Your complete guide to homegrown herbs: R to S

A well-maintained herb garden can save you countless trips to the grocery store for seasonings. Here's how to grow rosemary through sorrel.

• Rosemary leaves are used as a flavouring and are especially popular in lamb recipes.
• It's a perennial shrub, sometimes growing to 1.5 metres (five feet), with narrow grey-green and highly aromatic foliage.
• In summer, it has a mass of blue flowers.
• Rosemary does best in moderately rich soil with some lime added.
• Plant in a sunny, open position with good drainage.
• The leaves can be cut as needed and used fresh, or gathered in bunches and dried for storage and later use.
• Frequent picking from the centre of the plant encourages a more bushy, dense habit.

• Summer savoury is generally grown as an annual.
• It's an ancient herb with an astringent, peppery taste that can be used as a distinctive flavouring in cooked dishes, or in salads.
• It grows to 45 centimetres (18 inches) in height, with slender stems covered in small, mid-green leaves.
• Plant summer savoury in full sun in moderately rich, well-drained soil.
• It's an easy-to-grow, undemanding plant that will thrive with little or no attention.
• Save the seeds at the end of summer for sowing the following spring.

• Winter savoury is a hardy perennial from southern Europe.
• It will grow to about 30 centimetres (12 inches) in height and forms a spreading clump of mid-green foliage with white or purple flowers.
• The leaves, stems and flowers are edible, with a similar peppery flavour to summer savoury.
• Choose a sunny, open position and well-drained soil.
• Trim back flowering stems and hang them in bunches to dry.
• Pick stems and leaves as needed, and use fresh.

• Sorrel is a perennial herb with spear-shaped, bright green leaves that can be used as a substitute for spinach. You can also use it to make a strongly fragrant sauce, known as "green sauce."
• It grows to approximately 45 centimetres (18 inches) in height, with attractive panicles of tiny green or white flowers in summer.
• Although often regarded as a weed, sorrel can be a useful herb if planted in a bed where its roots cannot escape into the rest of the garden.
• Use a large tub or similar container to control the roots.
• Trim back the flowerheads as they appear to prevent self-seeding.
• Sorrel is a hardy plant that will grow in virtually any type of soil or climate, and requires little or no maintenance.
• It prefers full sun and light, and sandy soil.
• Pick the leaves as required and use fresh — it isn't a suitable herb for drying.

Growing herbs can be either very easy or very hard, but they need regular attention either way. Focus on encouraging the useful parts to grow for a better harvest.