The garden's living archive

An annual herb of the Lamiaceae family (Ocimum basilicum), basil comes to us from the warm regions of Asia, where its sacred cousin tulsi has been revered for millennia. Very cold-sensitive, it fears the slightest frost and enjoys the sun in a rich, cool soil. Its leaves concentrate the essential oils (linalool, eugenol) that make all its fragrance.

A generous, conquering perennial of the Lamiaceae family (genus Mentha, rich in hybrids), mint grows spontaneously in the cool, damp places of the northern hemisphere. Its running rhizomes make it invasive: it's readily contained in a buried pot. Very nectar-bearing, it attracts bees and butterflies as soon as you let it flower.

A Mediterranean shrub of the Lamiaceae family (Salvia rosmarinus, long named Rosmarinus officinalis), rosemary loves full sun, drought, and drained chalky soils. Evergreen, it has flavoured Mediterranean cooking with its sprigs since antiquity.

A small subshrub of the Mediterranean scrubland (Thymus vulgaris, Lamiaceae), thyme forms low, aromatic, very hardy cushions on dry, chalky soils. A nectar-bearing ground cover, it feeds bees and butterflies and withstands drought once established. The thymol in its leaves earns it a long tradition of culinary and medicinal use.

An emblem of Provence, true lavender (Lavandula angustifolia, Lamiaceae) is a Mediterranean subshrub that demands full sun and a poor, dry, drained soil. Its blue-violet spikes are among the finest nectar resources of the garden, much sought after by bees, bumblebees, and butterflies. A distinction is made between true lavender, hardy at altitude, and lavandin, a more vigorous hybrid grown for distillation.

A herb and medicinal of the Lamiaceae family (Salvia officinalis), common sage is a Mediterranean subshrub with evergreen grey-green foliage. It demands full sun and a well-drained soil, and is among the plants of longest-standing repute in the pharmacopoeia. Nectar-bearing, it attracts bees and bumblebees at its flowering.

Two main species: summer savory (Satureja hortensis, annual, milder) and winter savory (S. montana, perennial, more pungent). Its French name, sarriette, comes through Old French sarree from Latin satureia; in the 1st century, the Roman agronomist Columella already lists it among the plants to sow in the kitchen garden. A pungent taste between thyme and pepper. A traditional companion to green beans in cooking. Both species are on list A of traditionally used medicinal plants of the French Pharmacopoeia, for the leaf and the flowering top. Sources: Trésor de la langue française (CNRTL), “sarriette”; Columella, De re rustica, book X; French Pharmacopoeia, list A (ANSM, January 2026).

Artemisia dracunculus, two very distinct varieties: Russian tarragon (Artemisia dracunculoides), half-cultivable, bland taste, and the TRUE French tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus var. sativa) which has a characteristic aniseed taste. Always buy as a plant, never as seed (the seed sold almost always gives Russian tarragon). A major herb of French cooking (tarragon chicken, tarragon vinegar). Source: Bernard Bertrand, Le grand livre des plantes aromatiques.

An annual herb of the Apiaceae family (Coriandrum sativum), coriander has been grown since antiquity in the Near East and the eastern Mediterranean. Both its fresh leaves and its dried seeds are harvested, with very different fragrances.

Anethum graveolens, native to the eastern Mediterranean, mentioned in the Egyptian Ebers papyrus (1550 BC). The whole plant is aromatic: feathery leaves (fish, yogurt sauce), seeds (gherkins, sauerkraut, rye bread). A short cycle (3 months), staggered sowings from April to July. Source: French Pharmacopoeia, list A of traditionally used medicinal plants (fruit).

A generous annual of the Boraginaceae family (Borago officinalis), native to the Mediterranean basin, borage is robust, undemanding, and self-seeds year after year. Its blue star-shaped flowers are edible in moderation (the plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, avoid regular internal use).

A climbing or trailing annual native to the Andes (Tropaeolum majus, Tropaeolaceae), nasturtium offers edible flowers and leaves with a pungent taste. It thrives in poor soil and sun: too rich a soil gives foliage at the expense of flowers. Very attractive to aphids, it often serves as a trap plant, to be watched, to draw them away from neighbouring crops.

A solar flower of the Asteraceae family (Calendula officinalis), the pot marigold, native to southern Europe, flowers at length from early spring to the first frosts. Its orange flower heads are also a medicinal plant, listed in the European Pharmacopoeia.

A small annual Asteraceae native to Mexico (Tagetes patula), and not to India, despite its French name, the French marigold flowers abundantly all summer in the sun. Its roots release compounds (including α-terthienyl) that suppress certain soil nematodes, an effect most marked in a dense, prolonged crop. Easy and free-flowering, it's a classic of vegetable-garden edgings.

A hardy, cosmopolitan perennial of the Asteraceae family (Achillea millefolium), yarrow grows in the dry meadows of Europe and temperate Asia, with finely cut foliage and white umbels.

A stinging, cosmopolitan perennial (Urtica dioica, Urticaceae), nettle colonises soils rich in nitrogen around inhabited places, of which it is an indicator plant. Long scorned, it's a pillar of the living garden. It's harvested young and gloved, for the kitchen or the compost.

A large perennial of the Boraginaceae family (Symphytum officinale), with powerful roots and potassium-rich leaves. Cut several times a year, these make a rich mulch and a fertilising liquid manure prized in permaculture. Nectar-bearing, it feeds mainly bumblebees; the 'Bocking 14' variety, sterile, does not self-seed.

A bushy perennial of the Lamiaceae family (Melissa officinalis), with broadly scalloped leaves that give off a lemony scent when crushed. Often grown and naturalised, it thrives in partial shade in a cool, rich soil. Sources: Tela Botanica, “Melissa officinalis L.” (Coste's flora); Plants For A Future, “Melissa officinalis”.

A Mediterranean aromatic subshrub of the Lamiaceae family (Hyssopus officinalis) with blue spikes, hyssop is traditionally grown in monastery gardens, where it joins aromatic use to a long medicinal history.

The genus Monarda (Lamiaceae) brings together perennials of North America, including Monarda didyma, scarlet bee balm, with bright red pompoms, and Monarda fistulosa, wild bee balm or 'wild bergamot' of the prairies, with mauve flowers. Crush a leaf between your fingers: its scent recalls the citrus of bergamot, hence this nickname.

Several species under the same French name: Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile, perennial), German chamomile (Matricaria recutita, annual, the main one for infusions), feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium, medicinal). All listed in the European Pharmacopoeia. A thousand-year tradition of a soothing, digestive infusion. Source: ESCOP, Matricariae flos monograph.

A large perennial of damp woods and streamsides (Valeriana officinalis, Caprifoliaceae), recognisable by its broad corymbs of pinkish flowers and by its root with a powerful, characteristic smell. Traditionally grown for this root; its flowers, from May to July, are visited by the bees, flies and beetles that pollinate it. Sources: Tela Botanica, “Valeriana officinalis L.” (Coste's flora); Plants For A Future, “Valeriana officinalis”.

Petroselinum crispum, two very different varieties: curly (decoration) and flat Italian (preferred in cooking). Rich in vitamin C (~177 mg/100 g, more than the orange), folates, iron. Listed in the French Pharmacopoeia (list A of medicinal plants, for the fruit and the root). To be avoided in very large quantity in pregnant women (apiole, uterotonic action at high dose). Sources: Ciqual table (ANSES) for the figures; French Pharmacopoeia, list A of traditionally used medicinal plants.

A mugwort with very aromatic and bitter silvery-grey foliage, of dry ground. Rich in thujone, it has been traditionally used as a bitter tonic and vermifuge, a use today very tightly regulated.