The quality of your herbs will determine the end result

Herbs should be harvested when the oils responsible for flavour and aroma are at their peak. This depends on the plant part you are harvesting. Leaves are typically harvested just before flowering or as flowers just open; if you harvested chives after flowering, for example, the leaves may be bitter. Flowers are harvested just before they are fully open. If you wish to harvest flowers for craft purposes, harvest them when fully open. Roots are typically harvested in autumn after the foliage dies back. You can harvest up to 75 per cent of the current season's growth at one time. Annual herbs can be harvested right up to frosts. Stop harvesting perennial herbs about a month before the first expected frost date.