Bobby dazzler

Basil is easy to grow, wonderfully scented and delicious to eat - in short, the king of herbs

- jennifer stackhouse

Why not accompany those second crops of tomatoes with their natural flavour companion, basil? This fast-growing summer herb grows well while temperatures are warm and the days are long and sunny. It thrives in any warm garden, in a raised vegetable garden or in a pot on a sunny windowsill or the back steps.

It's a must-have herb for summer eating, easy to grow from seed or seedling (a faster option for this time of the year) or by taking cuttings, which strike readily in the warmth of summer.

At this time of the year, basil starts to reach maturity, which means it will form handsome spires of white flowers. To keep the plant leafy for longer, remove any early signs of flower stalks and plan to harvest the leafy growth to use for making pesto.

It's also time to get new seedlings planted to keep the flavour coming.

Despite all attempts to prevent it, basil will bloom. All is not lost, though, as those flower spires are highly attractive to beneficial visitors such as bees, wasps and predatory insects, which are after nectar in the basil flowers.

DIFFERENT CHOICES

If you're a fan of basil, grow as much as you have room for to add to tomato sandwiches, pizzas and tomato-based dishes, or pick armfuls to make into pesto or caprese salad.

As well as tasting good, basil is rich in vitamins A and C as well as calcium, iron and magnesium. It's also prized for its antibacterial properties.

Annual basil (Ocimum basilicum) is the variety best known in gardens over summer. It is also sold as small potted plants in fruit shops and supermarkets and is the best choice for pesto.

It is, however, just one of the many differently flavoured and scented basils that add interest to the garden as well as to your cooking. Some of these different basils are varieties of O. basilicum while others are closely related species or hybrids.