Companion Plants

Agastache foeniculum is a perennial herb that tastes as good as it looks and are as popular in the border as they are in the herb garden. They are excellent design plants, exhibiting a strong vertical accent for the perennial border. Bees hold an undisputed attraction for the flowers, the colour, shape and copious amounts of nectar are among their favourites. This is perhaps one of the most gratifying plants you can grow.

Anise, Pimpinella anisum is one of the oldest known herbs, famous for its liquorice flavour it has assumed a popular stature for both its culinary uses and in herbal medicine. Use seeds for flavouring cookies, pastries, and confections and the leaves fresh in salads and soups.

Lettuce leaf basil is a popular old Italian variety, a large leafed variety of Sweet Basil and one of the most productive of all basils. With very large, crinkled and highly aromatic leaves, it adds the texture of leaf lettuce while packing a tasty basil flavour to brighten up your summer sandwiches.

Basil ‘Red Rubin’ is a purple version of Italian large leaf basil, a multi-purpose variety that is one of the mainstays of many herb gardens. Distinguished from other purple basils by its sweeter aroma and flavour, the rich, dark purple leaves are more consistent in colour than some of the other purple basils.

Sweet Genovese is often associated with Italian cuisine. Basil is native to the region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. This delicate herb has with an intense, spicy-sweet, aroma and a slight anise-like undertone. It is THE Basil for pesto and a wonderful companion plant.

The herb borage is a well known annual. Not so well known is the equally beautiful form 'alba' which boast pure white, perfectly star-shaped flowers. Each flower is centred by five black stamens which heighten the drama. The flowers are edible, garden visitors can be converted to herbal advocates simply by offering a taste of its white flower.

The herb borage is a well known annual with beautiful blue flowers. Not so well known and not often written about is the equally beautiful form 'alba' which boast pure white, perfectly star-shaped flowers. This mixed pack of seeds gives both blue and white forms.

Borage is one of the most reliable sources of blue flowers, often flowering lavishly for weeks after sowing. The beautiful blue star-shaped flowers are edible and very important for bees, providing pollen and nectar in prodigious amounts.

Cheerful and bright, use Calendula in beds, borders or containers. Calendula is prolific and durable, and like most hardy annuals it is easy to grow, simply sow where it is to flower. It is currently one of the top herbs used for medicinal use. Sprinkle salads and decorate cakes with the edible tangy petals.

Calendula officinalis ‘Ivory Princess’ is a tall show stopper with giant buttery flowers. The petals are a mix of creamy buff-yellow with tips of the serrated, buttercream petals having the tiniest outline of brown, giving a ruffled, lacy effect which beautifully compliments the dark brown eye.

Caraway is an incredibly useful plant. The seeds are used as a culinary spice and for medicinal purposes, the leaves can be eaten in salads and the roots cooked as a root vegetable. With feathery, delicate foliage the plant is lovely in the garden border and is a very useful companion plant in the vegetable garden.

Cutting celery or Leaf celery is the type that is used in Europe. It looks similar to parsley but tastes like regular stalk celery, but with a slightly stronger, herbier taste. It is a darker green, with thin, rounded, flexible stalks and curly, aromatic leaves; it is much easier to grow than its big brother.

Camomile is a most useful plant. It can be used to make beautiful lawns and raised beds, an infusion of the plant is an ideal family remedy, calming and sedative, perfect for restlessness or travel sickness, while for gardeners the tea is effective as a spray to prevent 'damping-off' of seedlings

Chervil 'Massa' has a sophisticated yet gentle, aniseedy warmth. It is a dark green selection with smooth leaves and good plant vigour, it has better cold tolerance than standard Chervil and is used for autumn sowings, it also bolts much later.

‘Fine-leaved’ chives have a delicious, mild onion flavour. They keep their slender shape and do not get course or tough with age. The narrow linear leaves are snipped and used primarily fresh, stirred into uncooked foods, such as soft cheeses or salads.

These easy to grow chives are one of the famous fines herbes of French cuisine. Easily raised from seed, they are perennial bulbs that spread to form neat tufted clumps, ideal for edging beds and paths. They are particularly attractive when in flower and are a favourite of bees and other pollinating insects.

To the organic gardener, Comfrey is invaluable. It’s easy to grow, easy to use and incredibly beneficial to the garden. Leaves can be used as a top dressing or chopped and mixed with leaf mould to make a base for potting compost. You can make your own organic liquid feed or use as a compost activator.