"We're in the middle and we are simply marvelous! We are the flowering perennials, shrubs, and grasses that catch your eye with our color, our form, our fragrance and sometimes, our motion. We provide many of the key elements of the garden design. We aren't the tallest, and we aren't the smallest."

As the eye falls upon any garden, be it a garden bed, pathway, entrance or outdoor room space, it may look upon the border babies but it will definitely drift upward toward themid-level plants. Much of the beauty and drama of the garden takes place here in the middle. Much of the structure of the garden takes place here, too.

Lucky gardener, you have almost an endless choice of plants from which to choose for this location and we cannot begin to name all of them. Instead, we'll give you a number of design tips to help in the selection of your "Marvelous Middle Collection."

1. Colors and Color Combinations: create a mood or match your home colors.
2. Fragrance: flowers and/or foliage with a nice scent.
3. Shapes: mounds, billows, spikes, and fillers to fill in empty spaces.
4. Textures: look at the flower and foliage shapes and sizes.
5. Motion: see the way the plants move in the breeze.
6. Garden Theme: xeriscape, cottage, cutting, natural, woodland, native plants...you can find mid-level plants for almost any theme.

We'll look forward to seeing you and when we do, ask us for suggestions for mid-level border plants for your kind of garden. We'll be watching for your arrival — see you soon!

With summer here, garden herbs are kicking into high gear, producing lots of pleasing, aromatic foliage that is great for cooking and potpourris. Freshly harvested leaves are wonderful for cooking, but you might want to preserve some to use later in the year or to create sachets that will fill your home with wonderful scents.

There are two ways to air-dry your crop. The first is to hang it up. With large-leafed herbs such as basil, rosemary, and sage, snip off the leafy stems, then tie the cut ends together with string and hang the bundle upside down in a warm, dry place (out of direct sunlight) with good air circulation. The herbs should be dry and crisp in two to three weeks. You can then strip the leaves off the stems and store them in airtight container for later use. This method is also a great way to dry lavender.

The second way to dry herbs is to spread them out to dry. With fine-leafed herbs such as oregano and thyme, simply remove the foliage from stems and spread the leaves on a cookie sheet or piece of clean window screen and set in a warm, dry, airy place away from direct sun. Stir them up every few days to turn them over. Once the leaves feel crisp, you can store them in an airtight container for later use.