Spring into action with herbs

With spring finally on its way, now is the perfect time to transform you garden, patio or windowsill into the perfect space to grow your own fruit and vegetables.

A great place to start is with herbs; they’re are an easy-to-grow favourite, will save you money by being available outside your door and the taste of freshly picked herbs will add that special touch to all your cooking.

Andrew Fraser, plant manager at Dobbies Garden World Livingston, was happy to share some of his top tips for success.

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“The simplest and cheapest way to grow herbs is in containers – either in small pots on a windowsill, hanging baskets outside your back door, or in herb planters or larger containers in a mini garden,” he said.

“Choose containers which are wide and deep enough to accommodate the plants you want to grow – mint and basil are easy ones to start with.

“A selection of different-sized pots look great grouped together.

“Arrange your plants in the containers, making sure lower growing plants are placed around the edges.

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“Once you’ve planted up, put the pots in a sunny spot, near the kitchen door or an outdoor kitchen area so you always have them close to hand.

“Herbs do like to be watered, so water regularly, especially during the summer, and add a liquid feed to your watering can once a week.”

For more advice, head to Dobbies Garden Centres in Livingston or Edinburgh which have launched a new series of in-store gardening talks designed to offer customers simple and inspiring garden advice.

Dobbies’ Garden Grow-How talks will take place every Saturday and Sunday between 11am and 2pm and will cover a wide range of gardening topics – the first of which is “how to grow a herb garden”, running until April 1.

For further information visit www.dobbies.com.

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