Herb Plants and Spices for the UK Garden

Herb Plants and Herb Gardens

Herbs in the Garden or grown in pots and containers can be a great addition to any home.

Any cook or chef will attest to the value of using culinary herb in cooking, and fresh herbs either grown from seed or seedlings are relatively easy. Increasingly popular although often more difficult is growing spices such as saffron.

Most herbs generally require a sunny position and a well drained humus rich soil. Spices such as saffron require a little more effort.

With literally 100s to choose from, and many different growing requirements, the first step in planning a herb garden is to list the herbs you wish to grow and then establish the individual requirements of light, soil type and moisture.

Plan your herb garden taking into account individual requirements.

You may need to grow plants in a number of positions, or even choose to grow herbs in pots for best results.

Cooking with herbs:

Remember that fresh herbs are generally used fresh, in dished where they are uncooked, tossed through salads etc, or lightly cooked, added at the end as a garnish to an omlette or curry. This preserves the texture and flavour. Dried herbs are used in cooking, they are stronger tasting as the oils are concentrated.

Rosemary is probably the exception to the rule, it can be added to lamb etc at the beginning of the cooking process (just push it underneath the skin with a clove of garlic)

Herbs and Spices have been used for culinary purposes for centuries, to add flavour and color to vegetarian dishes, salads, soups, cakes and pastries and meat dishes. Herbs are also used in the garden as insect repellents. Other uses for herbs and spices include: cosmetics, medicinal, for use as dyes.

Fresh herbs are easy to grow in the home garden, you can even dry your own herbs for use out of season. And yes you can grow your own saffron.

Drying herbs is easy, and this keeps a supply for winter months and also provides herbs for recipes that require dried herbs.

List of Herb Names for detailed information on herbs and spices.