Herb container projects

Herbs are expensive to buy in the supermarket, and there's a limited range available, so by growing your own, from seed or young plants, you'll enjoy a host of delicious flavours for many months.

Plant up a container packed with aromatic African basil, mint and thyme – we show you how:

Discover some unusual herbs to grow.

Grow herbs close to the house or even in a window box so that you can pop out to pick them fresh while you're cooking - get advice on how to pick herbs.

Most herbs grow extremely well in pots - watch our video guide to planting up a herb container. The trick is to choose a mix of herbs that enjoy the same conditions, such as full sun or shade.

Here are some of our favourite container projects.

Thyme, parsley and chive tower

If you're short on gardening space, why not grow your herbs vertically? Build you own tiered herbal tower cheaply and easily by 'planting' smaller pots inside larger ones. Find out how to make this herb tower using thyme, parsley and chives.

An old tin bath makes the perfect container for a mix of herbs. Choose types that enjoy the same growing conditions - here we've combined red-veined sorrel with geranium, basil, Calendula and salad burnet for an attractive display. Find out how to plant this herb container.

Herb pot for vegetables

Herbs make the perfect partners to all kinds of vegetables and salads, whether they're eaten raw, roasted, boiled, mashed or fried. This pot contains mint, chives, celery leaf, rosemary and purple shiso (perilla). Find out how to make this herb pot for vegetables.

Herb pot for fish dishes

Fish, cooked simply with herbs, is classic cuisine - stuff the cavity or use them in sauces. This pot contains bronze fennel, orange-scented thyme, sorrel and English mace, all great complements for strong-tasting or milder types of fish. Find out how to make this herb pot for fish dishes.

Herb pot for poultry dishes

Whether you're barbecuing, roasting or casseroling poultry, herbs can greatly enhance the flavour, added to sauces, rubbed into the skin or added to marinade. This pot contains French tarragon, bay, sage, parsley, Greek sage and lemon thyme. Find out how to make this herb pot for poultry dishes.

Herb pot for meat dishes

The herbs in this pot recipe - rosemary, sage, thyme and oregano - will all enhance the flavour of meat. Rosemary is particularly good with lamb. These herbs are all perennials, so they'll last for years. Find out how to make this herb pot for meat dishes.

If you buy herbs from the supermarket, you can divide them to make more plants for free, for bumper harvests. Find out how to divide supermarket herbs.