The easiest way to propagate herbs is to divide the roots during a dormant period. At the moment there is still time to do this. Also, the perennial herbs that grow in clumps often need to be thinned out as they are taking over your garden – or smothering other herbs. I have a friend who has juts moved to a new house, and wants to start off a herb garden – I am going to take the opportunity to thin some clumpy herbs and other perennials to give my garden some space and her some lovely plants. At the moment the following are ready to divide the roots: marjoram, monkshood, lemon balm, bergamot and chives.

To propagate by root division: Put your spade into the plant to divide the part you want to take away. Push down hard to slice off cleanly, dig up the plant. Divide the fibrous roots of marjoram with a hand fork or pull apart gently. Separate the chives bulbs into small clumps. If you have plants with very thick roots, you should slice them apart with a sharp garden knife. You can also regenerate your own plants by removing the old centres of long growing perennial herbs, and re-planting the parts from the edge.