Herb Hanging Basket in June

Herbs are not only beautiful and aromatic garden plants, they are also versatile and rewarding. Quite apart from being useful plants with attractive foliage and flowers, many have culinary and medicinal properties. With their concentration of texture and aroma, herbs suit most areas of the garden, whether spilling over a couple of pots by the kitchen door, plumping out a herbaceous border or tumbling out of a hanging basket. Some come with pretty flowers. There’s heartsease, Viola tricolour, which bears masses of dainty yellow and purple flowers that are both fragrant and edible; spikes of lavender, both aromatic and long-lasting; and chives with pretty pink flowers peeping out amongst thin, onion-flavoured leaves which, chopped finely, make a piquant addition to salads or sauces.