An A-Z guide to herbs
What to grow for tasty food, better health and to bring in bees.
Herbs are a garden essential; whether you plant them to use in your kitchen, make simple and safe home remedies, or bring in beneficial bugs.
Whether you grow them for their culinary or their medicinal values, herbs are champions of the home garden. They are one of the easiest of edibles to grow; they don’t need much attention once planted, apart from the occasional watering for certain herbs. Most herbs require at least six hours of direct sunlight a day – although some herbs, such as chervil, coriander, chives, lemon balm and mint, will grow in partial shade, and will in fact do best with some shade in warmer areas. Herbs that come from the Mediterranean region, like rosemary, lavender, thyme, marjoram and oregano, grow best in full sun.
ANNUAL OR PERENNIAL
Like all plants, herbs are either annuals, biannuals or perennials. Annual herbs such as like basil, coriander, chervil and dill last for just one year. Once they flower and set seed they die, although you can snip off their flowerheads to keep them alive longer (basil is a good example of this), or you can let their seeds fall to the ground to self-sow. Coriander has only a short life, especially during the warmer months where it may grow, flower and die in as little as four weeks, but it continuously self-sows, so if you let it go to seed you will get more plants appearing in the same season.
Biannual herbs, such as caraway, last for two years. They are sown one year, flower and fruit the following year, then die. Parsley is a biannual, although most people think of it as a perennial as it can actually survive more than two years if you snip off its flowers. However, it starts to lose its vigour after a couple of years, and after one year it becomes bitter. It’s best to grow new plants every year. Though if you leave it to flower in its second year, it will self-sow and, like coriander, you will have perpetual seedlings year on year.
Perennials, including sage, thyme, rosemary, lavender, chives and oregano, among others, last for several years. Woody perennials such as rosemary and lavender should be pruned at least once a year, in late summer or after flowering, otherwise they can become leggy or spindly. Cut your plants back by about one-third to encourage a more compact growth.
LANDSCAPING WITH HERBS
If there is no room for a dedicated herb garden in your backyard, mixing herbs with shrubs or flowers in the landscape is practical and ornamental. Tuck some in an existing flower border, or plant groundcovers such as thyme or chamomile between pavers.
The creeping thymes ( Thymus serpyllum and all its varieties) are ideal for substitute lawns. Woolly thyme ( Thymus pseudolanuginosus) also makes a great groundcover, as does Bressingham thyme ( Thymus doerfleri ‘Bressingham’), which is one of the first to flower (with brilliant pink blooms) in spring, and Thymus praecox ‘Coccineus’, which has crimson flowers in early summer.
Chamomile also makes a great lawn substitute, but you need to grow Roman chamomile ( Chamaemelum nobile), not German chamomile ( Matricaria recutita); the latter is an annual and grows taller than the perennial Roman chamomile, which forms a low-growing evergreen mat. Roman chamomile needs to be clipped once a year to keep it tidy, though the variety ‘Treneague’, which grows only 5-10cm high and has no flowers, needs no clipping at all. This is the best chamomile to grow for lawns if you can do without the flowers.
Soil preparation is important when it comes to growing herbs as groundcovers. Clear the area of weeds first otherwise you’ll find yourself on bended knees constantly clearing away weeds as they keep popping up. Lift the turf with a spade to a depth of about 5cm, then dig over the whole area, pulling out any weed roots. Add compost or grit if necessary and work this in. Leave to settle, then, if necessary, spray with weedkiller a couple of weeks later to target any emerging weeds, or dig them out.
Pair your herbs with like-minded plants, especially if you’re using them in the kitchen. Most herbs do not require an overly rich soil; if grown in rich soil the herbs’ essential oils become “diluted”, which affects the taste. Most of my herbs I don’t feed at all, so it wouldn’t do planting them next to flowering annuals, for example, which get fed regularly.
If you pick your herbs to dry for culinary or medicinal uses, pick them just before flowering; this is when they have their highest levels of volatile oils and nutrients.
ALOE VERA
Aloe vera is a soothing herb that is great for cuts and burns. The gel inside its leaves contains enzymes that deactivate bradykinin, the chemical messenger responsible for transmitting pain signals through the nerves. The gel also serves as a stimulant for wound healing, promoting cell and tissue regeneration.
Aloe vera’s main need is a frost-free environment. It does best in areas where temperatures remain above 4°C.
In cooler areas, grow in pots and shift indoors before winter arrives. Or treat it as an indoor plant, so you have your own herbal first-aid treatment at your fingertips. Plant in a sunny spot in welldrained soil. Add grit if necessary to improve drainage.
BORAGE
Borago officinalis has high levels of nectar and pollen so bees love it. I grow this plant solely for attracting bees. It’s one of the oldest and prettiest of herbs, with five vibrant blue petals arranged in the shape of a star.
An annual, it has a reasonably short life span, but if you sow seeds successively, you can extend the season from spring through autumn, and even winter in warm areas. Borage also self-sows. Plants like a well-drained sunny position but they do grow in part shade. Keep plants fairly moist.
BASIL
Ocimum basilicum’s greatest need is warmth; it doesn’t grow well where temperatures drop below 10˚C, and a dip below 4˚C will kill plants. Sow seeds in small pots in early spring for transplanting later. Snip off any flowers that form to prolong the plant’s life.
BAY
Laurus nobilis is evergreen tree that’s both ornamental and edible. Use the leaves fresh or dried in cooking. It can be grown in the ground or in a large container.
CUMIN
Cuminum cyminum is a small, annual herb growing around 20cm high. It’s an important spice in many cuisines, particularly Indian, Mexican, North African and Middle Eastern. Cumin has been on the menu for centuries – the ancient Greeks and Romans used it in the same way we would pepper. It was also used for its medicinal properties, especially for treating flatulence and colic. Cumin contains high levels of antioxidants. In fact, half a teaspoon of cumin seeds is believed to contain more than double the antioxidants found in half a cup of chopped tomatoes and nearly twice as much as a carrot.
Start cumin indoors in late winter or early spring, and plant outside once the risk of frosts has passed. Plant in a sunny spot in well-drained, average soil, or grow in pots. Cumin produces flowers in midsummer, followed by seedpods. Harvest seeds once the pods turn brown.
CALENDULA
Calendula officinalis is an excellent herb for soothing skin conditions, including rashes and small wounds, as well as indigestion, gastric and duodenal ulcers. The petals can be used fresh or dried.
The plant is a short-lived perennial, but is easy to grow in full sun.
CARAWAY
Carum carvi is a biennial herb; seed sown in spring won’t flower for two years. The seed can be collected for use in the kitchen.
CHAMOMILE
Matricaria recutita (German chamomile) is an annual, and is the medicinal herb for making teas; Chamaemelum nobile (Roman chamomile) is the perennial herb used as a lawn substitute. Both are easy to grow from seed. The lawn variety ‘Treneague’ is grown by cuttings.
CHERVIL
Anthriscus cerefolium It can be added to salads, or egg or vege dishes. It is a hardy annual that grows best in the cooler months of autumn and spring.
CHIVES
Allium schoenoprasum is best grown in clumps (three to five will do nicely). Harvest from one clump at a time, before moving on to the next. Leave at least 5cm of growth on each clump. Chives is one herb that enjoys plenty of water; it will attract black aphids if water stressed.
CORIANDER
Coriandrum sativum is an annual that grows best in the cooler months of autumn and spring. Allow plants to go to seed and they will self-sow. Collect some seeds for the kitchen.
DILL
Anethum graveolens looks a lot like fennel, but it throws up just one main stem from a single taproot; fennel throws up many stems from a branched root system. Dill, an annual, is also slightly smaller growing, at around 80cm high; fennel, a perennial, grows up to 1.5m high. Dill leaves also tastes similar to fennel’s, with an aniseed flavour, but dill’s flavour is more subdued and not as sweet. The seeds, however, have a much stronger flavour and are often used as a pickling spice. They also make a tasty addition to bread, cakes, sauces, casseroles and cheeses.
Dill is easy to grow from seed, and the seed stays viable for some years. Allow the plant to flower in order to harvest some of the seeds (leave others to fall to the ground and they’ll readily self-sow). Plant in full sun in free-draining soil.