Gardening Genius
Spring is the perfect season to start a herb garden, allowing you to pick your own fresh herbs straight from your own garden, container or windowsill. If you’re looking for some inspiration we’ve got some great ideas for what you need, which herbs you might want to grow and even more from the GN team and expert Karen Gimson. Why not try including some native or naturalised plants in your herb garden? WhatW about all-round herb hyssop or cucumberlike salad burnet? Just make sure your herb garden is in full sun – the sunnier the spot, the better flavour and aroma your herbs will have. Karen Murphy, features editor I grow most of my herbs in a large pot in a sunny spot outside the back door. I love the subtle variety of flavours in rosemary, from the warm aroma of ‘Green Ginger’ to the lemony notes of ‘Arp’. I also plant them with chives, which are now
starting to flush with new foliage. Ian Hodgson, editor-at-large I decided to grow differ different types of mintmi like apple mint,nt, pineapplepinea mint and chocolate mint in a shady part of my garden. Taking cuttings of different types is a really easy and fast way to propagate them. I just cut an 8cm (3in) piece of the top growth and leave it in a glass of water until the stems develop a nice root system. Then I’ll pot them on, and once they’re growing away healthily, they’re ready to be transplanted. Tonia Friedrich, garden writer Rather than have a dedicated herb garden, I like to grow herbs in the borders. They give off a great scent and offer a bit of contrast – and it’s better to grow the ones you’re more likely to use in the kitchen! Perennials such as mint, thyme and rosemary work well as long as they’re maintained and not allowed to go too ‘woody’. Simon Caney, editor