In Full Bloom: Jekka’s Annual Herbs Take the Stage

Currently centre stage in Jekka's Herb Garden and Jekka's Herbetum are Jekka's annual herbs. We have allowed our annuals to self-seed in between our evergreen and herbaceous herbs, which provide the main structure in Jekka's Herb Garden. Similar to the rewilding technique, we select what we weed and what we leave, creating a new tapestry each year of plants and colour.

Jekka's annuals bring joyous bursts of colour throughout the summer and they draw your eye to different elements in the garden that you might have previously over looked. For example, Jekka's use of poppies, dancing throughout her garden, gently lead your eye around and provide a striking constrast to the purple and blue flowers of Foxgloves and Borage.

Photograph of Jekka's Herb Garden taken by Richard Rickitt at our June Herb Day

Annual herbs can easily be grown by seed and you can either sow them indoors in March or sow the outdoors in spring. It is not too late to sow seeds outdoors at this time of year, as the soil is warm and germination will be faster with a few days of sunshine. 

Annual plants flower to produce seeds, so if you continue to dead-head them they will flower through to the autumn. Do allow them to go to seed in the autumn, so that you can collect the seeds ready for sowing in the spring.

Due to the fast life cycle of an annual plant they can easily adapt to changing environments, making them resilient and versatile. They are also wonderful plants for attracting pollinators, improving the soil and increasing the biodiversity in your garden.

To inspire your seed sowing, here are three of our favourites:

Salvia viridis, Painted sage, With brilliant bright bracs, this herb comes in Purple and Magenta, even after it has finished flowering the colourful bracs will remain in full colour. Often the plant will self-seed and come back in a different colour adding to its surprise factor.

Atriplex hortensis var. rubra, Red Orach, a member of the spinach family, the young leaves can be used in salads and the mature leaves as a Spinach. The dark maroon coloured leaves will make the surrounding green hues pop.

Centaurea cyanus, Cornflower, this wildflower is also considered a medicinal herb and can be traced right back to Ancient Egypt with illustrations of the flower depicted on walls and floor tiles.