When growing herbs, plants, or shrubs in containers, it is wise to consider the physical limitations of your home before choosing the holders. Flat dwellers with a small balcony will generally be well advised to install some “ledge” boxes, a few hanging baskets, which take up no precious floor space , and the odd tub or two. Living in a flat without a balcony or verandah limits one to indoor and outdoor window boxes, and hanging baskets. Together these can provide a fair supply of fresh herbs and small plants.

Some houses and cottages, particularly those in country districts will have fair-sized garden in which a particular border can be devoted entirely to varieties destined to be used for your new, natural programme. And town houses with small patio-type yards can supply a regular herbal harvest - and look extremely charming and colourful - with a selection of window boxes, hanging baskets, strawberry barrels and other tubs of different designs, shapes and sizes.

Holders originally designed for mundane domestic uses, such as sinks, tin baths, wash basins, and the like, can be brightened up and made to look attractive. Container growing is indeed an art, combining man made effort with natural foliage and flowers. In the beginning it is very much like attempting to powder, paint and so transform a so-called plain woman into a beautiful one, for the container, like skin, has to be sound clean and prepared.

All containers should have good drainage, the excess water that builds up in a watertight container will cause plants to rot, and the compost will quickly become stale And Sour. Approximately twelve good sized holes to every square foot area will suffice, and these should be drilled and distributed evenly along the container floor.

Unless your containers are made of plastic or nylon, your next thought must be to protect and preserve them, both inside and out, against the damaging effects of day-day watering and exposure to the elements. In the past, the inside of wooden troughs were preserved in the traditional way; by charring them. Nothing seems to last quite so long as partially burned wood, and a blow lamp will do the job efficiently in minutes. If there’s no such tool available take the container into either an open part of the garden well away from your neighbours or onto a patch of wasteland where there is nothing inflammable nearby.

Pack the inside of the trough lightly with a few sheets of dried newspaper and then light it. When the inside is evenly charred and browned, tip the container upside down with a long-handled tool, and the flames will quickly be extinguished. Using a wood preservative is a safe and very much cleaner method, but make sure you use a horticulturally approved brand, thus ensuring that it will not harm your plants.

Creosote should never be used. Tin or metal holders are best treated inside and out first with an undercoat of paint and then with two top coats. Plain metal hanging baskets will look better and last much longer if given the same treatment, but those protected by plastic covering will need no “doctoring”.

Many containers, such as concentre tubs, apart from their lack of drainage holes, are well suited to growing house plants. This lack of porosity can be partially remedied by “crocking” the inside of the container with a quantity of broken brick, stones and gravel, up to at least one-quarter of its inside depth.

Tall barrels and tubs in which only small plants are to be grown can obviously take a far greater proportion without any likelihood of the plants suffering root starvation. Boxes with drainage holes must also be provided with a layer of clean rocks, and when using tubs, boxes, and similar containers , always add some charcoal granules to keep the compost sweet.

There are several different compost mixtures in which herbs and plants grow very well, though all have some qualities in common. Evenly blended compost must be sterilised and nutritious, yet light and porous. This enables the roots to breathe and feed whilst allowing excess moisture to drain away freely.