How to Grow Herbs in the UK

I have grown herbs in some form or another for the whole twenty-plus years I have been gardening in Oxfordshire, and they are still the crops I rate most highly for new gardeners. They are quick to reward you, they are forgiving when you forget about them for a week, and most of them produce useful food from a patch of soil no bigger than a doormat. There is also a particular satisfaction in walking outside to grab a handful of fresh basil or coriander while dinner is on the hob.

This guide covers what genuinely works for growing herbs in the UK climate. Which ones to start with, where to plant them, how to get them through a wet British spring and a dry July, and the common mistakes that catch people out. None of it is complicated, and most of it is the sort of advice I wish someone had told me back in the early years when I was killing chervil and overwatering rosemary on a regular basis.

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Why Herbs Are the Best Place to Start in a UK Garden

If you are completely new to growing food, herbs are honestly the easiest entry point you can pick. They thrive in containers, most of them shrug off the cool damp British weather, and they give you something useful from very little space. I have seen people start with three pots of herbs on a kitchen windowsill and have a full garden plot within two years. Gardening for beginners in the UK covers the wider first-year approach, but if you are wondering what to grow first, herbs are genuinely the answer.

The other thing herbs have going for them is that the UK climate suits more of them than people realise. We have a long, mild growing season for Mediterranean herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano and sage. We have damp soil and cool summers that suit mint, chives, parsley and lovage perfectly. And we have a frost-free summer window in most of the country that is long enough for basil and coriander to produce well too. There genuinely are not many herbs that absolutely refuse to grow here.

The Best Herbs to Grow in the UK

After two decades of trial and error, here is my honest sorting of which herbs are worth the bother and which take more effort than they deserve. Start with the easy ones, get a couple of seasons under your belt, then branch out into the trickier ones once you know what you are doing.

The easy herbs every UK garden should have

Mint. Genuinely impossible to kill once it gets going. So vigorous that I always grow it in a pot, otherwise it will take over a whole bed within two years. Brilliant in tea, in cooking, and even as a slug deterrent near other plants.

Chives. Cold-hardy, perennial, and one of the first signs of life every spring. Produces pretty purple flowers that bees love. Cut it back hard and it grows back again.

Thyme. Genuinely thrives on neglect, which is rare for a herb. Prefers poor, well-drained soil and sunshine. Once established, looks after itself for years.

Rosemary. Slow to start but worth the wait. A mature rosemary bush is an extraordinarily useful thing to have. Wants sun and good drainage. Hates sitting in wet soil over winter, which is the main thing that kills it in the UK.

Sage. Hardy, perennial, lovely silver leaves. Wants the same conditions as rosemary and thyme. Cut it back each spring and it stays compact and productive for years.

Parsley. Biennial, so it usually goes to seed in its second year, but the leaves you get in year one are well worth it. Flat-leaved varieties have a better flavour than the curly ones, in my opinion.

The slightly trickier ones still worth growing

Basil. The classic UK herb that catches everyone out. Needs warmth that British summers do not always deliver. Best grown indoors on a windowsill or in a sheltered south-facing pot from late May onwards. I have written a full guide on this: how to grow basil from seed in the UK, and when to plant basil in the UK covers the timing properly.

Coriander. Brilliant when it works, frustrating when it bolts straight to seed in the heat. The trick is to sow it directly where it will grow (it hates being transplanted) and sow little and often through the season for a continuous supply.

Oregano. Easier than basil but a bit slower to establish. Once it does, it is as undemanding as thyme.

Dill and fennel. Both like sun and good drainage, both reseed themselves freely once happy. Dill is annual, fennel is perennial in the UK.

Lavender, the most popular herb in UK gardens

Lavender is technically a herb, and it is by far the most-searched and most-grown herb in UK gardens. It loves our climate when planted in the right spot. It needs full sun, very free-draining soil, and almost no water once established. The English lavenders (Lavandula angustifolia) are the most reliably hardy across the UK, while the French and Spanish varieties need more protection in colder gardens.

The single biggest mistake I see with lavender is planting it in heavy or damp soil. It hates wet feet more than almost any other plant. If your soil is heavy clay, either improve it heavily with grit and sand or grow lavender in a pot instead. How to tell if your garden soil is clay, loam or sand will help you work out what you are dealing with.

Where to Plant Herbs in a UK Garden

Sunny spots for Mediterranean herbs

Rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, lavender and bay all come from hot, dry places. They want full sun, six or more hours a day, and soil that drains freely. A south-facing border or a sunny patio with pots is ideal. They will tolerate poor soil far better than they will tolerate wet feet, which is why so many UK lavenders die over winter rather than from cold itself.

Shadier corners for the soft-leaved herbs

This is the bit most herb guides skip. Plenty of useful herbs actually prefer part shade and moist soil. Mint, chives, parsley, chervil, lovage, sorrel and lemon balm will all do well in a shadier corner of the garden where Mediterranean herbs would sulk. If you have got a patch under a wall or near a fence that does not get full sun, that is not a problem for herbs, it is an opportunity. Grow the soft-leaved ones there.

Near the kitchen door wherever possible

This sounds obvious but it makes a real difference. If you have to walk to the far end of the garden in the rain to grab a handful of parsley, you will not bother. Put your most-used herbs close to the back door. I have my main pots of mint, chives, parsley and basil within ten feet of the kitchen, and I use them ten times more often than the ones tucked away in the main beds.

Growing Herbs in Pots: Often the Best Way

Herbs and pots are made for each other, and for a lot of UK gardens containers are genuinely the easiest way to grow them. You can put them right by the kitchen door, you can move them under cover when it turns cold, and you can give different herbs the different growing conditions they want without compromising. Growing vegetables in pots in the UK covers the wider container basics, and most of it applies to herbs too.

What size pot

Smaller herbs like chives, parsley and basil are happy in a 20 to 25cm pot. Mint, rosemary, sage and oregano want something bigger, ideally 30cm or more. Lavender, bay and any herb you want to keep for years needs a proper 35 to 40cm pot to develop a decent root system.

The single biggest mistake people make with herbs in pots is starting too small. A tiny pot dries out in hours on a hot day, runs out of nutrients fast, and limits root growth. Go bigger than you think you need every time.

What compost

For Mediterranean herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, lavender) use a free-draining mix. A good peat-free multipurpose compost with about a third of grit or perlite mixed in works perfectly. For soft-leaved herbs like mint, parsley and chives, a standard peat-free vegetable compost is fine. Peat-free compost in the UK explains how to choose, and the best compost for vegetables covers which brands actually perform.

When to Plant Herbs in the UK

The timing depends on which herb and how you are starting it.

• Late winter (Feb to March): Sow hardy herbs like parsley, chives and coriander indoors, ready to plant out later.
• Early spring (March to April): Plant out hardy perennials like rosemary, thyme, sage, mint and chives. Sow more hardy herbs direct outdoors.
• Late spring (May): Once the frost risk has passed, sow or plant tender herbs like basil. Use the UK Last Frost Date Checker to confirm your local timing.
• Early summer (June): Plant out basil and continue with successional sowings of coriander, dill and parsley. What to plant in June in the UK covers this in detail.
• Late summer to autumn: Take cuttings of perennial herbs to overwinter and plant out next year.

For the full month-by-month picture across the whole gardening year, the UK Vegetable Planting Calendar covers timing for everything in one place.

Sowing Herbs from Seed

Most herbs are dead easy from seed. Basil, coriander, parsley, chives, dill, and oregano are all reliable. The slower ones to germinate from seed are rosemary and lavender, which can take weeks and often have low success rates. For those two, I genuinely recommend buying small plants instead. It is not worth the months of frustration of trying to raise them from seed.

For everything else, the basics are simple. Sow into a tray or pot of seed compost, cover lightly, water from below to avoid washing the seeds about, and keep on a warm windowsill until they germinate. How to grow vegetables from seed in the UK covers the wider technique and applies just as well to herbs.

Watering and Feeding Herbs

This is where people most often go wrong, particularly with the Mediterranean herbs. The instinct is to water everything regularly, but rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage and lavender hate wet soil. They have evolved to thrive on dry, poor ground and they rot quickly if kept too damp. Water them when the soil is genuinely dry, then leave them alone until it is dry again.

The soft-leaved herbs (mint, parsley, basil, coriander, chives) need more consistent moisture, especially in pots. Check the compost with a finger, water if the top inch is dry. How often to water plants in the UK covers the wider principles, and during a hot spell protecting garden plants during heatwaves is worth a read.

Feeding is less critical for herbs than for vegetables. Most herbs actually develop stronger flavour in poorer soil. Heavy feeding pushes out lots of soft, weak growth that tastes less of the herb itself. A light liquid feed every few weeks for the hungry ones (basil, parsley, chives) is plenty. The Mediterranean ones need no feeding at all in most UK gardens. Feeding vegetables properly in the UK covers the principles, and they apply doubly here.

Harvesting Herbs for the Best Flavour

The single best thing you can do for the flavour of your herbs is harvest them often. Cutting back regularly encourages bushier growth, better leaves, and stops the plant putting all its energy into flowering and going to seed. Most herbs will produce more if you cut them more.

Harvest in the morning if possible, after the dew has dried but before the sun is hot. The essential oils that give herbs their flavour are at their strongest then. Cut just above a leaf node so the plant can branch from that point. Never strip a herb completely. Take a third or so at most, and the plant will keep producing for months.

Perennial Herbs vs Annual Herbs

This is worth understanding because it changes how you plan a herb patch.

Perennial herbs come back year after year. Rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, mint, chives, lavender, bay, fennel and lemon balm are all perennial in the UK. Plant them once, look after them, and they will reward you for years. These are the backbone of a herb garden.

Annual herbs grow, flower, seed and die within a single year. Basil, coriander, dill, summer savory and chervil are annuals. They need resowing each year, but they are usually quick and easy to grow.

Biennials sit between the two. Parsley is the main one. It grows leaves in year one, then flowers and dies in year two. Most people treat parsley as an annual and resow it each year.

Getting Herbs Through Winter

Most UK winters are mild enough that hardy perennial herbs cope outdoors with no help. Thyme, sage, chives, mint, lavender and rosemary all survive a normal UK winter in the ground without protection.

The risks come with wet soil rather than cold itself. Rosemary, lavender and sage are far more likely to die from sitting in waterlogged ground over winter than from frost. Improve the drainage where you grow them, or grow them in pots where you can control the soil mix entirely. How to improve garden soil in the UK covers the long-term work.

Bay is borderline hardy. In a sheltered position in southern England it usually copes. Further north, or in an exposed spot, bring it under cover or wrap the pot in fleece on the coldest nights. Frost damage on plants in the UK covers the wider picture.

The Mistakes That Catch Most People Out

After twenty years and plenty of dead herbs, here are the ones I see most often.

• Overwatering Mediterranean herbs. Rosemary, thyme, lavender, sage and oregano hate damp soil. Water less, not more.
• Planting basil out too early. Basil needs warm nights. Wait until late May or early June minimum.
• Pots that are too small. Herbs in tiny pots dry out, run out of food, and underperform. Go bigger.
• Not harvesting enough. Cut your herbs often. They produce more when picked regularly and go to seed if left alone.
• Planting mint loose in a bed. Mint will colonise every bit of soil it can reach. Always grow it in a pot.
• Buying supermarket “living” herbs and expecting them to last. Those pots contain dozens of seedlings crammed together. They are designed to be eaten within a week or two, not grown on. Either eat them quickly or split them out into individual pots straight away.

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Common Questions About Growing Herbs in the UK

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A Sensible Place to Start

If you are completely new to growing herbs, pick three or four to start with and leave the rest for next year. My honest recommendation: mint in a pot, chives, thyme, and a small parsley. Add basil in summer once the weather warms up. Those five between them will give you a useful supply of fresh herbs for cooking for most of the year, take up very little space, and teach you how herbs behave before you commit to anything more ambitious.

Once you have a season of those under your belt, branch out into rosemary, sage, oregano and dill. After two years you will have a proper herb collection going. The trick is to start small, get a few easy wins, and build from there rather than buying twenty different seed packets and being overwhelmed by April.

Herbs were the first crops I ever grew well, twenty-odd years ago, and they are still the ones I rely on most. If you want the broader vegetable approach as well, growing vegetables successfully in the UK ties it all together, and easy vegetables to grow in the UK covers the most beginner-friendly crops alongside your new herb patch.