Ten Perennial Herbs That Return Each Spring

Why Perennial Herbs Earn Their Bed Space

An allotment runs on a tight economy of space. Every square metre has to pay its way, and seed packets, compost and watering cans all cost something. Perennial herbs are one of the few things you plant once and then harvest for years, which makes them excellent value on a plot where nothing else stays put.

A single chive clump will crop for a decade. A well-sited rosemary will outlast most of your other plantings. Mint will keep going whether you want it to or not. These plants also fill the hungry gap in March and April, when the beds are still bare but you fancy something fresh, and their flowers feed bees through the summer.

Here are ten that return reliably in a British spring, along with the practical detail on where to put them and how to keep them producing.

Ten Herbs That Come Back Every Year

• Mint — Spearmint, apple mint and Moroccan mint all return with enthusiasm. Plant in a submerged pot or a bottomless bucket to stop the runners swamping neighbouring beds.
• Thyme — Common and lemon thyme are evergreen and shrug off hard frost. They want sharp drainage and full sun, ideally along a path edge where the soil is lean and gritty.
• Chives — A clump crops from March to November without fuss. Divide it every third spring when the leaves start to thin, and replant the outer ring.
• Sage — Common, purple and variegated sage all make shrubby plants that last for years. Trim lightly after flowering; cutting hard into old, leafless wood rarely regrows.
• Rosemary — Hardy in most UK gardens, but it resents winter wet far more than cold. Give it a raised position or a gravel mulch and it will stand for a decade or more.
• Oregano and marjoram — Pot marjoram and Greek oregano are the kitchen mainstays. Cut back spent stems in late summer for a second flush of tender leaves before autumn.
• Lovage — A tall, celery-flavoured herb for soups and stocks. It dies back completely, then pushes up fresh stems from April. Cut flower heads before they set seed.
• Lemon balm — Reliable to the point of nuisance, but invaluable for teas. Treat it like mint and keep it contained, or it will seed itself across the plot.
• Sorrel — Broad-leaved sorrel disappears in winter and reappears early. Strip whole stems to keep new leaves coming and to stop it running to seed in summer.
• Winter savory — Evergreen, peppery and happy in poor, dry soil. A low hedge of it along a bed edge gives you something to pick from February onwards.

Siting Them: Borders, Pots and Herb Spirals

Most of these herbs want sun for six hours or more and soil that never sits wet. Anything Mediterranean — thyme, rosemary, oregano, sage and winter savory — is better off in lean, gritty ground than in a heavily manured bed. Rich soil makes soft, leafy growth with less flavour, and it encourages rosemary and thyme to rot at the crown over winter.

A herb spiral suits a corner of the plot beautifully. Built from old bricks or rubble, it creates dry, sunny ground at the top for the Mediterranean group and cooler, damper conditions at the base for mint, lovage and sorrel. On a flat plot, simply use the path edges: thyme and winter savory make a neat, pickable border that needs no watering once established.

If you garden in pots, use a soil-based compost with extra grit mixed through. Rosemary, thyme and sage are often happier in containers than in heavy clay, provided the pot drains freely and is raised onto feet.

Keeping Them Cropping Year After Year

Perennials go woody, crowded and tired if left alone. The trick is a little annual attention rather than a lot of feeding.

• Cut chives, mint and lemon balm hard after flowering — down to about 5cm — for a flush of fresh leaves.
• Trim thyme, oregano and winter savory lightly in spring, but never cut back into leafless old wood.
• Divide chives, mint and sorrel every two to three years in autumn or early spring, discarding the woody centre.
• Lift and move rosemary and sage only if they are genuinely struggling; both dislike root disturbance.
• Top-dress with garden compost in March instead of feeding. Overfed herbs grow soft and taste bland.

Winter Care and Early Spring Jobs

Most of these plants look after themselves through the coldest months, but drainage is what decides whether they survive. A mulch of grit around the crown of rosemary, thyme and sage in autumn keeps winter rain off the growing point. Clear fallen leaves from around low clumps so they are not smothered.

In early March, before new growth starts, cut back the previous year's stems, pull out the weeds that have crept in, and give each clump a handful of compost. Lovage, sorrel and lemon balm can be cut to the ground — they will be away again within a fortnight. Divide anything that has spread into a bald ring, and you will have spare plants to swap with neighbours on the site.

Getting Them Into the Kitchen

Pick little and often rather than in one big harvest; regular cutting keeps the plants bushy and productive. Chives and sorrel are best used raw, snipped over eggs, potatoes or salad. Thyme, oregano and winter savory stand up to long cooking in stews and tray bakes, while rosemary needs a light hand or it takes over the whole dish. Mint and lemon balm make teas and cold drinks, and lovage adds depth to soup in place of celery.

Plant three or four of these this spring and you will still be cutting from them in five years' time, with almost no work in between.