Sweet basil, Greek basil and thyme

copyright Coastal Gardening Society 2011

copyright Coastal Gardening Society 2011

When purchased in garden centres or nurseries, decent sized herbs aren't cheap. With a small garden, I don't have room for a greenhouse so seeds are sown in propagators in the kitchen and herbs aren't prioritised.

As far as I'm aware, basil is only an annual when grown in UK gardens unless overwintered in the house or a heated greenhouse as it doesn't seem to like temperatures below 10C. My solution, is to buy herbs in supermarkets and re-pot them. I regularly find potted herbs for 99p in Lidl and as low as 50p on special offer in ASDA. Sainsburys has had an offer on potted Greek basil, 2 for £2. Some of the herbs are grown in plastic sleeves and become rather leggy when this is removed. I like the cascading Greek basil. Next year I'm thinking of getting troughs and filling them with Greek basil and white pelargoniums.

Zinc pots and troughs Sainsburys http://www.sainsburys.co.uk