Gray or silver herbs such as 'Powis Castle' artemisia beside any dark green plant are a lovely combination. For even less contrast, combine the many shades of green. An herb garden composed of a variety of interesting kinds of herb foliage will always look good. In addition to providing color and cut flowers, most herb blossoms attract beneficial insects that help to keep your entire landscape pest-free. In addition to the varying shades of green, gray, gold, and purple of some herbs, you can make your garden more satisfying by including herbs with intriguing variations in texture.
Texture is the distinctive character created by the size, shape, and finish of plant leaves.
Fine-textured plants are those with narrow, small, or finely cut smooth leaves such as winter savory or thyme. They have a dainty look that softens the garden, but they can become too busy if used in large numbers. They fill space comfortably, but they can become boring if overused. Coarse-textured plants have large and full leaves as on lettuceleaf basil and large, stiffly branched plants such as angelica and lovage. These make bold eye attractors.