Tasteful planting
HAVING herbs you can pick in the open air then sprinkle into your dinner is a lovely way to harness nature.
But if you have ruled them out because you lack the space for a herb patch, think again.
You can grow them just about anywhere – mixed with flowers in borders, edging a vegetable plot, or in a patio tub or window box.
Whatever you decide, just ensure you have your culinary favourites near the kitchen door or barbecue.
Containers can provide a home for essential herbs such as oregano, rosemary, bay and thyme – all useful for seasoning meat.
For flavouring chicken on a barbecue, ensure you have a ready supply of lemon balm, thyme, parsley, sage and French tarragon close by.
On a south-facing patio where other plants may shrivel, the drought-busting curry plant, feverfew, chamomile, eau de cologne mint, sage and nasturtium thrive. They will supply plenty of leaves and flowers for soups, stews, teas and salads.
Herbs with colourful and shapely foliage are also perfect for flower beds where they reinforce a colour scheme.
Ground- hugging types such as thyme and chamomile make scented carpets that help suppress weeds.
Carefully planted together in a dedicated herb garden and arranged in a simple cartwheel or sunrise design they can become a focal feature in a lawn, patio or potager.
Round beds are good for making the most of a small space. Providing the area gets at least five hours of full sun a day, most herbs will thrive, with the exception of parsley which will do better in partial shade.
Save money and use recycled timber to build raised beds. Make them waisthigh for no-bend gardening or build the walls 45-55cm high so they can double up as seating.
Before you start planting out, take time to prepare the ground by removing weeds, especially perennial ones like bindweed, then add soil improvers and fertilizers.
After planting, apply mulch to help suppress weeds and to prevent rain splashing soil onto the edible leaves.
Tip Sunrise
IF you cannot collect rainwater, use cold tea to water potted azaleas. It keeps them healthy. framework of stumpy stems left behind will soon grow to around 1.8m and produce an abundance of nectar-rich flowers for five to six weeks during the summer, which provide a magnet to butterflies and bees.
Keep it under control
Left unpruned, buddleja will grow into a large shrub with a spread and height of about 5 metres. That is huge, and because the plant readily self seeds they can quickly become invasive.
Dead heading flowers once they are finished will to stop it setting seed.