THERE ARE NO WORTHLESS HERBS – ONLY THE LACK OF KNOWLEDGE
Learn about the traditional uses of your favourite herbs
Prized for thousands of years for their culinary, medicinal, cosmetic and spiritual benefits – the use of herb plants is prevalent across all cultures and societies. Many of today’s most important medicines originate from herbs and it’s a rich area of health research today. Articles and information presented here are for your interest and amusement only. Do not use herb plants to treat illnesses or health conditions without first consulting your GP (or vet) and a fully qualified herbalist.
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.
Chervil is an attractive, ferny herb with a delicate anise, grassy smell. It’s under rated for some reason, perhaps because the plants resemble cow parsley, but it definitely pulls its weight. The mild flavour is particularly suited to eggs and sauces and it’s an important member of fine herbes. Generally grown as an annual, it likes a cooler, partly shady spot out of the midday sun. As a lush leaf producer, it needs rich, fertile soil and depth for the long tap root to quest for water in dry conditions.
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.
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.
A wonderful living gift for cooks and gardeners alike, this collection of herb plants will elevate any Christmas dinner and provide back-up to all manner of left-over dishes. It’s the perfect present to bring to the Christmas party – more thoughtful than plonk and better than a bouquet! An unusual culinary gift for the chef in your life.
When these guys arrive, you know it’s party thyme! It’s an intensely aromatic collection of herb botanicals to supercharge your celebratory drinks and cocktails, adding pizazz and verve. All are easy to grow and come with decorative pots, wooden labels and herb snips. It makes lovely herb gift too.
Have you been over doing it a bit recently or maybe feeling a bit liverish? Our detox herb collection contains herb plants traditionally valued for their natural, detoxifying and purifying powers. The perfect gardening gift for someone on a health kick or wellness regime, who’ll enjoy the detox benefits of fresh herbs in a smoothie or dried herbs in a nice cup of tea!
Medicinal information for interest and amusement only. Do not use herb plants to treat illnesses or health conditions without first consulting your GP and a fully qualified herbalist
Dill is a wonderfully aromatic plant and is worth a place in any herb garden. The leaves are prized for their sweet anise flavour which has none of the liquorice strength of fennel, and the seeds for their pickling power. Generally grown as an annual because it’s not hardy, it will be ok over winter in a greenhouse and suits growing in deep pots – to accommodate the long root. Grow in a sunny position and keep moist. Dill is pretty vigorous but will be ok in our pot on a sunny windowsill to begin with.
Forget the obvious flowers and bottle of plonk, why not take a gift of herbs to your next dinner party? This collection of unusual culinary herb plants, with decorative pots, wooden labels and herb snips will be appreciated by keen cooks and gardeners alike. Plus, we’ll send them direct if it’s easier.
This mob of herbal heavy lifters will have your back all year round. They're all evergreen, shrubby or woody types and once mature will be as tough as they come, giving essential culinary herbs through the autumn and winter. Slower growing than most, they'll happily sit on a sunny windowsill for a while (especially over winter) but will only reach their impressive potential outside in pots, a herb garden or border.
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.
Thyme with a citrussy twist. Lemon scented and herb garden must have, this thyme variation has everything. It’s a tough, Mediterranean sun lov...
Thyme with a citrussy twist. Lemon scented and herb garden must have, this thyme variation has everything. It’s a tough, Mediterranean sun lover that enjoys light, free draining soil and hates waterlogging. An excellent variety for pots where you can control the drainage and moisture. In cooking it pairs brilliantly with chicken and the higher levels of citronella in the lemony leaves, give it medicinal powers other thymes don’t have…
Your Lemon Thyme will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.
There are lots of thyme varieties, but this is the original and the best. The nearest thing to wild thyme, dried bunches of which you’ll see h...
There are lots of thyme varieties, but this is the original and the best. The nearest thing to wild thyme, dried bunches of which you’ll see hanging in markets from Provence to Tuscany. As you can imagine, it likes a warm, bright location. South facing is best, planting in full sun brings out the essential oils in the leaves, concentrating the flavour. All thyme enjoys light, well-drained soil and hates waterlogging, especially in winter.
Common Thyme will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.
Once you discover winter savory in the kitchen, you’ll be chucking it in everything! It’s highly aromatic and similar to rosemary and hyssop i...
Once you discover winter savory in the kitchen, you’ll be chucking it in everything! It’s highly aromatic and similar to rosemary and hyssop in appearance. It has a peppery, thyme like flavour and suits cooking in stews, casseroles and sauces. Winter savory is a hardy, evergreen perennial and once established is pretty bullet proof. Suited to pots on a sunny patio or windowsill, it will delight with pretty, nectar rich flowers in summer.
Winter savory will be happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.
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...
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.
The scent and flavours of mint and citrus combine wonderfully in this variety. It’s also as attractive as mints go, with bronze tinged leaves ...
The scent and flavours of mint and citrus combine wonderfully in this variety. It’s also as attractive as mints go, with bronze tinged leaves and burgundy stems and veins. With a distinct, zesty lime smell and taste, it’s a great variety for desserts, drinks and cocktails. Easy to grow with the potential to get out of hand if left unchecked, plant in fertile, moist, free-draining soil, somewhere in dappled sunlight or light shade.
Mint Lime will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.
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...
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.
A mint bred specifically for use in a mojito – what’s not to like? Said to have originated in Cuba – the home of the mojito, it has a delightf...
A mint bred specifically for use in a mojito – what’s not to like? Said to have originated in Cuba – the home of the mojito, it has a delightfully mild minty taste with hints of citrus. Like all mints, its vigorous and pretty un-killable. It will enjoy a range of soils, but will do the rumba in fertile, free-draining soil kept moist. It’s another sociable mint and will happily spread given half a chance, so is best restricted to pots and containers in a sunny or semi-shaded position.
Mint Mojito will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.
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 gro...
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.
All keen cooks will want this queen in their kitchen! She’ll pep up your Asian dishes with an unmistakable anise/liquorice, slightly spicy fla...
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.
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. L...
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.
This small leaved, compact variety of mint smells delightfully of strawberries and has a minty/berry taste too. Absolutely perfect for a summe...
This small leaved, compact variety of mint smells delightfully of strawberries and has a minty/berry taste too. Absolutely perfect for a summer fruit cup or cocktail, the leaves should be lightly crushed and muddled into your favourite drink. Really easy to grow and suited to a pot (to stop it spreading), grow in moist, fertile, free-draining soil in a sunny but lightly shaded position. The lilac purple flowers are loved by bees and butterflies.
Strawberry mint will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.
If you like bees, you’ll love these! Bergamot is renowned for its attraction to our bumbling and honey making friends, Bee balm being a common...
If you like bees, you’ll love these! Bergamot is renowned for its attraction to our bumbling and honey making friends, Bee balm being a common name amongst others. It’s worth its place for the flowers alone, which bloom into crimson, spidery fireworks. However monarda didyma was used medicinally by the native American tribe giving its name to ‘Oswego tea’, drunk for its antiseptic, digestive and calming properties.
Mojitos are made for hot, lazy summer days, parties and BBQ’s – if you like mint that is. This unique collection presented with decorative pots, wooden plant labels and herb snips allows you to create your own mojito mix, adding some herbal special guests. All of these varieties are super scented too.
ALL HERB COLLECTIONS INCLUDE
SIX UK grown,9cm potted herb plants PLUS everything you need to start your herbs off indoors or out:
Ornamental Pots
All herbs come with a stylish pot for use indoors or out
Wooden labels
Sustainable bamboo labels with advice just a click away
Herb Snips
Super sharp steel snips to give your herbs a glow up
Growing Guide
A guide to loving and caring for our most popular herbs
what’s included
Mint – Mojito
A mint bred specially for use in a mojito – what’s not to like? Said to have originated in Cuba – the home of the mojito, it’s very mild with hints of citrus. The large leaves lend themselves to muddling.
Garden Mint
Garden Mint aka Spearmint (it’s rapper name) is more mild and sweeter than other mints (especially peppermint) and should form the basis of any homemade mojito. It’s vigorous too, which is handy!
Lime Mint
Lime mint is a cracking mojito addition. It has a pronounced lime smell and minty, zesty flavour combining perfectly with rum. Crushed leaves smeared around the rim of a glass gives an aromatic hit.
Lemon Balm
Before mojitos were invented, ancient Greeks and Romans steeped lemon balm leaves in wine to lift the spirits. Today, the leaves are impressive in a mojito, crushed to release their lemony fragrance.
Lemon Verbena
Used as an uplifting infusion in drinks, lemon verbena is the perfect addition to a mojito. Its invigorating citrussy smell is the strongest lemon of any herb – crush the leaves before adding.
Sweet Basil
A few basil leaves will take your mojito to a new dimension! The smell and taste of fresh leaves combine brilliantly with mint and other botanical herbs, especially on a hot summers’ day.