Growing Herbs in Pots for Small Outdoor Spaces

Why a Pot by the Back Door Beats a Herb Bed

There is a particular kind of pleasure in stepping out of a warm kitchen, scissors in hand, and returning thirty seconds later with a handful of chives to scatter over a bowl of new potatoes. That short journey is the whole argument for growing herbs in containers, and it is why they belong as close to the door as you can manage, rather than tucked away at the far end of the garden.

Pots suit small spaces beautifully. A narrow passage, a few feet of paving outside a back door, a balcony rail, a couple of steps up to the utility room — all of these will grow decent herbs. Containers also give you control. You choose the compost, so drainage is never left to chance. You lift the pot onto feet, so slugs and vine weevils have a harder time of it. And you can move things about as the season shifts, chasing the sun in spring and easing plants into shade during a hot July.

Three Herbs That Earn Their Keep

If you have room for only a few pots, start with mint, thyme and chives. Between them they cover most of what an everyday kitchen asks for, and each tolerates the sort of neglect that happens when life gets busy.

• Mint is the thug of the herb world, and in a pot that is a virtue. It sends out runners with real enthusiasm, so give it a container of its own — a generous one, at least 30cm across — and it will reward you from April to October. Spearmint is the best all-rounder for cooking; a pot of Moroccan mint is worth adding if you drink a lot of tea.
• Thyme is the opposite temperament. It wants sharp drainage, gritty compost and full sun, and it will sulk in a soggy pot. Common thyme and lemon thyme both work well, and a terracotta pot suits them, since the clay wicks away excess moisture. Once established, thyme is close to indestructible and keeps its leaves through most winters.
• Chives are the easiest of the three. They want a richer, more moisture-retentive compost and are happy in sun or light shade. Cut them regularly and they will keep producing soft green blades from spring until the first proper frost. The purple flowers in early summer are edible and lovely torn over a salad.

Pots, Compost and Getting the Foundations Right

Size matters more than style. A pot of 25–30cm diameter gives roots room to work and holds enough moisture to survive a warm afternoon. Terracotta is handsome and breathes well, though it dries out faster and can crack in a hard frost if you leave it planted through winter. Glazed pots and good-quality plastic are more practical if you would rather not water twice a day.

Whatever you choose, drainage holes are non-negotiable. Cover them with a few broken crocks or a handful of gravel, then fill with a peat-free multi-purpose compost. For thyme, mix in a good third of horticultural grit. For chives and mint, add a little garden compost or well-rotted manure to hold moisture and feed the plants slowly. Stand every pot on feet or bricks so water drains freely and the base is not sitting in a puddle.

Planting Up and Finding the Right Spot

Plant in spring, once the worst of the frost has passed, or in early autumn while the soil is still warm. Settle each plant so the crown sits level with the compost surface, firm gently and water well. Leave a couple of centimetres between the rim of the pot and the compost so you can water properly without it running straight off.

Positioning comes down to light. Thyme wants the sunniest spot you have — six hours or more. Chives will take sun or partial shade and actually prefer a little shelter from the fiercest midday heat. Mint is the most forgiving, though it grows leafier and more fragrant with a few hours of sun. If your kitchen door faces north, you can still do this: put the thyme on a sunny windowsill or a south-facing step and keep the mint and chives by the door.

Watering, Feeding and the Small Weekly Jobs

Containers dry out far faster than borders, and herbs are no exception. Water in the morning where you can, aiming at the compost rather than the leaves, and check pots daily during warm spells by pushing a finger in to the first knuckle. Thyme prefers to dry out slightly between waterings; mint and chives would rather stay consistently damp.

Feed mint and chives with a diluted liquid seaweed or tomato feed every fortnight from April to August. Thyme needs very little — one light feed in late spring is plenty, as rich compost makes it floppy and less flavoursome. Pinch out the growing tips of mint regularly to keep it bushy, and pull out any runners trying to escape over the rim.

In late autumn, tidy everything up. Cut chives back to about 5cm, trim mint hard, and remove any yellowing thyme leaves. Move pots onto a sheltered path or against a wall for winter, and raise them clear of the ground so they are not sitting in cold, wet conditions for months on end. Mint dies back completely and looks alarming — it will come again in spring.

Cutting and Cooking Through the Year

Harvest little and often, which keeps plants productive and gives you the freshest possible leaves. Never take more than a third of a plant at once. Snip chives with scissors about 2cm from the base, cut mint stems just above a pair of leaves so new growth breaks from the joint, and pinch thyme sprigs with your fingers — the oils release as you do it.

Use them in the simple ways that suit British cooking: mint and chives stirred through boiled new potatoes with butter, thyme laid under a joint of roast lamb or scattered over roasted root vegetables in November, chives folded into scrambled eggs and soft cheese. Any surplus freezes well — chop and pack into ice cube trays with a little water, or dry thyme in small bunches hung somewhere warm and airy. A pot by the door, tended for five minutes a week, will quietly pay you back all year.