Those are all great choices for a citrus guild. You'll want to attract ladybugs, wasps and other predator insects to keep the aphids in check.
What kind of lemon? If it's a standard Eureka lemon, they are very hearty and outcompete and outgrow just about everything. Meyer lemons, in my
experience, as much less aggressive growers. I killed 3 Meyer trees before I finally got my existing tree to take off—and that's saying something because I never loose trees. It was so frustrating.
Nasturtiums self seed and are a nice bio-mass producer. The flowers are edible and make a nice companion for citrus guilds.
Stinging nettle does well in deep shade and seems to do well in dry conditions as well. I just posted my
stinging nettle pesto recipe in the kitchen forum. Lady bugs like it.
If left untended, lemon balm can be a bit invasive, like mint. Stay on top of it.
If you're growing thyme, throw in a couple of rosemary plants as well. One upright, and one creeping. They are good friends in the garden, and once established, they'll do well in dryer conditions. A well established lemon tree will suck the
water out of the soil pretty quickly.
Fennel is a nice
dynamic accumulator. Once it seeds, you'll forever get volunteer fennel plants coming up. But try to pull the ones you want out while they are young, as they send a thick tap root pretty deep and are tough to thin once they've taken deep root.
I think its lovely that you'll have a little herb garden under your lemon tree. Once established, herbs don't need much water --- at least
perennial herbs tend to do well in dry conditions.
Happy guilding!
.jpg)
