I find it easier to grow the herbs I use in cooking in big pots by the kitchen...prostrate rosemary, culinary thyme, sage and oregano do well in a sunny spot with free-draining soil and are easy to grow from cuttings when they need replacing. Mint and the cut-and-come-again Coriander "Calypso" I also keep in a large pot, with a saucer, but in the shade. French tarragon spends the winter in the cold greenhouse. Only the bronze fennel, lovage and sorrel (which take up a lot of space anyway) and a patch of borage (of course) are planted in the garden. Ornamentals like Germander and edible flowers I grow in the borders.
The picture of my avatar is Origanum Kent Beauty. It survives Luxembourgish winters sitting in clayish but well drained soil - south facing. It is not as strong scented as others though. I managed to grow anice twice but did not survive winter. I was so lucky to find a 1940s "British Herbs" book (Florence Ranson). It is very much of its time but I learnt a lot from it. Whenever I am in a second hand bookshop I make a beeline for the "garden" section. Best wishes to you and all your herbs!
Damp kills everything here, and I don't get as much rain as you guys. I find that to keep rosemary or sage alive I have to move them undercover for the winter. I just throw them in the barn it's not heated so it freezes but it keeps the rain off.
Funnily I have a bay tree that has managed to live for 2 winters, it got down to -18 on one and -10 this year it gets a bit of frost bite but it lives! (it does have a lot of concrete around it and protection from the prevailing winds)
Posts
Best wishes to you and all your herbs!
Luxembourg
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Whoops - I had Northumberland in my head for some reason..