Today, as I tipped the last of my dried chamomile into my teapot, it reminded me that it is a great time to think about herb garden plans for this year.

Soggy Soil

Growing herbs in Scotland can be a little challenging as many do not like overly soggy soil. There are options, however, if your soil is not very free draining. A raised bed, pot, or planter can be a fantastic way to grow herbs unhampered by garden soil type, filled with good quality peat free compost.

If you need or want to grow herbs in your garden beds and need to improve drainage, digging in grit is a fantastic way to do that. There are also herbs you can choose that are not at all fussy. Mint, for example, will grow anywhere, and I really do mean that! It is very vigorous and I have it popping up through my lawn as it has spread from the border. It is one for a pot if you like a more tidy garden style. 

I am lucky that the soil in my garden has good drainage but it is very wet here and the wind is something to behold! The herbs that do best for me are sage, thyme, oregano, and chives. Lavender seems to also cope well with the conditions and its purple flower spikes dance in the wind as though they don’t have care in the world.

A Word of Caution

One herb I would caution against is feverfew! It is easy to be seduced by its pretty flowers and reputation for easing headaches, but I promise you, trying to get rid of this super spreader from every corner of your garden will give you a headache!

Situation

When planning where to grow herbs, particularly if you want use them for cooking or in teas, I highly recommend planting them near your door, or in window boxes, as it can be a pain trailing away to the bottom of the garden especially if the weather is not so good. When the weather is nice, the scent from herbs like lavender or thyme is a joy when you open a window or brush past them leaving the house.

Potager Style

If you are growing in a small space, or do not want to dedicate a whole area to herbs, you can still incorporate them into your garden. There are quite a few herbs that are so beautiful they do not look at all out of place in a mixed border. 

Chamomile and Thyme

Chamomile with gorgeous daisy like flowers, and creeping thyme with tiny lilac blooms are fantastic for edging paths and to grow between stepping stones. Both are very fragrant, do not mind being trod on occasionally, and are much loved by bees.

Fennel

Fennel has the most stunning foliage, dainty yellow flowers, and smells delicious. 

Chives

Chives are members of the allium family and have the same starburst style flowers in a soft lilac. 

Borage

Borage is always a must have for me with its stunning star-shaped flowers which are fantastic in a summer cocktail or salad. Borage is a winner for bees as its flowers refill with pollen every two minutes and it flowers its socks off from June to September. Although it is an annual, it self seeds very well and I have not sown new plants for years, making it very cost effective. 

Purple Sage

I grow a lot of purple sage, not just for use in cooking but as a foliage plant for informal jam jar posies. It is quite hardy and provides some gorgeous winter colour in the borders. 

Sweet Woodruff

Sweet woodruff is fantastically shade tolerant, I grow it under some trees at the back of my garden and it brings a lovely splash of green with delicate white flowers.

Comfrey

Another herb that really earns its place is comfrey, with its sculptural leaves and small purple flowers. It is a beauty but has the extra benefit that the leaves make a great addition to compost heaps, and it can also be steeped in water to make a rich in potassium plant feed – it really does work hard enough to be worth a spot in any garden.

Time for a Tidy Up

If you already have herbs in the garden, now is the time to trim back plants such as lavender – although if it is in its first year, it is best to leave it to build up a good root system.

It is also a good time to remove any spent flowers and dead growth from thyme and oregano if you have not already done so at the end of summer.

Take a wander round the garden and take stock of what has weathered the Scottish winter weather. If you have more tender herbs like parsley and lemon verbena they are unlikely to come back this season as they really do need protection over winter, even in an unheated greenhouse they may not survive. If you plan to grow them, be prepared to bring them into the house over winter or to resow fresh each year.

I hope I can tempt you into the wonderful world of these delicious, useful, and versatile herbs that pollinators love just as much as I do!

Karen Stewart-Russell lives in the heart of rural Fife. Passionate about the mental health benefits of gardening, she loves to share the joy of growing though her garden seeds, plants, and books library.

Karen has a relaxed, wildlife friendly garden full of a variety of flowers and is a huge fan of roses. Her latest project is an apothecary garden as her enthusiasm for utilising herbs and useful flowers grows.

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