Red veined Sorrel
9cm Pot.
Rumex sanguineus.
Hardy perennial with dark red veins running through the leaves. It has a lemony flavour, which when young make a great addition to salads and the more mature leaves can be used as you would use spinach, in cooking sauces, curries, soups etc.
Plant into a moist well drained soil with plenty of organic matter in a sunny or slightly shaded area in your garden, remove the flowering stems to keep up a good production of leaves.
Height up to 45cm
Spread 45cm
Corsican Mint
9cm pot.
Mentha requienii
Very small creeping variety up to 5cm tall with tiny leaves and purple flowers only 2mm across. It creates a nice thick carpet like ground cover and is ideal for planting in between gaps in paving.
Bronze Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare 'Purpureum'.
7cm pot.
The dark feathery fronds have a delicious aniseed taste and make a great addition to salads. Seeds can be used to make a tea to aid digestion or added to bread or cake mixes. Fennel is a tall plant reaching around 150cm, with yellow umbellifer flowers which are attractive to beneficial insects. Perennial.
Golden Creeping Jenny
9cm Pot.
Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea'
Hardy perennial. H-5cm. Great for ground cover. This variety with bright yellow flowers will flower throughout the summer months. Nice beside a pond or path edge. Likes damp soil with a little shade. Do not eat.
Curly Spearmint
9cm pot.
Mentha spicata crispa.
Use this curly leaved mint in all the usual ways, add to peas and tatties, slice into other cooked dishes or add fresh to grain based salads. For drinks use to make a refreshing herbal tea to aid digestion or try your hand at making a mint wine.
Curly spearmint is a hardy herbaceous perennial growing up to 60cm tall. The mauve flower spikes are attractive to pollinating insects. We recommend growing mints in large pots as they can quickly take over your garden, divide annually.
Harebell / Scottish Bluebell
Campanula rotundifolia
Hardy perennial
7cm pot
Description - The dainty violet-blue bellflowers can be found dancing on a breeze in wildflower meadows, beside hedgerows, on cliffs and up hillsides. The flowers grow in clusters at the top of slender stalks to around 40cm in height.
Growing conditions - Grows best in soil that is on the drier side, it will grow in most soils as long as the conditions are not too damp. It will grow in full sun or partial shade and doesn't mind a wind exposed site.
Uses - Pollinator friendly flowers are perfect for bees to climb inside.
Pot Marjoram
Origanum onites
Hardy perennial
Uses - Use to flavour soups, stews, sauces and pizza.
Growing - Best grown in full sun, but won't mind a small amount of shade. Marjoram prefers soil to be slightly alkaline, so you may wish to add some lime. It does not like waterlogged soil.
Height - Approximately 60cm. Spread - 60cm.
Flower colour - White/pink.
Good for pollinators - Yes, bees, butterflies and lots of other pollinating insects all love marjoram.
French Tarragon
1 Litre Pot
Artemisia dracunculus
Half hardy perennial
Uses - French Tarragon is used mainly in chicken, fish and vegetable dishes, also use to flavour vinegars and creamy sauces. Don't forget to freeze or dry some extra to use throughout the winter months.
Growing conditions - Grow in a pot with a gritty compost that drains very well. It will need to be brought indoors in winter. French tarragon does not like to sit in wet soil especially in cold conditions. I grow mine in the ground in the polytunnel and it does overwinter as long as it is not watered too much. It will die back completely in winter and regrow in spring. Position in a sunny, wind sheltered spot and cut back regularly to prevent flowering.
Height - 60-90cm. Spread - 60cm.
Flower colour - Green/yellow but very small and insignificant.
Costmary
Tanacetum balsamita
Hardy herbaceous perennial
Description and uses - Costmary is also known as alecost was once used to flavour ale. It's an aromatic herb of the aster family (Asteraceae). The leaves have a minty/lemony/balsam taste and can be eaten fresh in a salad. Once a commonly used medicinal herb it was used to reduce catarrh, ease stings and made into a tea to aid digestion.
Mat forming with tall yellow button like flowers.
Height 150cm.
Spread 90cm.
Mugwort
1 Litre pot
Artemisia vulgaris
Hardy herbaceous perennial
Uses - Use to make tinctures and teas. Can also be used when fermenting beer. Dried leaves can be made into a smudge stick or a few put into a mesh bag under your pillow it's said to induce vivid dreams.
Growing conditions - Plant in full sun or partial shade. Does not require very fertile soil and will grow happily in drier soils, but keep well watered until established.
Height approximately 1-2m. Spread - 1m +
Flower colour - Flowers are green/yellow/brown and insignificant. Remove flowering stalks before it goes to seed if you don't want it to spread itself around.
Good for pollinators - Yes
Everlasting Onion
6 x bareroot bulbs
Allium cepa perutile
Hardy perennial
Uses - Use all year round instead of spring onions. The small bulbs can also be eaten.
About - This is a cut and come again allium that stays green and continues to grow all year, albeit slower in the colder months. The bulbs multiply quickly so can be divided to create more plants. It doesn't produce flowers, so all it's energy is used to grow more leaves.
Growing conditions - Grow in full sun or partial shade. Mulch annually with well rotted manure or compost. Water during dry spells until established. If the tips of the leaves begin to dry out it most likely needs to be watered or eaten!
Height - 30-40cm.
Spread - 30-60cm.
Beneficial to wildlife - No