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Choosing herbs

There are many combinations of herbs that work in containers and varieites that you can grow for taste as well as for their ornamental properties. Many can be easily grown from seed, but to save time, ready-grown herb plants are easily available from garden centres or specialist suppliers.

How to plant

• Decide on how many plants you want to grow and then choose a container that's wide and deep enough to accommodate them comfortably. Depending on the varieties, you should be able to squeeze six plants into a 30cm (12in) container.
• If you've bought large pots from your supermarket, split the clumps to make more plants and space them out in the pot.
• Cover the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot with some broken pot shards and then add a layer of compost.
• Arrange your plants in the container, making sure lower growing plants are placed around the edges.
• Fill in the gaps with compost and firm around plants, leaving a 2cm (1in) gap between the top of the compost and the rim of the bowl.
• Water well.
• After planting, put the pot in a sunny spot, near the kitchen door or an outdoor kitchen area so you always have them close to hand.

Aftercare

• Place the pot in full sun and water regularly, especially during the summer. A handful of water-retaining gel can help.
• Add a liquid feed to your watering can once a week to give plants a boost during the growing season.
• To ensure you have lots of new leaves, pick regularly from the tips of plants. This stimulates bushy new growth.
• By autumn, annual herbs such as basil and coriander will run out of steam and can be discarded, but it's a good time to plant new woody herbs such as rosemary.
• Perennial herbs such as mint, thyme, oregano or chives will die back, but will regrow in the spring. Protect the pots during a hard frost.
• In early spring, when the plants are still dormant, congested perennial herbs can be divided and replanted. Dig up and pull the old plant apart into sections. Replant these and keep watering them until established.

Five herbs to try

• Thyme 'Silver Poesie' - tastes as good as ordinary thyme but has pretty silver bordered leaves
• Curry plant - silver grey leaves and yellow flowers, smells strongly of curry
• Curled leaf parsley - If you want a stronger flavour, try the flat leaved variety
• Mint - it's best in pots so it doesn't overrun your whole garden
• Basil - try growing together with tomatoes for a summer dish in a pot