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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Hardy herbs for an English garden?

71 replies

AnotherpostAnotherQuestion · 14/06/2023 23:01

So far I've planted a load of rosemary! Can someone give me some other suggestions for hardy herbs (eg not basil which I can't seem to grow!) for my beginners herb garden. Got some big raised beds in our new garden. Thank you in advance!

OP posts:
Itisyourturntowashthebath · 14/06/2023 23:45

Thai coriander
Needs to be a pot and come in for the winter. Citrussy coriander without the soapy taste.

longtompot · 14/06/2023 23:50

My mum gave my some English mace, not the stuff on the outside of a nutmeg. It spreads really nicely & smells nice
English Mace

Manor Farm Herbs: English Mace

Manor Farm Herbs: English Mace

http://www.manorfarmherbs.co.uk/herbinfo/english_mace

PickAChew · 14/06/2023 23:54

Welll basil isn't hardy at all so no surprise it doesn't last.

Rosemary won't survive a hard winter. Nrve have any lick with sage, either. Had no problem with thyme until the last 2 winters.

Have some 5 year old chives, though.

Itisyourturntowashthebath · 15/06/2023 00:01

Down south I find that sage and rosemary bushes tend to last about a decade an then just keel over. Thyme is ok but does not like to get too wet in winter so needs care with positioning.

Most other herbs are perennial and die back over winter.

Basil is a summer only lightweight.

AdoraBell · 15/06/2023 00:05

I’ve got thyme, oregano, chives and parsley. Mint is in a pot. I’ve planted sage this year, fingers crossed it survives. Oh, and bay trees in pots.

redspottedmug · 15/06/2023 06:57

Try the supermarket pot trick with Basil, as the pot is actually full of seedlings. Split them up into 5-6 clumps then re-plant in a much bigger pot. Keep in a sunny spot. Mine's outside but will come into the conservatory over winter.

I've tried it with Parsley too, and it seems to be working.

99p vs £3.50 for a plant from the garden centre.

Pottedpalm · 15/06/2023 07:51

Was going to say basil in a pot but @redspottedmug got there first.
you could try some seeds in a pot on your windowsill

Pottedpalm · 15/06/2023 07:52

Lemon balm is pretty much a weed in my garden; I don’t mind it as the smell is so gorgeous when I pull it out

Geneticsbunny · 15/06/2023 07:52

Is the bed sunny or shady?

Willmafrockfit · 15/06/2023 07:55

lavender
for lavender shortbread

we have a chervil, it is huge and hardy

Nigelladamascena · 15/06/2023 08:09

I have apple mint, garden mint, pineapple mint, thyme, parsley, sweet rocket, lemon balm, rosemary and bronze fennel. I use them for foliage in flower arrangements and for cooking.

ThreeRingCircus · 15/06/2023 09:14

redspottedmug · 15/06/2023 06:57

Try the supermarket pot trick with Basil, as the pot is actually full of seedlings. Split them up into 5-6 clumps then re-plant in a much bigger pot. Keep in a sunny spot. Mine's outside but will come into the conservatory over winter.

I've tried it with Parsley too, and it seems to be working.

99p vs £3.50 for a plant from the garden centre.

I agree with this. I've done it successfully with thyme, rosemary, oregano, parsley and mint from the supermarket. Just split up one of the living herb pots and grow them on a bit. I put them in the greenhouse to grow on so I didn't shock them too much moving straight from supermarket to outside but with the weather as it is currently they'd probably be fine.

BIWI · 15/06/2023 09:24

The other trick with basil pots from the supermarket - my cleaner told me this - is to keep it in a lot of water. I always thought, being a Mediterannean-type herb, it would be better dry, but that's not the case. I can keep a pot growing for months like this.

ChokeToDeathOnThreePoundsOfMeat · 15/06/2023 09:43

Winter savory goes very well in bean or sausage stews & other dishes, & (from what I remember) it can be harvested through winter as long as you don’t overdo it, especially when it’s still young & small. I lost mine in a house move a few years ago & have only just managed to get hold of another, it’s not as common as a lot of other herbs.

lemon balm is lovely, mostly for the smell when it rains TBH, although it’s also lovely as a herbal tea if that’s your thing.

tarragon - get French not Russian (French is divine fresh, Russian has very little flavour). You can’t germinate French, it has to be purchased as a pot. It will appear to die back over winter but it’s just dormant, give it a big pot so it doesn’t die of cold.

oregano - again, lovely fresh. I personally like the bright golden green varieties, they look so cheerful. Most varieties are very fertile, if you let it flower, you’ll probably find next year you’ll have a garden full of oregano seedlings… wild rocket is similarly rampant.

ChokeToDeathOnThreePoundsOfMeat · 15/06/2023 09:47

If you want to get lavender for the kitchen, make sure it’s culinary lavender. Other types can taste bitter or soapy.

MereDintofPandiculation · 15/06/2023 09:55

Basil is a tropical plant, whereas most herbs are Mediterranean or UK natives. It needs heat and moisture, so on a windowsill not outside, and it won’t survive the winter.

I grow marjoram (oregano), basil (indoors), mint, Korean mint (actually an Agastache), Quilquiña, winter savory, bay, thyme, chives, sweet cicely, parsley, rosemary.

bay, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, parsley are available all winter. Mint, sweet cicely and chives regrow from roots/bulbs each spring, the rest need to be re-sown every year.

viques · 15/06/2023 10:24

MrsFriskers · 14/06/2023 23:40

Fennel gives a bit of airy height above the lower level herbs, also verbena.

I agree, bronze fennel is particularly lovely and seeds itself about too.

viques · 15/06/2023 10:26

TheHandmaiden · 14/06/2023 23:42

Tarragon - a must for chicken

Good with fish too.

SBAM · 15/06/2023 13:02

I like winter savory, and chives are pretty indestructible and the bees love them.
I also have a bay tree, mint, thyme, sage, and something called cola plant which smells just like cola.
Urban herbs is great for herbs, I’ve bought from them several times.

Herb Plants For Sale | Order Online | Urban Herbs UK

Mail order herb plants. Browse our unique herb plant collections and discover new flavours to fill your garden.

https://urban-herbs.co.uk/

Konfetka · 15/06/2023 13:16

Dill, one of the great joys of summer. A garnish for any- and everything. Combined with cucumber, greek yoghurt, garlic and olive oil for tzatziki. Sow seeds in situ.

MereDintofPandiculation · 15/06/2023 15:38

BIWI · 15/06/2023 09:24

The other trick with basil pots from the supermarket - my cleaner told me this - is to keep it in a lot of water. I always thought, being a Mediterannean-type herb, it would be better dry, but that's not the case. I can keep a pot growing for months like this.

But it’s not Mediterranean, it’s tropical. The absence of any water loss protection (hairy leaves, grey leaves, tiny leaves,slightly fleshy leaves) give a clue.

SatelliteStomper · 15/06/2023 16:44

Mint, tarragon, thyme, oregano. Chives are useful and gorgeous when they flower as well.

KirstenBlest · 15/06/2023 16:46

@JeandeServiette I use it instead of curry leaves.

It's best at he back of a flower bed.

AnotherpostAnotherQuestion · 15/06/2023 18:11

This is fantastic...thank you all! I find planning for this type of thing very overwhelming and I will use all of your recommendations!

Does anyone grow elderberry or elderflower?

I want a garden that's beautiful but also bountiful in terms of cooking but also medicinal creations (I tell myself I'll make elderberry cough syrup and the like when I have time!)

Thanks again all :)

OP posts:
Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 15/06/2023 18:13

JeandeServiette · 14/06/2023 23:03

(You can sink the pot into a bed).

Well, you can. But the runners will come out of the bottom, and still strange everything else to death.