Enjoy fresh pickings by growing a few herbs in containers; nothing could be simpler, especially if you site them near the kitchen making it easy to pick as you cook.
If you're just starting out, choose perennial herbs that unlike tender chervil, dill, basil and coriander won't need replacing regularly.
Mediterranean herbs like sage, oregano, tarragon, thyme, bay and rosemary are easy but prefer lots of sun.
For enclosed backyards or semi-shaded balconies, choose real toughies like lemon balm, chives, the mints, sorrel, marjoram or fennel which will thrive in less-than-perfect conditions.
Tarragon, sage and thyme planted together in moss-lined hanging baskets or sunny window boxes work brilliantly. Use scented lavender as a centrepiece.
For trailing colour, nothing beats flashy nasturtium. The orange flowers are edible and can be used to decorate summer salads.
For a contemporary look, fill a terrazzo pot or copper tub with purple sage or prostrate rosemary.
Arrange them singly or in groups with other containers full of glitzy annuals like datura, cleome and love-lies-bleeding. You can simply swap them about if you tire of the view.
Most herbs aren't fussy about soil. John Innes No. 3, a soil-based compost, is ideal and available everywhere. It'll drain well, yet will hold onto water and nutrients better than a peat-based compost - it's better for the environment too.
Don't mollycoddle perennial herbs too much or they'll get leggy and the flavour will diminish. Treat them mean to keep them keen.
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