Patio and tub plants
Citruses, let’s start with that. Those are fantastic plants. Is there anything more fun than picking a lemon or orange from your own tree? The flowers smell of jasmine and after flowering you can see them very slowly turning into small fruits. They must be able to overwinter frost-free, because tub and orangery plants (or patio plants) are frost-sensitive plants. Preferably place all evergreen plants in a greenhouse, they require a lot of light. Deciduous plants are in hibernation and can also overwinter in an unheated (bedroom) room.
Herbs in jars
Fresh herbs in pots are also nice. Thick bunches of lavender, thyme, rosemary and sage… Put them together in pots in thick bunches. A must in Mediterranean food and it smells wonderful when you sit outside on the terrace. An additional advantage is that they manage to survive our winters well and do not have to go into winter storage.
Lesser known species
But in addition, according to Bert van Ooijen of the Acanthus nursery in Beesd, there are also plenty of lesser-known recommendations: “Dive in on the following varieties: glutinous seed (Pittosporum), African lily (Agapanthus), almond tree (Prunus triloba), cork oak (Quercus suber). and the Japanese medlar (Eriobotrya). And especially lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla) should not be missed. The leaves smell incredibly delicious. In the past, the ladies put the dried leaves in bags in the linen closet (just like lavender) or in the bath. But nowadays the dried leaves are mainly used for tea. You buy bags full on French markets.”