The magic INGREDIENT

Nothing can pep up a meal like herbs fresh from your own plot – and now is the best time to start them off

THOSE a i r- f i l l e d pouches of cut herbs sold by supermarkets are handy when you need a few leaves or stems for a recipe but, let’s face it, they are not a patch on home-grown ones. In my opinion, nothing compares to the taste and texture of fresh herbs that are tossed into the saucepan within minutes of being picked.

Apart from being superior in the kitchen, there are many other benefits of growing your own herbs. It feels like a luxury to have access to a range of different varieties, and it will help to cut down on food waste because you can take exactly what you require, rather than using a few sprigs and leaving the rest to wilt in the fridge.

Of course, herbs don’t just taste good. Many will add an ornamental touch thanks to their attractive foliage, flowers and seed heads. Plenty possess aromatic leaves that will act as natural air fresheners and their blooms are often rich in pollen and nectar, attracting bees, butterflies and other creatures.

Early autumn is a good time to start a herb garden. The soil is warm and perennial varieties will establish before winter, while tender annual herbs will provide weeks of pickings before they run out of steam – these can be replaced with fresh specimens next spring

They not only taste good but they also act as air fresheners

that will supply the goods for months on end.

It’s easy to squeeze a collection of herbs into any garden. Those with small plots can grow a number in a window box or planter, or set them individually in pots arranged in a group. More space gives you the opportunity to create a dedicated herb garden or to simply dot a few into gaps within beds and borders.

The Oxford Dictionary defines herbs as ‘any plant with leaves, seeds or flowers used for flavouring, food, medicine or perfume’. In the past, people cultivated a range for all of those purposes, but these days most raise herbs to eat. However, it’s still worth growing nonculinary species purely for their decorative properties.

Buckler-leaved sorrel, fennel, French tarragon and mint are among my favourite herbaceous perennial herbs, while bay, chives, rosemary, sage, thyme and winter savory are evergreen, so will provide interest all year round.

Basil, chervil, coriander and dill are essential annuals – parsley is biennial but it is usually grown as an annual.

As for herbs grown largely for their good looks, take your pick from angelica, artemisia, borage, feverfew, lavender, nepeta, rue and santolina. Arguably the most attractive of the lot are the bergamots (Monarda hybrids), with their tall stems carrying whorls of brightly coloured flowers in late summer and early autumn.

A few herbs in pots are fine if you lack room but it’s possible to really tickle your tastebuds by creating a dedicated herb garden. An easy way is to install a 6ft by 4ft raised bed in a sunny part of the garden and fill it with 50 per cent topsoil and 50 per cent peat-free compost, along with some horticultural grit. Set plants about 12in apart.

Another way of growing herbs is to plant them in a knot garden, an intricate pattern of beds edged by low box hedging or clipped herbs, such as artemisia, lavender and rock hyssop. Use a standard bay tree or lollipop-shaped specimen of rosemary to add height at the centre and set different herbs in the remaining beds.

The key to raising herbs is to harvest regularly to ensure plants remain productive. Discard annuals after they have been touched by frost and cut back stems of herbaceous types in autumn to prevent self-seeding. Keep herb gardens free of weeds and mulch the surface with compost in late winter.