A cottage garden is not complete without fresh herbs. Here are some pretty, tasty, easy to grow herbs that should always be included in your cottage garden.
Herbs make such a difference to any meal, and they are so lovely to look at. They can be included in your flower garden, or planted in pots, window boxes, indoors, outdoors, they really are so versatile.
Let me share with you my list of what I consider to be essential herbs for a cottage kitchen garden.
Perennial Herbs:
Perennial herbs are great – plant once and enjoy for years. Here are some super easy herbs that don’t need any fancy care, just plant amongst your existing garden plants and forget about them – until dinner time of course!
Thyme
Thyme is a small plant, growing only to around 20cm tall. It can be planted toward the front of borders, in small pots and in window boxes. We usually grab a small branch and throw the whole stem into whatever we are cooking. The tiny leaves will fall off as they cook and you can just fish the stem out before you serve.
Rosemary
What is Rosemary if not Thyme’s best friend. These two go together like Kenny & Dolly. If we are in a rush and just want something to throw in our dish, this combination is our go to. Rosemary is a much bigger plant than Thyme, it will grow into quite a big bush if it is happy. Ours is around 1.5m x 1.5m. We often snap a stem off about 40cm long, strip the leaves from the bottom half, and pop the stem into a vase on our window sill. Its amazing how often the stem will sprout roots and you can plant it up and give it away.
Bay
Bay is actually a small tree, so it probably won’t do too well in your window box! But it has gorgeous deep green leaves and a classic, traditional look to it. It looks great in a garden bed, or a large pot. We have 2 Bay shrubs here, and we just yank 2 or 3 leaves off whichever one when we need to.
Sage
Sage is another perennial herb that you can pop into a pot or a flower bed and it will fit just nicely. The soft, silver leaves make a statement on their own, or can be used to offset other deep green plants. This is another one that we tend to pick a branch from, strip the lower leave and pop into a mason jar of water. It will often sprout roots and can be planted out.
Chives & Garlic Chives
Both Chives & Garlic Chives can be grown in pots or as borders in the garden. They look especially fantastic in spring when they flower. Standard Chives have a lovely purple pom-pom on a stick flower, that is also edible. Garlic Chives have dainty looking stems with sprays of tiny white flowers that sit well above the leaves, and often will flower the whole spring. They really are so beautiful, they look amazing planted as an edging plant. The grassy leaves soften the edges of paths and the flowers sway in the slightest breeze. Just lovely, cheerful, and oh-so-Spring!
Annual Herbs
Oregano
An essential ingredient in many Italian dishes, and a pretty, prolific plant to grow. Oregano will grow in a mound up to around 30cm. It’s soft green leaves make a lovely choice for the front of your garden bed, and if planted in a pot or a window box, will spill over and make your neighbours swoon.
Parsley
Parsley is a considered an annual, but often acts like a perennial. It will last a couple of years at least. Even once it needs replanting, it is so easy and maintenance free. Pop a few seedlings around your garden, or in a pot, and your dishes will look (and taste) straight out of a cookbook!
Basil
Basil is an amazingly beautiful plant. It will grow slowly to a bushy 50cm tall over Spring & Summer. Around mid Summer, it will begin flowering. Gorgeous, dainty spears, covered in white flowers that bees absolutely adore. Once your Basil flowers, it will die off. Many gardeners remove the flower spears as they appear, to extend the life of the plant. We always let our Basil flower though, a flowering Basil plant is so so lovely – and we tend to plant way more than we could possibly ever eat anyway! Most importantly, by leaving the flowers, we are feeding our bees, and that is obviously super important to us.
Coriander
This one is a bit controversial. Coriander is the love it or hate it herb – so make sure you are a love it before you put this one in. If you love coriander though, definitely give this one a go. It is the one herb on this list that may give you trouble, depending on your climate. It does not like it too cold, nor too hot. For many areas, Spring and Early Autumn are great growing times.
Mint
Mint is the one herb I will say – stick to a pot. It is so prolific, it will take over any garden you put it in. It needs to be contained – which goes to prove how easy it is to grow! If you can keep it under control, your Summer drinks are about to get a whole lot more refreshing!
So there you have it – the Essential Herbs you need for a Cottage Kitchen Garden
This list is not exhaustive, but these are all very simple and easy to grow. They are great for a new herb garden, or if you really only have room for a few pots or a small garden bed.
Many of these herbs can be dried for later use, and most will set seed you can collect, or strike readily so that you can share with family & friends and grow your collection.
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