To some, the closest connection has been on the airways listening to Parsley, Sage Rosemary and Thyme by Simon and Garfunkel and to others it may be walking by a shop offering herbal remedies.

However, as more people travel and experience different cultures and their local dishes, so too has the desire to recreate some of those flavours.

What many may not know is that this is achievable without venturing much further than your own back door, as growing your own herbs is not all that hard to do.

This was something Sue Robinson found out some 10 to 11 years ago.

Mrs Robinson, of Main Street, Ashley, started growing herbs when someone offered to sell what she produced, but since that time she has developed things further to run her own farmers' market stall and an onsite herb shop.


Some uses for common herbs

Basil:
Use in tomato soup, sauces, omelettes and with any meats.

Caraway:
Sprinkle over pork, lamb or veal before roasting to create a tangy flavour.

Chives:
Chop leaves to add to salads, meat dishes and sandwich spreads to add a mild onion flavour.

Parsley:
Mix leaves in salads, soups and stews or serve fresh as garnish. Good to use as a breath sweetener after eating onion or garlic or drinking alcohol.

Mint (pepper and spear):
Used commercially in chewing gum and mouthwashes, but leaves can be sprinkled over lamb before cooking or brewed into tea. Will also repel flies if hung by a back door.

Rosemary:
Insert sprig or two into meat joints. Use sparingly in soups, makes a tasty tea and adds flavour when added to boiling water when cooking rice.

Sage:
Traditionally used in poultry stuffing but also with lamb,
pork, sausage and cheese dishes.

Thyme:
Sprinkle over eggs, cheese dishes, vegetables and poultry. Can also be brewed into tea along with a little rosemary and mint.


She said: "Most herbs are very easy to look after so long as you have good free-draining soil and a reasonable amount of full sunlight.

"The most basic herb people grow is mint as this is readily used to
flavour new potatoes.

"It doesn't particularly like good soil. In this instance too much is not a good thing.

"Other favourites are the chives, parsley, sage and rosemary.

"When I first started growing herbs, I went for the unusual but found that although it is what I thought people would want, I only sold a
few, so went on to grow the more traditional herbs.

"The one big mistake people make is growing them in planters, but herbs do not like to be too close together. They should be grown in the garden where they have room to spread."

Some of the Mediterranean herbs, like basil, do need a little TLC, as they do not appreciate the heavy English rains we have had over the past two years and, at present, are still being kept under cover by Mrs Robinson.

Herbs of which to be cautious are horseradish and coriander, only because they tend to bolt and take over a garden with comparative ease.

Mrs Robinson said: "I enjoy growing herbs and have a variety outside my home, so it is nice to open the back door and just grab what you want.

"Though you don't just have to grow herbs to eat. They can make great border plants or to create a colourful curtain on which to walk as some have wonderful aromas and smell lovely when you brush the leaves."

When the thymes finish flowering (some are flowering now), don't forget to cut them back by about 1/4 to 1/2 inch to stop them from going woody at the bottom. Don't cut back to dead wood otherwise it will kill them.

Remember to cut back lavenders by the same method as above. Do this in August to give it time to recover before the winter.

Chives, when they finish flowering, need to be cut round back to ground level.

Planting herbs will also attract wildlife to your garden. Birds love the seed heads from the cardoons while thymes, bergamot and hypsopp are loved by bees.