Plant up a winter herb pot

Their aromatic stems will be a welcome treat

Why not freshen up your herb supplies, or create interest with a new culinary area that will see you through winter and beyond. Those lovely tender herbs of summer, such as basil and coriander, will be on the wane now and can be brought indoors or sacrificed for a hardy pot of herbs to look great on the patio and serve as a handy winter larder!

Go for old favourites such as evergreen rosemary, thyme and sage and semi-evergreen parsley, as their wonderfully aromatic stems and leaves will be welcome at that time of year. Go for a large, tall pot, with plenty of room for growing plants. The larger the pot, the less you’ll have to care for the herbs or repot them so soon. Use a loam-based John Innes compost that’s very well-drained and improved with gravel or grit, but also, due to cold winter rain drenchings, use pot feet to keep the container off the ground. Don’t let it dry out, though – keep watering lightly if the weather’s dry.

If heavy frosts are forecast, you could wrap your pot in fleece or bubblewrap, but do make sure that you site it in full sun and shelter.

If you plant up herbs now, while the weather’s still relatively warm and dry, they can have time to settle in before winter.