Herbs

Thyme, rosemary, oregano, winter savory, fennel and bay grow in wild profusion on the Provençal hillsides (locally, thyme takes the pretty name off arigoulette and winter savory is pebre d’ase — ‘ass’s pepper’). Wild in the garden are borage, burnet and purslane, the latter a garden pest but a welcome addition to salads; the cultivated herbs I grow are marjoram, hyssop, basil, sage, lovage, flat-leafed parsley, chives, tarragon, rocket, sorrel, mint, lemon balm, lemon thyme and serpolet thyme. Fresh coriander has been abandoned because of its antipathy to wine; dill and chervil do not adapt to the climate or the soil.