do it. The taste and aroma of these garden plants will enrich prepared dishes, pamper you with unexpected notes during tea drinking, and support the body during the long winter.

As soon as I had a house in the countryside, I plunged into experiments headlong, deciding to plant a medicinal bed of aromatic herbs along with vegetables and berries. Firstly, any plant grown with your own hands brings joy, and secondly, I love herbal teas in the summer heat and winter evenings. And thirdly, flowers, whether medicinal or purely decorative, are lovely in any form.

The first thing I started with when creating my fragrant flower bed was the selection of plants. Often seeing a great variety of herbs and flowers around, we are not even aware of their beneficial properties. For example, blue chicory flowers and yellow tansy baskets, inconspicuous knotweed in yards and fluffy branches of horsetail in the forest. But I needed garden herbs that I could grow on my own plot from purchased seeds or seedlings.

Which herbs to choose?

Every novice gardener gets excited when he sees the variety of seeds in some flower shop. But it is better to focus on the plants that are most necessary and suitable for your design.

Five popular medicinal herbs

Mint- a perennial and very cold-resistant plant, with a height of 0.7 cm to 1 m. The leaves are ovate-lanceolate. The flowers are lilac and look like spikelets. You can recognize it by its strong aroma, which gives it a high menthol content. It can be added to black tea or brewed separately. This plant calms, has a beneficial effect on the heart, and relieves heaviness in the stomach. Used in cooking for preparing baked goods, soft drinks and meat dishes. It sprouts well both from seeds and from shoots of an adult plant and can live in one place for up to 5 years. All she needs is fertile and moist soil and a lighted place on the site, although partial shade is also quite suitable.

Chamomile officinalis is an unpretentious annual plant of the Asteraceae family. Its stem is straight, bare, 15–40 cm high. The inflorescences are in the form of baskets with a diameter of 1.6–2.5 cm and have a pleasant smell. Chamomile contains essential oils that will help relieve nervous tension, improve sleep and digestion, it is used as an analgesic and anti-allergic agent. It is better to plant chamomile in sunny places directly into the ground, but home seedlings will provide better germination.

Calendula, or marigold is an unpretentious annual plant of the Asteraceae family. These bright orange flowers, collected in baskets, will bloom until the cold weather. The height of the plant is from 30 to 50 cm. The flowers of the plant, which contain carotenoids (increase immunity and are natural antioxidants) and flavonoids (have the ability to reduce the permeability and fragility of capillaries), are used as medicine. Calendula decoctions are used for throat diseases and stomatitis. You can sow calendula seeds before winter or early spring to a depth of 2 cm, at a distance of 8–10 cm. The plant prefers sunny places. Easily propagated by self-sowing.

Salvia officinalis is a perennial semi-lignified shrub of the Lamiaceae family, up to 70 cm high. Its leaves are silver-green and wrinkled. Blooms in June-July. The flowers are lilac, collected in loose spikelets. The aroma of the plant is very strong, the taste is bitter and astringent. Contains a large amount of essential oils and vitamins. A decoction of sage is often used as an astringent and disinfectant for inflammatory processes in the throat. , seedlings or dividing bushes. Seeds are sown in spring or before winter to a depth of 2–3 cm. The plant prefers sunny places and does not like stagnant water.

St. John's wort- a perennial plant of the St. John's wort family. Stems are tetrahedral. The flowers are solitary or in semi-umbrellas, bright yellow. An indispensable medicinal plant, which, as described in folk medicine, treats 99 diseases. Its medicinal properties include: bactericidal, wound healing, anti-inflammatory and astringent. It grows mostly in the wild, but if you plant it in the garden, it will always be on hand. It is better to plant this perennial in the sun. Propagated by seeds. Or you can dig it up in its natural habitat along with a lump of earth and plant it on your site.

How to properly collect and dry herbs?

From mid-June until the end of August, herbs can be collected and stored for the winter. It is better to collect them on a sunny, hot day, when the dew has disappeared. It is at this time that they contain the largest amount of essential oils and nutrients. It is also believed that herbs are collected precisely on the waxing moon, and their roots on the waning moon, when more healing power accumulates in them. In order not to miss the optimal harvest time, you can use lunar calendars for gardeners. Of some plants, in which all the medicinal power is in the flower, such as chamomile or calendula, only the flowers are collected. Others, such as mint, have the entire plant cut off. And this can be done several times a season.

From mid-June until the end of August, herbs can be collected and stored for the winter. It is better to collect them on a sunny, hot day, when the dew has disappeared.

Rules for drying herbs:

• The best place for drying herbs is a special drying room, which must be dark, dry, cool and well ventilated! Otherwise, dampness may cause fungal diseases in the form of mold. Herbs can deteriorate, darken and lose their healing properties. If you don’t have one, then a hayloft will do, where the herbs will not only dry well, but also retain their color.
• In a city apartment, plants are laid out on paper in a layer of 1–1.5 cm and turned over from time to time so that the grass dries evenly and does not rot.
• Drying time – from 1 to 5 days. You cannot dry the grass in the sun, as it will burn out and lose its properties, but for plant rhizomes this method is the most suitable.

Drying time – from 1 to 5 days

• Herbs can be overdried and turn to dust. Dried grass should contain no more than 12–15% moisture. And in order not to miss this moment, you can check it by breaking a branch of the plant. Sufficiently dried grass does not bend, but breaks with a crash. If we check dried flowers for readiness, they should crumble when lightly squeezed.
• The dried herb is placed in linen bags or glass jars with an airtight lid to protect it from moths and stored in a cool, dry place.
• Grass, leaves and flowers are stored and usable for 2 years, fruits - 3 years, roots and bark - up to 5 years.

Medicinal herbs in the landscape

A medicinal bed with herb plants can embody any of your ideas. Such a bed can be in the form of a square, circle,