Kentish Express Ashford & District
A taste of something new
Forget parsley and mint! Three unusual herbs to grow that you won’t find in the supermarket.
Want to add some herbs to dishes that aren’t so run-of-the-mill? There are so many easy-togrow herbs which are overlooked, says award-winning herb expert, designer and author Jekka McVicar, who is a 14-times RHS Chelsea Gold Medal winner for her organic, peat-free herb exhibits.
Many of these are detailed in her latest book, 100 Herbs To Grow, a comprehensive guide to the best herbs.
Here, Jekka suggests five herbs which gardeners who want to be slightly more adventurous might grow.
1 HYSSOP
“This is an absolute musthave. Apart from the fact that it’s stunningly beautiful when in flower and the bees adore it, it’s a member of the Lamiaceae family (which includes mint, sage, thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary and lavender),” says Jekka.
The flowers of this hardy perennial are generally blue and purple, but there is also a pink variety and a white one too. Flowers are edible and have a slightly minty flavour, or you can make a tea with the leaves, with a generous teaspoon of honey.
“The leaf makes a fantastic salad dressing and will grow in exactly the same place as your sage and thyme. It goes really well with tomatoes in a pasta sauce.
“It just adds a slightly different flavour to a dish.”
Top tip: Grow it in a sunny position in a well-drained, neutral-to-alkaline soil. You may need to add grit to the soil as hyssop will die if waterlogged. It’s a great companion plant for cabbages as it lures away the cabbage white butterfly.
2 MYRTLE
Jekka uses the aromatic dark leaves of this fragrant evergreen shrub in her cooking as you would use bay, adding them to stews, soups and sauces, before removing and discarding them.
“The white flowers are stunning. It’s the herb of love, Aphrodite’s herb. They are followed by black berries, which you can make myrtle gin from, as we would make sloe gin,” she says.
Top tip: Plant it in full sun in a well-drained soil. Too much wet will kill it, as will cold winds, so plant it against a south or west-facing wall and don’t overfeed it or it won’t flower. Protect it from frost and wet weather in winter, making sure that your container is lifted on to bricks if it’s in a pot.
3. MONARDA FISTULOSA
(wild bergamot)
This has a mauve leaf and the flowers look like a lady’s fancy summer wedding hat.
“I use the petals of that flower in salads,” says Jekka. “It’s glorious. They have a warm, minty, spicy flavour, again they are part of the Lamiaceae family.”
Native to North America, this perennial plant has spreading rhizome roots which grow to 1m (3ft) tall and the leaves can be used to make a spicy tea.
“It’s easy to grow in a welldrained soil and although they are sightly rhizomatous they are not invasive,” she says.
“They are glorious in flower and you could easily grow it as an ornamental. It’s known as bee balm because it’s good for bees and other pollinators. You also get the seedheads which finches adore in the autumn.”
Top tip: Find a well-drained soil in a sunny spot and dig up plants over three years old, removing the dead centre and replanting in a prepared site.