Herb Lore

African basil will excel in your garden as well as in the kitchen. To be honest, it’s a bit of a show-off – the leaves start off a delightful purple colour, which turn green as they mature and feature striking purple veins. It then throws up gorgeous spikes of deep pink flowers which are a magnet for bees and pollinators (it’s also known as Bee Basil). Because it doesn’t set seed, the flowers last for ages and are great value in pots, beds or borders.  It’s a vigorous basil and can grow to 75cm tall, so needs a largish pot if growing inside. 

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Basil but with a twist, a citrussy twist! Lemon Basil (Ocimum citriodorum) is a wonderfully aromatic herb that combines the sweet, spicy flavour of traditional basil with refreshing notes of lemon. Popular in Thai, Indonesian and Vietnamese cuisine, Lemon Basil is prized for its bright citrus fragrance and versatility in the kitchen. Easy to grow in containers, raised beds and herb gardens, Lemon Basil thrives in a warm, sunny position and produces masses of fresh leaves throughout the summer. The attractive green foliage can be harvested regularly for use in curries, stir-fries, salads, seafood dishes, herbal teas and refreshing summer cocktails.

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If you’re a basil lover, you’ll want to grow this. Most herbs are generally green leaved, so it’s always pretty to have something different. Like all basil, it’ll demand sun and warm conditions in rich, moist soil. Equally at home on an indoor windowsill or in a conservatory, there really is no excuse not to grow this alongside other basils.  

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Sun is the most important thing in a basil’s life, shortly followed by rich, moist compost. As long as you’ve somewhere bright and warm to grow this gorgeous herb, then you’ll be rewarded with the most Mediterranean of Mediterranean smells and flavours. Harvesting the leaves regularly will give you more but it’s worth growing several plants to spread the load. 

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All keen cooks will want this queen in their kitchen! She’ll pep up your Asian dishes with an unmistakable anise/liquorice, slightly spicy flavour. Siam Queen is best grown in pots so it can be bought inside over winter as she’s a highly frost sensitive little thing and won’t survive the cold. The small pinkish-purple flower spikes make a gorgeous garnish.  Thai basil will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.   

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You may see this robust, leafy annual growing wild in grass verges, on waste ground or in field margins. Introduced by the Romans, it loves an open, sunny position and will happily self-seed. Most of the plant is edible, with a mild cucumber, slightly salty taste. Toss a few ice cubes each containing a bright borage blue flower, into a long, cool G&T on a hot summer’s day. 

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Catmint is generally milder and less smelly than catnip but can still have a feelgood effect on felines. It has a minty aroma and produces spikes of beautiful deep violet flowers which will attract bees, potentially leading to some amusing but painful cat v bee interactions. Grow along the front of a border or in a raised bed, to spill out giving your kitty a nice comfy spot in the sun.  Catnip will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.

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A pot of catnip growing on a windowsill could send your kitty into euphoric raptures. Not all cats respond to the smell of nepetalactone, an essential oil, but those that do have a feelgood reaction – becoming stimulated, then wacked out! Like their feline friends, catnip will enjoy a warm sunny location, prefurring at least six hours of sun every day but liking afternoon shade and a drink now and again.  Catnip will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.  

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Roman or common chamomile is grown for its flowers, a different, creeping variety ('Treneague') is used for lawns. The flowers produced by Roman chamomile are primarily used to make a soothing and relaxing tea. Like its toga wearing namesakes, it loves lounging about in the sun, so plant somewhere warm and bright. An indoor windowsill is a good place. Keep moist especially in hot weather. Chamomile will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on. 

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Chives are a kitchen garden staple and if allowed to will seed quite happily about the garden. They’re a member of the allium family, alongside onions, garlic and leeks and have a mild onion flavour too – which is perfect for sauces, dressings, marinades and garnish. Easy to grow, choose a pot or at the front of a border in sunny or partially shaded spot. When harvesting, cut individual leaves down to just above the base – let some flowers grow for the bees and your salads. Chives will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.

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Garlic chives are an allium like chives, but a different species altogether; allium tuberosum. They originated in China and spread throughout Asia before the rest of the world. Larger and more vigorous than chives, with flatter, broader leaves and a distinct garlicky taste. Garlic chives are easy to grow and actually considered invasive pests in some countries. They enjoy the same conditions as  regular chives, including being particularly suited to pots.

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Fennel is a large, upright herb with a dense clump of stalks covered in delicate, ferny, liquorice smelling leaves. If you’ve only room for one, then bronze fennel is the best to grow. It’s common fennel’s identical twin but you get the added benefit of a beautiful, coppery hue to the wispy foliage. It too is easy to grow and vigorous, also producing intense yellow, hoverfly landing pads of flowers. Grow a single plant in a wide, deep pot in fertile, moist, well-drained soil and you’ll be richly rewarded.  Fennel is very vigorous but will be ok in our pot on a sunny windowsill to begin with.  

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Fennel is a brilliant herb and would grace any garden on looks alone. But it has style and substance; tall delicate stems and wispy leaves are topped with vivid yellow umbels of flowers in late summer and its subtle flavour is prized in all manner of culinary dishes. It’s very easy to grow and vigorous too, enjoying fertile, moist, free draining soil. On a patio or balcony, grow in a deep pot to give the tap root plenty of space.  Fennel is very vigorous but will be ok in our pot on a sunny windowsill to begin with.  

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For some reason, Hyssop is a lesser known and grown herb. It was big in antiquity – used as an important culinary and medicinal plant and valued for its spiritual cleansing and protection against evil. A member of the mint family, it has a wonderful, minty floral taste with slightly bitter lavender overtones. Hyssop is a slow growing but super-hardy, semi-evergreen shrub which bees can’t get enough of. It’s comfortable in a range of soils and is an impressive plant when grown in a large pot on a warm, bright patio.  Hyssop will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on. 

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It’s not a question of whether to grow lavender in your herb garden, it’s which ones? Hidcote is an English lavender (rather than French) and is the most widely grown variety in the UK, with good reason. It’s super tough – hardy, drought resistant and positively enjoys rubbish soil, it can also take a severe crew-cut if necessary. Hidcote is an early flowering lavender and is a magnet for bees and butterflies. This variety is known for producing high quality essential oil.  Lavender Hidcote will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on. 

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Lemon verbena has the strongest lemony smell of any herb – it out zests lemon balm, lemon thyme and lemongrass with ease. It’s a quick growing plant which will form a reasonably sized woody shrub in the first season. Lemon verbena is a tender perennial and is unlikely to overwinter unless you bring it indoors, it actually makes a pretty decent all year round houseplant. Grow in a warm, sunny, sheltered position and keep moist but not water logged.  Lemon Verbena is pretty vigorous but will be ok in our pot on a sunny windowsill to begin with. 

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Lemon Balm has been used for thousands of years to ease digestive problems and as a feel-good mood lifter. It’s an undemanding, easy to grow herb thriving virtually anywhere in the garden, in sun or partial shade. Bees love the pretty flowers, but it’s the leaves which pack a lemony, minty punch and have a delightful citrussy aroma. In cooking, it’s an interesting lemon alternative – especially in fruit cocktails, desserts, cakes and marinades.  Lemon balm will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on. 

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Of all the herbs which will brazenly self-seed all over your garden, and there are a lot, pot marigold is the most forgivable. It loves to find its own place to thrive, which might not be where you thought or wanted! Such a cheery, happy herb, it metaphorically blesses those who touch it, traditionally treating rashes, minor burns, cuts and skin conditions. Supposedly called ‘Pot’ marigold not because it looks fantastic in pots, although it does, but because its leaves were tossed into the cooking pot.   Pot Marigold will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs ‘potting’ on. 

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Apple mint (aka Woolly Mint) is a tall variety with bum fluffy leaves and a wonderful appley scent and taste. It makes a brilliant alternative to garden mint and enjoys the same conditions – rich, moist soil and dappled shade. It’s more vigorous than most mints, which is saying something, so you’ll need to keep an eye on it and give it a good seeing to if it gets out of hand. Best grown in pots and containers to curb its enthusiasm.   Apple mint will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.

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Garden Mint aka Spearmint (it’s rapper name) is a friendly, sweetly scented perennial which is virtually unkillable. In fact, it can be a bit too friendly and in the right conditions can get out of hand, so is best grown in a pot. It’s fast growing, so you can regularly pick refreshing leaves for desserts, sauces, cocktails and baking. The soothing and decongestant qualities of mint are well known, it’s also extensively used in skin care products.  Your mint will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.  

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Create wonderfully scented hanging basket with this vigorous, trailing mint. Indian Mint (Satureja douglasii) isn't a true mint but it does a damn good impression! Brilliant for teas and with a load of health benefits, it has a strong, unique minty scent and is really easy to grow. A perennial, it's not fully hardy but will over winter in mild areas or in a sheltered position. Trailing or spreading up to 1m, with small serrated leaves and pretty, dainty white flowers.

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