Brilliant basil
Most of us have come across this intensely fragrant herb. From a pizza topping to pesto sauce, basil is an incredibly popular ingredient.
Though often associated with Italian cooking, basil comes from tropical regions such as Africa and Asia, and arrived in the UK in the sixteenth century.
As a tender herb from hot climates, basil cannot withstand Britain’s cold winters outdoors, but will happily grow on a windowsill at any time of year.
Surrounding the basil bed in the Kitchen Garden are what seem to be tiny box ball trees. In fact, these are Greek basil (Ocimum minimum), whose name is slightly misleading.
Greek basil actually originated in Chile and is a perennial plant in its native home, but sadly cannot withstand the frosts in our Kitchen Garden. It has a delicate sweet basil flavour, tiny leaves and white flowers, which makes it worth growing for looks alone.
At the very end of the bed is Ocimum tenuiflorum, more commonly known as Holy basil or Tulsi. It is native to India and used in Ayurvedic medicine to balance processes in the body. It is a sacred plant in Hinduism and is seen as a manifestation of the goddess Lakshmi.
