Guides / Herbs

Herbs

Aromatic and culinary plants for kitchen gardens.

Illustration of a thyme plant

B

Bay laurel
Laurus nobilis
How to grow bay, Laurus nobilis. Clipping a standard, overwintering it in a pot, treating bay sucker and scale, and telling true bay from poisonous cherry laurel.
Easy

C

Common Thyme
Thymus vulgaris
How to grow common thyme, Thymus vulgaris. Drainage, the trim that stops it going woody, harvesting when the oils peak, and why it belongs in gravel rather than good soil.
Moderate
Coriander
Coriandrum sativum
How to grow coriander, Coriandrum sativum. Why it bolts, why you must sow it direct rather than transplant, succession sowing for a steady supply, and harvesting the seed.
Moderate
Curly Parsley
Petroselinum crispum
How to grow Petroselinum crispum. Why the seed takes a month to appear, why year two is a write-off, the difference between curly and flat-leaf, and the rash it can give you.
ModerateSkin irritant

D

L

Lemon balm
Melissa officinalis
How to grow lemon balm, Melissa officinalis. Cutting it back before it seeds, why it takes over a bed, and drying the leaves for tea.
Easy

O

Oregano
Origanum vulgare
How to grow oregano, Origanum vulgare. Why poor dry soil gives better flavour, cutting back for a second flush, and the difference between oregano and marjoram.
Easy

P

Peppermint
Mentha x piperita
How to grow peppermint, Mentha x piperita. Containing the runners, cutting back for clean growth, why it cannot be grown from seed, and the mint that is dangerous.
Easy

S

Sweet Basil
Ocimum basilicum
How to grow sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum. Warmth, morning watering, pinching to delay flowering, and how to rescue a supermarket pot.
Moderate

T

Tarragon
Artemisia dracunculus
How to grow tarragon, Artemisia dracunculus. Why French tarragon must be bought as a plant, telling it from Russian, and overwintering it in Britain.
Moderate

W

Wild garlic
Allium ursinum
How to grow wild garlic, Allium ursinum. Planting it in the green, keeping it in bounds, when to pick, and the deadly lookalikes that catch foragers every spring.
EasyToxic to pets if eaten