Thyme to share a little sage advice
Boxing clever:
FRESH herbs grow effortlessly, enhance the flavours of even the simplest of dishes and are highly nutritious too. Grow your own to access a wealth of ingredients that will help to sustain both you and your prized plants.
They make terrific container plants on a sunny balcony or windowsill. So even if you don’t have a garden, there’s no reason not to have a go.
HERBS THAT HEAL
Healthy herbs are low-maintenance, easy-to-grow plants that will not only improve the flavour of your food but can also boost your wellbeing
ladybugs, so it’s great planted next to cabbage.
A dandelion’s deep tap roots will break up heavy soils and release the chemical ethylene, which stimulates the ripening of fruit, the opening of flowers, and the shedding of leaves.
Other plant-boosters include borage, which deters tomato hornworm, clover, which encourages nitrogen into soil, and spearmint, which helps to discourage aphids when planted near roses.
PERMANENT PLANTING
summer.
Perennial herbs like chives and sage are slow-growing and best sown in a permanent area offering full sun and well-drained, fertile soil with plenty of organic matter worked in.
Alternatively, herbs work beautifully in a window box, grown in a container or in an attractive hanging basket display.
For planting now, sow inside or under glass, situating seeds 0.5cm deep for seedlings to appear in two to four weeks. They’ll give you a continuous harvest to stock your kitchen and medicine cabinet – just think about how much you’ll save.
Growing seed is great fun, but for quick results pre-potted herbs can be bought in garden centres all year round, so get started today. Don’t forget that good-looking and deliciously scented herbs do not have to be eaten – you can simply step back and enjoy the variety of wildlife and aromas these plants bring to your outside spaces.
SUPER SCENTS