Thyme for herbs

Try planting a selection of tasty herbs valued as much for their ornamental appeal as their flavour and your garden will look almost too good to eat!

From sage to thyme, rosemary to clipped bay and flowering chives, combine herbs valued for their ornamental beauty to produce long-lasting displays as well as regular pickings for the kitchen.

There are no hard and fast rules about creating herb gardens, but successful designs often define the space using brick pavers, dividing-up the area with small paths to provide easy access for picking. Go for an informal mix or choose a formal pattern or cartwheel design.

As a centrepiece plant a large, shrubby herb such as rosemary or sage, a formally clipped bay tree, or a potted herb arrangement.

In small spaces herbs can be grown in pots, either planting them individually and grouping pots together into displays or creating bold combinations in larger containers. As many herbs have Mediterranean origins they relish a site in full sun where they can bake during summer.

Soil must be free-draining too, as wet and waterlogged ground will lead to root damage, and for pots choose a free-draining loam-based compost.

A wonderful assortment of herb plants are available at garden centres now, so buy your favourites to create your own culinary herb gardens. Many herbs can be raised from seed too, so buy packets as well as plants.

Four hardy herbs for pots or borders:

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Mint varieties Chives – both regular onion flavoured and garlic chives.

Thyme (Thymus

IIvarieties) Regularly picking some herbs, such as basil, encourages side shoots to form, keeping plants bushy and productive.

Pick and dry the leaves of herbs such as thyme, sage, bay and others to store and use when cooking.

Coriander has a habit of running to seed but enjoy their flowers as they'll encourage beneficial insects such as hoverflies into your garden.