Your Herb Garden. Barbara Segall

NOTE

       You can sow seed into individual fibre pots that break down in the soil. There is little root disturbance for the plants and you can cut out the potting-on stage. The pots are expensive to buy in quantity, but are most useful for sowing large seed

       BUYING AND PLANTING HERBS

      Most garden centres stock a range of popular culinary and decorative herbs. If space is limited and your herb needs are basic, then buying well-established plants will be efficient and cost effective. There are also numerous specialist herb nurseries that sell plants direct from their premises or through mail order.

      If you buy direct, choose healthy looking, well-established plants. Avoid any that are dried out in their pots or are competing with weeds for survival. A thriving potted herb plant should have a good root system – if the plant is pot-bound, you will see matted roots coming out of the drainage holes. The best sign of good health is the compact growth of fresh new shoots.

       When you get your plants home, water them and place in a warm, sheltered site until you are ready to plant them out. Always get plants into the ground as soon as possible after purchase, but avoid planting in hot conditions during the middle of the day.

       Dig a hole in well-prepared, enriched and weed-free soil. The hole should be large enough to accommodate the plant’s roots without cramping them.

       Remove the plant from its pot, set it in the hole and replace some of the soil around the plant.

       Firm the soil in, backfill with the rest of the soil and firm in again.

       Water the plant in thoroughly, and then daily in dry conditions until it is growing strongly.

       PLANTING FOR A ROSY FUTURE

      Plant roses in spring for summer perfume in the herb garden or autumn for the following year’s enjoyment. At these times of year the soil is warm and the plants can establish well before colder weather sets in. Bare-rooted rose plants that have been lifted from the growing fields with no soil around their roots, should be planted soon after purchase or delivery from specialist nurseries. If this is not possible, due to lack of time or frosty weather, you will need to give them interim care.

       Keep them in a frost-free place, with roots moistened in a sand- or peat-filled box or tub.

       If you have no space in a shed or garage, give the roses a temporary home by digging a shallow trench in the ground and covering the roots. This is called ‘heeling in.

       When the time comes to plant the roses, ensure the soil has been well dug and manured.

       Dig a planting hole large enough to allow the roots to be spread out.

       Place the plant in the hole and check that the graft or union mark (where the rose stems are grafted onto the rootstock) is just below soil level.

       Backfill the hole and tread the soil in firmly so the rose does not rock.

       Sprinkle rose fertiliser over the surface and lightly fork it in.

       Water the plant in well.

       THINGS TO DO

       Sow seed

      Indoors: agrimony, aniseed, anise hyssop, artemisia, bergamot, bistort, borage, canary balm, caraway, chives, coreopsis, coriander, cumin, dyer’s greenweed, echinacea, elecampane, evening primrose, fenugreek, feverfew, flax, Good King Henry, heartsease, herb bennet, hyssop, lady’s mantle (self seeds), lemon verbena, marjoram, mullein, mustard, nasturtium, orach, pinks, poppy, pot marigold, salad burnet, scented pelargonium, sea holly, smallage, sorrel, spruce, strawberry, summer savory, sunflower, sweet woodruff, tansy (self seeds), teasel, traveller’s joy, vervain, weld, winter savory, yarrow

       Thin

      Coreopsis sown in autumn

       Plant out

      Box, catmint, chives, costmary, jasmine, juniper, lady’s mantle, liquorice, marsh mallow, pennyroyal, peony, pink, rosemary, sage, sorrel, spearmint, spruce, strawberry, sweet cicely, tarragon, wall germander, welsh onion, winter savory, witch hazel

       Propagate

      Take cuttings: dyer’s chamomile (basal), rosemary and thyme (heel), winter savory (stem tip), witch hazel (semi-ripe)

      Layer: winter savory

      Divide: anise hyssop, artemisia, chicory, chives, costmary, dyer’s chamomile, echinacea, elecampane, herb bennet, hyssop, lady’s mantle, liquorice, rue, salad burnet, soapwort, sorrel, spearmint, strawberry, sweet violet, sweet woodruff, tansy, wall germander, winter savory, yarrow

       Pot up

      New honeysuckle plants from stems layered in autumn

practical project

       GROWING HERBS IN CONTAINERS

      Terracotta or glazed pots, stone urns, wooden tubs and old sinks are attractive and convenient containers for herb growing in limited garden space. They can also be used to make eye-catching features in a large herb garden.

       TYPES OF CONTAINER

      Old stone containers are expensive but indestructible, elegant and, because of their weight, permanent. Reconstituted stone containers look almost as authentic and are considerably cheaper. Moulded concrete urns and pots are cheaper still, but for the first few growing seasons look a little new and raw. Once they have aged and a little moss or algae is growing on them, however, they will blend into the garden. You can hasten the process by painting the new containers with milk or yoghurt to encourage the growth of algae.

      Terracotta containers have a warm, sunny feel to them, but be sure only to buy frostproof pots if you intend to leave them outdoors through