SAGE – Salvia officinalis

The intense flavour of sage, with its savoury and slightly peppery taste, makes it one of the most widely used and grown herbs in Britain.

Its variegated (green and white) and purple forms, make excellent sources of colour for a herb garden, and can double as an ornamental boarder. Essential to British cooking, it is often paired with pork and used in stuffing.

Unusually, sage's flavour increases as its leaves grow, meaning larger leaves can be used to create tasty dishes as well as small. A good source of vitamin C and rich minerals like potassium, sage has many health benefits.

Believed by the Greeks to be excellent for the brain, and associated in traditional medicine with having a good memory, rosemary is a particularly nutritious herb to grow in your garden. As an evergreen shrub, its fragrant needle-like leaves are available fresh all year so it can continually grace your table and decorate your garden.

Blossoming white, pink, purple and blue flowers, rosemary is often used as a decorative plant in many gardens, and is a frequent herb in landscape gardens.

Pair rosemary with roast meats such as lamb and chicken, and use it to flavour stuffings and Yorkshire puddings.

How to grow...

• It does best in well-drained soil, in a sunny spot. It is drought tolerant and pest resistant.