Gardening and growing your own plants can seem intimidating, but its also extremely rewarding.
If you love to cook and want to try cooking from your own crops, indoor plants are a great way to start.
Herbs are a nice thing to begin with and can be added to lots of dishes to enhance flavour, plus they are also relatively easy to grow. Here are 10 herbs you can grow inside:
1. Basil
Basil can be easily started from seeds and it loves nice warm, sunny spots. Used in salads, pasta and pizzas, it is greatly useful to enhance your dishes. It is also a key ingredient in pesto, so a great plant to grow if you want to make your own pesto sauce.
2. Bay
Bay is grown often as a shrub but can still be grown indoors in a container or planter. It favours good air circulation so avoid crowding and quick-draining soil. Dried bay leaves have a stronger flavour and are often added in tray roasts as whole leaves, before being removed when the dish is served. You can use them fresh too, so experiment with your cooking and flavours.
3. Chervil
Also known as French Parsley, Chervil grows well in low-light and likes cooler temperatures. It is used in Béarnaise and is one of the four herbs in the fines herbes blend. A great versatile herb to experiment with.
4. Chives
Often found in herb starter kits, chives are incredibly popular and one of the easiest to grow. Chives love light and add a lovely mild onion flavour to egg and potato dishes and can often be found in soups and salads. Trimming the tops of them is quick and easy and they can be trimmed down to around two inches and will still grow back.
5. Mint
Mint is a lovely fragrant plant, and as there are several varieties, you can grow more than one to explore the different flavours this versatile plant has to offer. Used in all kinds of drinks and dishes, from sweet to savoury, mint makes a perfect addition to any collection. It grows relatively fast, so will appreciate its own container with moderate to full sunlight being preferred.
6. Oregano
Oregano is a member of the mint family and loves the sunshine, it will need watering once the surface of the soil is dry and can grow pretty quick too with enough sun. For a more potent flavour, oregano can be dried after washing, either in a dry place or in the oven if you are in a hurry. It’s a lovely addition to an Italian, Middle Eastern or Mexican dishes.
7. Parsley
Often seen as a garnish, parsley is a healthy addition to every dish and is best grown in a deep pot with access to lots of sunshine. It is full of health benefits and makes a lovely bright garnish or flavoursome addition mixed into your dishes.
8. Rosemary
Another lovely fragrant herb, the needle-like leaves can be pulled from their stems or simply add in the whole sprig to your roast. Dried rosemary can be hung around the home as a natural air freshener, as well as adding plenty of flavour to your food.
9. Sage
Sage is also a lovely dried plant for a hanging, natural air freshener, but functions wonderfully as an additional flavour to all of your favourite dishes too.
10. Thyme
Thyme appreciates at least two full hours of sun to flourish and needs watering when the surface soil is dry. Wilting means you aren’t watering it enough, so be sure to keep an eye on it. It comes in a few varieties and has a versatile flavour, even making its way into cocktails.
There are, of course, so many more lovely herbs that can be added to your dishes, and even grown at home, but hopefully, these 10 will give you somewhere to start. Just like cooking, growing plants is fun and experimental, as well as a little bit of science.
Can anyone add more herbs to our collection?💜
For more gardening tips visit our gardening page here
