Your herbs can easily be grown in containers
Herbs add a little something extra to a meal, more so if they accompany fresh home-grown vegetables. So, now that the annual growing season is gearing up to start in earnest, it’s time to freshen up existing perennial types, possibly introduce more, and secure seeds of favourite annual herbs to join them.
This is one group of edible plants that easily lend themselves to container growing.
It’s not unusual to see a handful of varieties dangling from a hanging basket whose size determines the number possible.
Grow bags, window boxes, tubs and large pots are other options.
Many are of Mediterranean origin, so they enjoy a sunny position but don’t let that put you off if a north-facing aspect is all that can be offered.
It’s amazing how adaptable they can be. Good drainage is an essential whether growing them in gardens or containers, and with inclement weather in mind, position them close to the kitchen.
Perennial herbs can become a fixture in the garden, some lending themselves to division, creating instant young plants that are passed on to friends.
Reference the large clumps of chives and mint varieties we recently dug up and split into sections.
Tasty though it is to have a choice of mint flavours to accompany new potatoes, it’s essential to keep their invasive tendencies under control.
Either cultivate them in pots standing on a hard surface or plant them with the container attached.
Green leafed marjoram and the golden form, commonly called oregano, self-seed profusely around this garden and bees simply love their flowers.
The latter does not look out of place in an ornamental border, nor does the golden balm (melissa) with its variegated leaves. In maturity, all three are easily divided into sections.
Green sage (Salvia officinalis), rosemary (now called Salvia rosemarinus), and thyme are three that root readily from softwood stem cuttings. This can be accomplished with a little patience by standing them in a glass of water placed on the kitchen windowsill and potting up when sufficient roots have formed.
Each of these offers a good choice of varieties in different leaf colours and forms that look almost too good to eat.