What herbs, etc. to plant

Below are mini guides as to what other edible or useful plants you could grow in your windowbox with instructions on how to grow them and recommended cultivars that are known for their ease of growing, good flavour, size or hardiness.

What herbs & edible flowers to plant

Vegetables

Fruit

B

S

Basil

An aromatic, tender annual often used in Italian cooking and a tasty addition to salads.
Varieties available in a range of leaf shapes and aromas. Choose a low-growing kind if possible. Needs a sunny, sheltered spot in free-draining soil.
Sow seed: Thinly in pots, covering with 1/2cm of compost in early to mid-spring. Plant out from late April
Plant: pot grown plants can be planted out when all danger of frosts has passed.
Varieties: Cinnamon, Purple Ruffles

Borage

Borage is worth growing for it’s beautiful blue, edible flowers which make a colourful addition to salads and a garnish to ice cream. Plants in the garden will grow up to 90cm, so some pruning will needed to keep it to size. It may also require staking as it grows. Plant in deep, fertile, moisture-retentive compost for best results.
Sow seed: 3cm deep in early spring to mid summer

basil
borage
Baytree

Bay

Given the chance Bay will grow into a tree, but by judicious pruning it could be used for a few years at least in a windowbox, although it’s rambling roots may become a problem. Being a Mediterranean shrub, it needs a sheltered spot in free-draining soil.
Plant: Small pot-grown saplings from early spring to early summer