Ths Ajuga is a low growing EVERGREEN PERENNIAL with light to deep green leaves that make a dense spreading ground cover and in spring sends up 15cm flower stalks bearing many pink flowers that are very attractive to bees and butterflies. It grows well in full shade, semi-shade or full sun and can tolerate some drought.
Leaves and young shoots are edible raw and it has some history as a wound herb, but is rarely used today.
Ajuga is a low growing EVERGREEN PERENNIAL with dark green to purple leaves that make a dense spreading ground cover and in spring sends up 15cm flower stalks bearing many purple flowers that are very attractive to bees and butterflies. It grows well in full shade, semi-shade or full sun and can tolerate some drought.
Leaves and young shoots are edible raw and it has some history as a wound herb, but is rarely used today.
Alexanders is a stout BIENNIAL flowering plant growing to 1.2m tall. It has a strong solid stem that becomes hollow and grooved with age. The bright green leaves are bluntly toothed, and ternately divided. Umbels of yellow-green flowers are followed by black seeds. It prefers moist soil in a full sun or semi-shade position. Attractive to bees and butterflies.
The taste has been described as somewhat intermediate between parsley and celery. All plant parts are edible, and it has been used historically as a medicine.
Aloe vera is an evergreen PERENNIAL succulent with serrated stemless fleshy leaves containing a clear gel. Sometimes the leaves have white markings. The flower spikes are orange or yellow and generally borne in autumn to winter.
Arnica is a tall tall fragrant HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL used as an herbal medicine for analgesic and anti-inflammatory purposes. Not it is toxic when taken internally or applied to injured skin.
Artichoke is a PERENNIAL vegetable growing to 1.5m. The plant is quite big and statuesque, with long, arching, deeply lobed, silvery, glaucous-green leaves. When the flower buds (the vegetable) are allowed to open into flowers, they are very attractive to bees and bumblebees. The plant prefers well drained soil in most soils (tolerant of saline soils) in a sunny position. The flower buds are known as a gourmet vegetable and the whole plant has medicinal applications. Leaves yield a dark grey dye.
Artichoke is a PERENNIAL vegetable growing to 1.5m. The plant is quite big and statuesque, with long, arching, deeply lobed, silvery, glaucous-green leaves. When the flower buds (the vegetable) are allowed to open into flowers, they are very attractive to bees and bumblebees. The plant prefers well drained soil in most soils (tolerant of saline soils) in a sunny position. The flower buds are known as a gourmet vegetable and the whole plant has medicinal applications. Leaves yield a dark grey dye.
Ashwagandha is an evergreen shrub in it’s native sub tropical to tropical areas, but commonly grown as an annual in cooler or temperate areas. Withania somnifera, Ashwagandha, is an adaptogenic herb from Ayurvedic tradition praised for stress relief, cognitive enhancement, and immune support. This perennial shrub’s roots are utilized in powder form due to their holistic health benefits, aiding in anxiety reduction and physical endurance.
A PERENNIAL herb found wild throughout the Balkans. Highly fragrant. It has been gathered since ancient times as a condiment and for tea. Masses of white or light pink flowers are very showy and bee attracting.
A flowering PERENNIAL growing to 70cm with lemon scented leaves similar looking to mint and in summer small, nectar-rich flowers appear.
Prefers well-drained soil in a full sun or semi-shaded position.
Leaves are edible and medicinally it is commonly used household remedy as both a tonic herb and for its soothing, anti-anxiety actions.
African basil is a perennial basil, although it may still grow as an annual in temperate or cold climates. It is native to Africa and is also known as Clove Basil.
An ANNUAL herb with fragrant leaves used in cooking and traditional medicine. Aristotle is a small leaved, highly aromatic and highly disease resistant Basil with a very neat rounded plant habit.
Bush basil is an ANNUAL growing to 30cm with a tidy rounded growth habit and tiny, light green leaves. The plant prefers full sun in a moist, but well-drained soil.
Leaves, which are mild in flavour, are used like common basil.
Cinnamon basil is a PERENNIAL, but often grown as an ANNUAL. It has a spicy cinnamon-scented fragrance. Leaves are slightly serrated and dark green with reddish-purple veins and dark purple stems and pinkish flowers. Growing to almost 80cm tall, it prefers a full sun position in moist, but well-draining soil.
An ANNUAL herb with fragrant leaves used in cooking and traditional medicine. Emerald towers is a highly productive sweet basil that grow in a columnar shape.
Holy basil is an erect SUBSHRUB that grows up to 60cm. Many branched, hairy stems carry simple ovate green leaves with slightly toothed margins. Flowers are purple.
It is cultivated for religious and medicinal purposes and herbal tea and common to the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia. The plant is revered as the elixer of life.
An ANNUAL growing to 60cm with bright green lemon-and-basil-scented leaves and white flowers. Used fresh in salads or as a garnish, with its lemon flavour it pairs beautifully with fruit dishes.
An ANNUAL basil that grows to about 45cm with very large crinkled leaves. The flavour is not as strong as other sweet basils, but their mild flavour and large size make them ideally suited to as a lettuce wrap, or added to salads etc.