How to Grow Herbs

Basil is easily one of the most well-known of the herbs. It’s super easy to grow, either indoors or outdoors and it can be harvested in as little as four weeks.

Used for its striking appearance and its strong flavours, bay is one of the oldest plants in cultivation.

Chervil is a more refined tasting relative of parsley and is used with a wide range of dishes. Its gentle aniseed flavour adds zing to salads and is a primary ingredient in Fines Herbes, one of the three standard herb mixes in French fine dining.

Chives are a low maintenance hardy perennial - it reproduces itself from small bulbs - and grows to 30cm tall. Whilst chives will grow almost anywhere, they seem to have a better flavour if grown in sunny, dry situations.

Coriander is an easy-to-grow herb that comes in many varieties. Its leaves, stalks and seeds are popular for their tangy and aromatic addition to salads, curries, Chinese and Thai foods.

Tasty dill is an easy-to-grow herb that is famed as the main ingredient of dill pickle. Its leaves, stalks, flowers and seeds are all edible and used in soups, salads and fish dishes, while the eye-catching yellow flowers attract a host of wildlife including bees and butterflies.

A popular Mediterranean herb, garlic is easy to grow. Go for named varieties from reputable garden centres and you can get a good yield. Don’t try to grow bulbs from supermarket garlic, as these bulbs carry a risk of disease.

From tea to potatoes, ice cream to a garnish for roasted lamb, mint comes in a range of varieties and is a favourite flavour across the world. It’s easy to grow from root cuttings and what’s more, mint attracts the insects that benefit your whole garden.

Nasturtium comes in a range of varieties. There are those with bushy leaves for borders, or trailing varieties that are perfect for containers and climbing. There’s a nasturtium for every garden.

Parsley is hugely versatile and comes in flat leaf or curly varieties. Curly parsley is darker, has a milder taste, and is traditionally found in the UK, but in reality flat leaf is the more commonly used in dishes around the world.

With its striking blue flowers and recognisable needle-like leaves, rosemary is both tasty and pretty. Rosemary has a pine-like fragrance and this evergreen herb has become a favourite seasoning, most popularly with lamb. Chopped up it makes a refreshing tea that’s used to aid digestion. Bees love it too.

Who doesn’t love a little sage and onion? Sage is a versatile herb, with a powerful flavour.  Add a few leaves to a dish or make a healthy tea. Who doesn’t love a little sage and onion? Sage is a versatile herb, with a powerful flavour.  Add a few leaves to a dish or make a healthy tea. 

A favourite in French cuisine, the subtle liquorice taste of tarragon gets added to fish, scrambled eggs and is one of the four main ingredients in the famous French herb blend ‘fines herbes’. 

Thyme is a great herb that’s easy to grow and does well when left alone. It’s brilliant when used in cracks between rocks and paving and grows well at almost any time of year, just give it some full sun and you’ll be enjoying the fragrant herb in your dishes all year.