Fresh herbs give any dish a lift, whether you enjoy Thai, Italian or Moroccan flavours. Many are easy to grow and late March is the ideal time to start planting. Herbs vary a lot in how they grow, so understanding their different habits will help you make the most of your space.
Choose the right spot
Most herbs prefer a sunny place with well-drained soil to produce good flavour. Heavy clay is best avoided or improved with organic matter and grit.
Some herbs are hardy shrubs that stay in the garden for years, such as thyme, sage, bay and rosemary. Others are annuals or biennials that need replacing often. Parsley is biennial and usually replaced each year. Coriander only lasts a few months, so it is replaced several times through summer.
Growth habits also vary. Thyme stays neat and low, while lovage and fennel start small but can reach 2m in summer. These taller herbs are best planted at the back or centre of a bed.
Mint is vigorous and is best kept in pots so it does not overwhelm smaller herbs. Parsley is often grown in a dedicated bed and grows well with chives and onions in the vegetable plot.
How to prepare and plant
Set up the bed
• Remove all perennial weeds before planting
• Improve soil with organic matter, grit or sand
• Shrubby herbs rarely need extra fertiliser unless grown in pots
Choose your plants
Nurseries and garden centres offer herbs in many sizes. One sage or rosemary plant is usually enough for most households.
Parsley grows easily from seed if the seed is fresh. A packet of seed offers better value than buying individual plants.
Position plants carefully
Place tall or bulky herbs such as fennel where their full summer height will not block access or shade smaller plants.
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