Herbs for Shade

Growing your own herbs, whether in a spacious garden or on a kitchen windowsill, is a great way to elevate your cooking. Even if you don’t consider yourself a gardener, you can still enjoy growing low‑maintenance herbs, even in shaded places.

Miner's lettuce/winter purslane

Miner’s lettuce, also known as winter purslane (Claytonia perfoliata), produces succulent, mildly bitter leaves that are ideal for salads. Fresh green leaves can be harvested year-round. In spring and summer, clusters of tiny white flowers appear in the centre of the uppermost leaves. This annual will readily self-seed in partial shade.

Golden hop

With attractive lime green to yellow leaves and rough twining stems, the vigorous golden hop (Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’) thrives in shady spots. This perennial

Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs.

climber adds vertical interest to herb gardens, quickly covering arches and trellises each year. Young leaves and shoots can be eaten raw or cooked, and its aromatic female flowers (hops) are harvested to make beer.

Chives

The onion-flavoured leaves of chives (Allium schoenoprasum) grow well in partial shade and can be harvested from spring through to autumn. This popular, versatile perennial herb is easy to grow from seed. The nectar

Sweet liquid mainly produced by flowers to attract pollinators. Honeybees make honey from nectar.

-rich flowers are also edible and are great for pollinators.

Coriander

Coriander, also known as cilantro (Coriandrum sativum), is an easy-to-grow annual that produces fragrant leaves and seeds. It is widely used to flavour a range of dishes – particularly in Mexican and Asian cuisine. Summer sowings benefit from some shade, as cooler conditions mean plants are less likely to bolt (flower prematurely).

Parsley

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is a biennial

Biennials are plants that complete their life cycle over the course of two years. In the first year, biennials typically produce leaves and roots but no flowers. In the second year, they flower and produce seeds before dying. Some common biennials include foxgloves Digitalis, honesty Lunaria annua and viper's bugloss Echium vulgare.

herb typically grown as an annual from seed. It is ideal for filling gaps in shady spots beneath taller plants. Leaves of curly-leaf parsley are tasty and decorative, whereas flat-leaf parsley has a slightly stronger flavour and is easier to wash and chop. Parsley is far more than just a garnish – its fresh flavour is used in many sauces and dishes, including chimichurri and tabbouleh.

Golden oregano

Golden-leaved oregano (Origanum vulgare ‘Aureum’) appreciates dappled shade, as full sun can cause the leaves to scorch. It is an attractive addition to herb gardens, ideal as an edging plant. The leaves can be harvested from late spring through summer, and the flowers are a good food source for pollinators.

Mint

Mints (Mentha spp) have many culinary uses. Fresh leaves can be harvested from spring through to early autumn for use in savoury dishes, sauces, drinks and desserts. Many species of mint are vigorous, rhizomatous perennials, so are best grown in pots to prevent them spreading through borders.

Sweet cicely

Sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata) is a herbaceous perennial with delicate, fern-like foliage. Its umbels of tiny white flowers develop into aniseed-flavoured seeds. The seeds, roots and young leaves are all edible, raw or cooked, adding a fresh, aniseed flavour to a range of sweet and savoury dishes.

Angelica

Angelica (Angelica archangelica) is a biennial or short-lived perennial that produces tall, statuesque flowering stems topped with rounded umbels of pale green flowers. Throughout summer its bitter, celery-like leaves can be eaten raw. Traditionally, its shoots are candied. It’s an attractive addition to a shady border, where it will readily self-seed.