Herbs can help fill the gaps in any plot or garden
Courgettes, beans, carrots and soft fruit take up most of the space on my plot but herbs are an important group which shouldn’t get overlooked and can easily fit in any gaps.
Over the centuries the use of herbs has dwindled as modern medicine has taken their place. The Scots Gard’ner by John Reid published in 1683 claims to be the first Scottish gardening book and is a useful starting point for seeing what was commonplace then when many herbs were cultivated for their therapeutic qualities.
Some of them, such as feverfew and calendula are still in common use. Others are less frequently encountered but deserve a place on the plot if only for their decorative appearance.
One of my neighbours has a beautiful clump of violet-flowered liquorice that he grew from seed. The name liquorice comes in lots of plant names of things which are like liquorice, but the one I’m talking about here is Glycyrrhiza glabra.
Many of the herbs we use as flavouring in the kitchen today are described as pot herbs.
These are not herbs grown in pots but those dried or fresh herbs, particularly green leaved ones, which are added to the cooking pot as flavouring.
A quick look at those over-priced bags or tired pots of wilting herbs in supermarkets brings home to me how easy it is to grow all of them on the allotment and pick them fresh whenever they’re needed.
A portion of pesto, homemade from freshly picked basil, is an absolute delight. Lovage makes a bold statement on my plot growing two metres high.
The leaves and thinnest stems make an acceptable alternative to celery in some recipes. Late in the season, the flowers and seeds are a magnet for birds and insects.
Anyone with plants of perennial herbs such as rosemary, sage and mint will be pleased to hand over a few pieces for rooting. They are easily propagated from cuttings. Mint is best confined to a bucket as it can spread too far.
Common annual herbs such as basil, coriander and dill can be grown cheaply from seed. It’s worth looking through the specialist seed catalogues online as they have a much wider choice than those available in the shops.
This year I’m trying British Basil, specially bred for cooler climates, and Coriander “Leisure”, reputed to be slow to run to seed.
An added bonus is that most annual herbs set seed in the autumn. It’s not difficult to dry them off on a sunny windowsill, pack the seeds in little paper envelopes, and store for next year.
Herbs such as basil, coriander and dill can be grown cheaply from seed