Cultivating Tranquillity: The Urban Car Park Herb Garden

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Introduction

We at Jekka's believe that everyone should have a herb garden. They not only add colour and flavour to your life, but they are also a great source of health and wellbeing. It is especially important to do this in urban areas, which are often more noisy, crowded and polluted than rural areas. You can still create a green oasis in urban areas. Jekka’s was recently commissioned to design an Urban Car Park Herb Garden in a block flats. We turned raised beds that were previously unused into herb gardens. This innovative concept combines the convenience of urban living with the timeless appeal of herb cultivation. It offers city dwellers the chance to reconnect with nature while enjoying the freshness of herbs in an unexpected setting.

Transforming car parks with the Concrete Canvas

The car park is a common feature in urban landscapes. It's often overlooked and viewed as merely functional space. The Urban Car Park Herb Garden, however, challenges this perception by utilizing the potential of these spaces to create lush, vibrant herb gardens. Communities can turn cold, unloved spaces into vibrant ecosystems by creatively repurposing them. This will enhance the urban environment and promote sustainable practices.

Urban Car Park Herb Garden: 5 Top Benefits

1. Green Space Among Concrete and Stone: The existence of greenery among concrete and stone can improve the aesthetics in an urban area. Herb gardens can bring color, texture and life to parking lots, creating a feeling of renewal and a break from the monotonous cityscape.
2. Herbs At Your Fingertips Imagine being in a position to pick fresh Oregano or Rosemary just a few steps from your apartment. Urban Car Park Herb Garden beautifies and enhances the environment, while providing easy access to culinary and medicinal herbs. This promotes healthy living by encouraging people to eat more healthily and cultivates a closer relationship between them and their food.
3. Air Quality & Biodiversity : The plants are nature's purifiers of air, absorbing pollutants while releasing oxygen. Integrating an herb garden in a parking lot can help reduce air pollution, and improve air quality. Such gardens can also attract pollinators such as bees, butterflies and other insects, which promote biodiversity in the center of the city.
4. Community engagement: Herb Gardens have a special way of bringing together people. Residents, employees and visitors are invited to participate in the maintenance of the herb garden and attend educational workshops about gardening, sustainability and using herbs. This type of communal involvement strengthens social ties and promotes a shared sense of responsibility for the urban environment.
5. Urban Agriculture and Sustainability: Urban Car Park Herb Gardens are aligned with the growing trend in urban agriculture and sustainability. Cities can reduce their carbon footprint by utilizing underused spaces. They can also promote local produce and encourage a move towards an eco-friendly and self-sufficient lifestyle. Read Jekka’s guide to becoming a sustainable herbal gardener.

Laying out and planting Jekka’s Urban Car Park Herb Garden

Jekka's Urban Car Park Herb Garden

Below are some of the plants and designs we used to create our Urban Car Park Herb Garden. This garden was designed with low-maintenance evergreen herbs and edible herbs that are easy to use, including herbs that can be used in tisanes and herbal infusions.

Jekka's Urban Car Park Herb Garden is made up of three raised beds. In the middle of each bed, there are car park lights. Between the beds, you will find parking bays.

Jekka shares her 6 top tips for "Growing On" herbs.

Jekka's Herbs in her Urban Car Park Herb Garden:

• Chives are a common culinary herb. However, the flavor is best when picked fresh. Add them towards the end of cooking a dish to prevent the flavour from fading. Chives go well with potatoes, eggs, shellfish and salads.
• Allium Tuberosum is similar to normal Chives but with a garlic flavor. The white star-shaped flowers are also delicious sprinkled over salads and potatoes.
• French tarragon ( Artemisia Dracunculus French ) must be a culinary herb. Its flavor is a great way to increase appetite, and it complements many dishes, including chicken, veal and fish.

• Fennel Purpureum ( Feniculum vulgare "Purpureum") is a beautiful bronze plant with attractive foliage. Its height allows it to be planted in the middle of a flower bed and softens the harshness from the parking lot lights. You can use it to season fatty meats such as pork and stuffings of poultry and lamb. Also delicious as a dressing for salads or vegetables.
• French marjoram ( Origanum "French") has aromatic, green leaves in winter that turn gold in the summer. It is an essential herb in Italian cooking and is used to flavour food.
• Hyssop is a dense spike of dark blue flowers. It attracts a variety of pollinators. It has a flavour that is a mixture of Mint, Oregano, and Thyme. It is not used as much in cooking as it should be. Add leaves to soups and stews as well as fatty foods.
• Lavender Old English has fragrant spikes of pale purple/blue flowers. They are great for drying and cutting. It is a great plant for attracting pollinators and bees to your garden.

Bronze Fennel ( Foeniculum vulgare 'Purpureum')

• Black Mitcham Mint is a beautiful variety of peppermint. The classic infusion of leaves is one of the most popular, as it not only tastes great but also stimulates the digestive system. Blending with Spearmint such as Tashkent makes for the most relaxing Tisane. Jekka explains how to make the perfect mint herbal infusion.
• Swiss Ricola Mint is another excellent peppermint to use for herbal infusions and tisanes. Jekka has a blog that shows you how.
• Tashkent mint ( Mentha Spicata "Tashkent") is our favourite spearmint that goes well when combined with new potatoes. It also makes a delicious mint sauce.

• Fota Blue Salvia ( Salvia rosemarinus "Fota Blue") is an attractive trailing Salvia with dark blue flowers which cascades down the side of raised beds.
• Gorizia rosemary ( Salviarosmarinus "Gorizia") has small, light-blue flowers. It goes well with lamb, tomatoes, baked fish and rice.
• Green Ginger Rosemary is a rosemary that has dark green, short leaves with a ginger scent. It is a great culinary herb that imparts a mild ginger flavor.
• Jekka’s Green Dragon Rosemary is a dark green, upright Rosemary that forms a beautiful bush.

Rosemary Fota blue ( Salvia rosemarinus "Fota blue"

• Cotton Lavender Pretty Carol ( Santolina Chamaecyparissus "Pretty Carol") is an evergreen hardy shrub with bright yellow pom pom flowers.
• Purple Sage (Salvia 'Purpurascens,' a tough evergreen shrub) has purple leaves all year. It adds a wonderful flavour to meats and sauces. It is also used to preserve sausages.
• Salad burnet ( Sanguisorba major ) is a hardy, evergreen perennial with soft leaves. It makes a great addition to any herb garden. The leaves are nutty and have a hint of cucumber. Use as a garnish for a Gin & Tonic!

• Compact thyme ( Thymus vulgaris "Compactus") makes a neat upright bush. It is a key ingredient in bouquet garni, and is good for stocks, marinades, and stews.
• Thymus "Culinary lemon" is an essential for the kitchen. Its lemon flavour and scent go well with fish and chicken dishes.
• Winter Savory is an evergreen bush covered with white flowers during the summer, making it a paradise for pollinators. It has a hot, peppery flavour that complements poultry and fish.

Would you like to know more about this? Check out Jekka’s culinary herb guide and Jekka’s herb-based recipe collection for more ideas.

Care and Maintenance of an Urban Car Park Herb Garden

Jekka’s 3 top tips for maintaining an herb garden in raised bed are:

1. Make sure to water your herbs in the morning. You may need to water your plants more than once on some days if the weather is very hot. Water regularly, especially if it is your first summer in the garden and the plants have not fully grown. Many plants can tolerate drought once they are established. However, leafy plants like mint, parsley, and comfrey need water in order to thrive.
   
   Jekka’s top tip for watering basil: water Basil before noon so that he doesn't go to sleep wet if the temperature drops below 15C at night.

2. Feeding your herbs:Ensure that you feed your herbs weekly with a liquid fertilizer during the growing seasons. We use Maxcropliquid seaweed. It may be beneficial to repot established herbs into larger pots, or topdress with fresh compost. Fresh compost is usually enough to feed a new garden for six weeks.
   
   
3. Trim or cut back perennial herbs. After they have flowered, you should trim back perennials in order to remove dead flowers and maintain their shape. This is especially true for plants from the Lamiaceae Family, which includes Lavender and Thyme. (Check out our Lavender Blog on our website for additional tips about how to prune Lavender. When Mint begins to mildew or go over, cut it back hard. This will encourage a second flush until the first frosts. Box and Cotton Lavender are two other plants that you may want to trim or clip.

Check out the 'Jekka Seasonal Tips' series of blogs for more information on how to grow and maintain herbs. This includes advice about what you can do in your herb gardens in spring, autumn and winter, and late spring. Together, they are the foundation of Jekka’s guide on How to Grow Herbs.

Conclusion

The Urban Car Park Herb Garden demonstrates human ingenuity, and how ordinary spaces can be transformed into urban sanctuaries. This innovative idea can help cities revitalize their landscapes and foster a community spirit while promoting sustainable living. The herb garden is a beacon for hope as urbanisation continues to shape our world. It reminds us that beauty and abundance of nature can flourish even in the concrete and chaos.

Do you want to know more about?

Jekka’s offers a wealth material on the design and planting of culinary herb gardens. Additional Guides and blogs that may also be helpful are:

• Jekka’s Guide to Growing Herbs
• Jekka’s Guide for a Sustainable Herb Grower
• Jekka’s Tips for Planting a Culinary-Herb Garden
• Jekka’s advice on growing herbs in containers
• Marcus Wareing's Herb Kitchen Garden
• Jekka’s Riverstone culinary herb garden
  

See also the main page for J Ekka's Herb Garden

Jekka’s blog, videos and Jekka’s 'A Pocketful of Herbs’ or Jekka’s Complete Herb Book' are all great resources for learning more about herbs. You can also browse Jekkapedia to find herb-based recipes and explore Jekkapedia.

Visit the herb farm at South Gloucestershire during one of our Open Days or Master Classes.

You can also check out Jekka's herb of the month blogs for: Bay (January), Rosemary, (February), Salad burnet (March), French Tarragon, (April), Angelica, (May), Alliums, (June), Lavender July), Mint August), Szechuan Pepper September), Thyme November and Curry Tree December.

You can collect herb plants from our herb farm located in South Gloucestershire, or you can attend one of our open days. You can check our'Look Good List'to see what's available. Use our webform, or send us an email ([email protected]) with your list. There is no longer a mail order service available for our plants. However, we occasionally offer a limited selection of Jekka’s Culinary Herb Boxes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is eating raw basil good for you?

I'm sure everyone knows that fresh herbs are great for cooking but did you know that you could eat them too? Raw, uncooked herbs are packed full of nutrients and vitamins that we normally have to cook.

They contain more antioxidants than any fruit or vegetable. And they also help our immune systems stay strong and healthy.

The best way to enjoy these delicious little green gems is to eat them raw from the garden. But there's nothing wrong with enjoying them cooked, either. They taste even better when sautéed in olive oil and served alongside pasta or rice.

There are lots of ways to incorporate raw herbs into recipes. Add them to salads, soups, sandwiches, wraps, omelets, stir-fries, and pesto.

Just make sure you wash them well first!

What is the difference between "regular" and smoked paprika powder?

Regular Paprika Powder (Piment d'Espelette) is an essential ingredient for our recipes. We use it for its intense flavor and color. It's also used as a spice and seasoning agent. Smoked Paprika Powder (Paprika Chorizo) adds a smoky taste and aroma to dishes. Both types of Paprika Powder come from Spain, where they grow the best peppers in the world.

Smoked Paprika Powder (Chorizo Paprika) is made from red peppers, which are dried slowly in special ovens. This gives them a rich flavor. They are then ground and mixed with salt, garlic, and spices.

Regular Paprika Powder (Espelette Paprika) is made by grinding green bell peppers without additives.

Why do some love coriander and others don't?

Some people hate coriander, while others love it. But why?

Coriander is an herb that grows in warm climates throughout the world. It is native to both North America and Europe.

The leaves of the plant are used in cooking and can also be found in condiments such as salad dressings and dips. When added to food, coriander provides a spicy flavor.

Many people love its taste because it adds a fresh flavor to dishes without overpowering them. Others dislike the smell and taste of coriander because they find it too strong.

But there is more to coriander than meets the eye. There are two types of coriander – sweet and hot. Sweet coriander is milder and sweeter tasting compared to hot coriander.

Sweet coriander is usually grown for its seeds, often called cilantro. This type of coriander is easy to grow and is very low maintenance.

Hot coriander is most commonly used in Indian cuisine. Hot coriander gives a rich flavor to curries and sauces, making it popular among Indians.

Some people say that hot coriander tastes better than sweet coriander. However, the opposite is true for those who prefer sweet coriander.

There are many reasons why people enjoy different varieties of coriander. For example, one person may love the taste of coriander, while another enjoys the aroma.

Whether you like sweet or hot coriander, you might be surprised to learn that you can buy both types of coriander online.

Statistics

• For those with high cholesterol, garlic supplementation appears to reduce total and/or LDL cholesterol by about 10-15% (72Trusted Source73Trusted (healthline.com)
• The herbs market is highly competitive, with over 1,000 herb suppliers and over 15,000 herbs products available in the United States alone.

External Links

[TAG31]

• Efficacy and Adverse Effects of Ginkgo Biloba for Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - IOS Press

[TAG33]

• Bouquet garni - Wikipedia

[TAG35]

• Health Benefits of Culinary Herbs and Spices - PubMed


• Use of echinacea in medicine - PubMed

[TAG38]

• Ashwagandha | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center


• Grape Seed | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

How To

How do I know if my herbs have been treated with pesticides?

If you see a pesticide label on your herbs, the plants were sprayed with chemicals before being sold to you.

These chemicals harm human health and could cause cancer or other serious illnesses.

Unfortunately, this practice has become common around the globe. Many countries allow farmers to spray their crops with pesticides without proper regulation.

In order not to harm themselves, consumers should always ask about the source of their produce. If it comes from a farmer near you, it’s safe to assume it was not treated with pesticides.

However, there are still ways to ensure that your herbs are free from harmful chemicals.

However, if you want to ensure that your herbs aren’t contaminated, you can purchase organic herbs directly from the farm.

This way, you won’t need to worry about the safety of your herbs. You can trust that they weren’t exposed to harmful chemicals.

Resources:

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