Personal taste is as variable in gardening as in anything else. Among my
gardening friends, one cannot abide dahlias; others have pet hates that
include carpet bedding, conifers, cacti and anything with pink flowers. The
list is endless. One group of plants universally loved, however, is herbs.
According to the Horticultural Trades Association’s Garden Industry Monitor,
£25m was spent on herb plants last year.
I found the perfect spot for growing herbs in our farm garden in Oxfordshire.
At its entrance, where the pigsties once stood, is a south-facing,
rectangular area backed by a 6ft dry-stone wall. We then built a knee-high
dry-stone wall across the front. Having pulled up the weeds and rotovated
the ground, we then laid a sheet of semi-permeable membrane over the entire
space, with a thick layer of Cotswold stone gravel on top.
I decided on a simple, symmetrical plan and, with the help of a local firm,
the Go Wild Gardening Company, we got the bones of the garden laid out and a
few key plants in the ground in a single day. This was a few weeks ago, but
if you are considering following suit, it’s not too late.
The design looked great; not so the quality of the soil, though. Many herbs,
particularly those of Mediterranean origin, require free-draining gritty
soil. It was clear I had to do something about the heavy Oxfordshire clay.
We added copious amounts of compost and horticultural grit to each bed and
forked it into the sticky clods. Slowly, the soil became more friable
(crumbly) and welcoming for the plants. I then spent most of a glorious
weekend planting up the beds.
I decided to focus on really useful culinary herbs, with a few extras thrown
in for their beauty. The contrasting foliage colours, textures and shapes of
a well-planned herb garden – whether on a large scale, or grown in a motley
collection of pots – should make the finished product look like a tapestry.
RACHEL’S TOP HERBS
Greek basil (Ocimum minimum‘Greek’): basil captures the aroma, taste
and atmosphere of the Mediterranean and, according to my husband – by far
the superior cook – the small green leaves of Greek basil give the most
interesting flavour. Alternatively, Ocimum basilicum ‘Dark Opal’ is a
highly decorative form with attractive deep-purple foliage.
Bay (Larus nobilis): invaluable for adding evergreen structure, scale
and permanence to the herb garden, it will grow into a small tree if you
allow it. Bay is highly adaptable to pruning and shaping and will thrive
long term in a large container. A couple of leaves are an essential
ingredient of a bouquet garni.
Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium): one of the herbs that will work if you
have a partially shaded site. It is a hardy biennial, usually grown as an
annual, either from seed or ready-potted young plants. The leaves have a
slightly aniseed flavour that complements chicken and fish.
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum): delicious chopped into salads, this
hardy perennial member of the onion family also looks good in the garden.
Its slender leaves form an upright accent, and the mauve globular flowers
bloom on and off throughout the summer. Fresh new leaves will be produced if
you cut back the old ones after the first batch of flowers. Chives need a
richer soil than Mediterranean herbs, and it should not be allowed to dry
out. When planting, make sure they have plenty of compost around them. They
grow well in pots.
Coriander (Coriandrum sativum): one of my favourite culinary herbs, it
is an annual and prefers to be sown about now. A sunny spot and welldrained
soil are essential. Its leaves are best just after picking. It also produces
wonderfully flavoured seeds that can be crushed prior to cooking or added
whole to the dish.
Bronze fennel (Foeniculum vulgare ‘Purpureum’): with tall stems of
delicately feathered bronze foliage and airy clusters of tiny flowers that
produce aromatic seeds, this herb is so beautiful, it shouldn’t be confined
to the herb garden. It prefers welldrained soil and full sun.
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hid-cote’): there are countless
gorgeous lavenders of varying size, colour and hardiness, but this classic,
hardy variety has a proven track record. The plant should be cut back each
year after flowering, not into the old wood, but just above the lowest
couple of sets of leaves, or you might kill it. However, lavenders do reach
a point when they are best replaced with new plants.
Variegated lemon balm (Melissa officinalis ‘Aurea’): I always include
this herb for its attractive gold and green young leaves, although they tend
to darken to solid green as the season progresses. The foliage has a fresh
citrus scent, captured when eaten fresh in salads, but which disappears when
cooked.
Flat-leaf parsley (Petroselinum crispum ‘French’): parsley is one of
the essential components of fines herbes – the others being chives,
chervil and tarragon – and a good candidate for a garden in partial shade.
The flat-leaf type is tastier, but you may prefer to grow the crisp-edged
variety (Petroselinum crispum), which makes an excellent edging plant.
Black peppermint (Mentha x piperita): with purple-tinged stems and
leaves, and a strong minty scent and flavour, black peppermint is ornamental
and tasty. However, I would grow a selection of different mints in pots.
Spearmint (Mentha spicata), eau de cologne mint (Mentha x piperita f citratus),
ginger mint (Mentha x gracilis) and pineapple mint (Mentha suaveolens ‘Variegata’)
are my favourites.
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Miss Jessopp’s Upright’): every
garden should have rosemary, and there are many to choose from. This form is
particularly hardy and has a strong, vertical shape. They all need full sun
and excellent drainage to thrive.
Purple sage (Salvia officinalis‘Purpuras-cens Group’): another
invaluable Mediterranean herb with a unique flavour. I particularly like the
look of the purple-leafed form. Though hardy, sage particularly dislikes
wet, wintry conditions, so ensure you add plenty of grit to the soil.
Thyme (Thymus ‘Doone Valley’): if I could, I would have another garden
dedicated to thymes alone, and plant a carpet of contrasting foliage that
would shimmer with tiny mauve, pink and white flowers in summer, humming
with bees and butterflies. This variety, with dark-green leaves, spattered
with irregular golden variegation, would certainly have a place in the
scheme, but there are countless others to whet your appetite.
HOW TO GROW SUCCESSFULLY
You must provide the right growing conditions for your herbs. Some tolerate
shade and prefer rich, moist soil, but many do not. Putting drought-tolerant
sun-lovers into a shady corner with heavy soil will doom them to failure.
Work on the soil before you buy a single plant. Improve its structure by
digging in plenty of organic material and sharp sand or horticultural grit –
copious amounts where herbs of Mediterranean origin are to be grown – all
available in bags from garden centres.
Thymes, especially the creeping varieties, particularly dislike soggy
conditions around the base of the plant, and can be killed off by winter
wet. Add even more grit to the planting hole and mix it into the soil used
to backfill. They will also appreciate being mulched with gravel, which will
help to keep the neck and lowlying stems dry.
Mints are notoriously invasive; put one in the soil without some sort of
confinement and it will be everywhere in no time. Grow it in a generously
sized container – I like to group a few different varieties together.
Alternatively, if you want the look of a mint in the ground, repot the plant
you’ve bought into a larger-sized plastic pot, and sink the entire thing,
pot and all, into the ground.
Herbs grow really well in pots. Give the same attention to the growing medium
as you would in the ground – soil-based compost with good drainage is the
key – and fluffy, peaty compost is out.
Harvest herbs little and often, if possible, and try not to take more than
about one third of the top growth in a single picking. However, don’t be
afraid to refresh herbs such as chives after flowering by cutting them hard
back, which will encourage a new flush of leaves.
WHERE TO BUY
Most garden centres stock the common herbs. However, it is worth seeking out
specialist herb suppliers and nurseries, whose stock encompasses common
favourites as well as unusual and rare forms. Try the following: Jekka’s
Herb Farm (01454 418878, www.jekkasherb
farm.com); The Cottage Herbery (01584 781575, www.thecottagherbery.co.uk);
Poyntzfield Herb Nursery (01381 610352, www.poyntzfieldherbs.co.uk);
Norfolk Herbs (01362 860812, www.
norfolkherbs.co.uk).
FURTHER INFORMATION
The Herb Society (0845 491 8699, www.
herbsociety.co.uk).
