Why a Sunny Patio Suits Herbs So Well

If you have a paved area, a balcony or even a wide windowsill that catches the sun for six hours or more, you already have one of the best herb-growing spots in the country. Most of the herbs we actually cook with — basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage — come from the Mediterranean, where summers are hot, dry and bright. A south-facing patio against a wall mimics those conditions surprisingly well, and the wall itself stores heat during the day and releases it overnight, which keeps roots warmer than they would be out in the open.

The advantage of pots is control. You can move them into shelter when the wind picks up, shift them a few feet to chase the sun as the season turns, and give each plant its own tailored compost. The disadvantage is that pots dry out far faster than beds, so the whole game is about getting the growing medium right and then staying on top of watering.

Keep your pots close to the kitchen door. It sounds trivial, but the herbs you can reach in a few steps are the herbs you will actually use. A pot of basil twenty metres away at the bottom of the garden gets forgotten; one by the back step gets stripped regularly, which is exactly what basil wants.

Getting the Compost and Drainage Right

Free-draining is the phrase to hold on to. Standard multipurpose compost holds moisture well but can sit heavy and sour in a pot, especially after a wet spell, and woody herbs such as rosemary and thyme will sulk and rot in it.

• Mix your own: roughly two parts peat-free multipurpose compost to one part horticultural grit or perlite. For rosemary, thyme and oregano, go closer to half and half.
• Always check the drainage holes. Drill them if a pot has none, and never let a pot stand in a saucer of standing water.
• Raise pots onto feet or three broken tiles so water runs freely and air circulates underneath.
• Terracotta is excellent for Mediterranean herbs because it breathes and wicks away surplus moisture. Glazed or plastic pots hold water longer, which suits basil, mint and parsley.
• Size matters: a 30cm pot takes one decent rosemary or three basil plants. Cramming plants in reduces airflow and invites mildew.

The Best Herbs for a Warm, Sheltered Spot

Basil is the one that most rewards a sunny patio. It needs warmth, regular water and rich compost, and it hates cold. Pinch out the growing tips every couple of weeks to keep it bushy, and nip off any flower buds the moment they appear — once basil flowers, the leaves toughen and the flavour fades. Sow successionally every three to four weeks from late spring so you always have a tender young plant coming through.

Rosemary and thyme are the opposite characters: they want lean soil, sharp drainage, full sun and very little fuss. Rosemary will happily live in the same pot for years if it is not waterlogged, and it prefers to dry out between waterings. Thyme is arguably the toughest herb you can grow in a container, tolerating wind, drought and poor soil, and it will creep over the edge of a pot beautifully.

Fill the gaps with oregano, sage, winter savory, chives and flat-leaf parsley. Coriander is worth a try but bolts quickly in heat, so either sow it in a pot that gets afternoon shade or accept a short harvest and resow often. Keep mint in its own pot — it is thuggish and will swamp anything sharing its compost.

Watering and Feeding Through the Season

In high summer, a crowded terracotta pot in full sun may need water twice a day. Water in the early morning so foliage dries before evening, which reduces the risk of fungal problems, and water until it runs out of the base rather than giving a token splash.

Feeding depends on the herb. Basil, parsley and chives benefit from a weak liquid feed every fortnight through the growing season. Rosemary, thyme and oregano need almost nothing — a single feed in spring is plenty, and rich feeding produces soft, flabby growth with weaker flavour. Trim off flower spikes on woody herbs to push energy back into leaf production.

A Simple Year on the Patio

• Spring: refresh the top 5cm of compost, repot anything root-bound, and start basil indoors before moving it out once nights stay above 10°C.
• Summer: harvest little and often, water daily, and keep on top of pinching and deadheading.
• Autumn: take cuttings of rosemary and thyme, and move pots against the house wall for residual warmth.
• Winter: rosemary, thyme, sage and bay will carry on outdoors in most UK gardens. Basil will not — let it go and start again in spring. Ease right back on watering, as soggy cold compost kills more herbs than frost does.

Watch for aphids on soft new growth and vine weevil grubs in the compost, and deal with both early. Do that, and a handful of pots by the back door will outproduce a whole herb bed for very little effort.