There is a particular pleasure in stepping out of a back door, or onto a narrow balcony barely wide enough for a chair, and cutting a handful of chives to scatter over your eggs. Herbs are the most generous plants a small space can offer: they ask for little more than a pot, a bit of light and regular attention, and they repay you all summer long.

Start with the Light You Actually Have

Before you buy anything, spend a day watching your outdoor space. Herbs are fussy about sun in a way that vegetables are not, and a pot placed in the wrong corner will sulk all season.

A south-facing wall, doorstep or windowsill is the jackpot, giving five or six hours of direct sun. Most herbs will thrive there. East-facing spots, which catch the morning sun and shade off by early afternoon, suit parsley, mint and chives very well. North-facing corners are hard work, though mint, chives and parsley will manage a slow, steady living if you accept smaller harvests.

Pots can be moved, so use that to your advantage. Shift them round through the year, and turn them a quarter-turn every few weeks so the plants do not lean permanently towards the light.

The Herbs That Earn Their Keep

You do not need a vast collection. Half a dozen pots, chosen well, will keep a kitchen supplied from spring to the first frosts.

• Mint — grow it in its own pot, always, because it spreads underground and will smother its neighbours. It likes moisture and tolerates partial shade. Common mint is fine; Moroccan mint makes a better cup of tea.
• Parsley — a biennial, so it will run to seed in its second year. Flat-leaf has the better flavour. The seed germinates slowly, sometimes taking three to six weeks, so soak it overnight before sowing.
• Chives — a hardy perennial that comes back year after year. Snip the leaves and they regrow within a fortnight. Divide the clump every two or three years to keep it vigorous.
• Basil — wants warmth and hates cold, wet roots. A sunny windowsill suits it better than a windswept patio.
• Thyme, rosemary, oregano and sage — the Mediterranean crowd. They need sharp drainage, gritty compost and far less water than the leafy herbs. A big pot of rosemary against a warm wall will often survive the winter.
• Coriander — sow it little and often, as it bolts quickly in heat. A little afternoon shade in July keeps it leafy for longer.

Pots, Compost and Drainage Done Properly

Aim for pots at least 25 to 30cm across. Smaller pots dry out alarmingly fast in July, and mint wants something closer to 35cm because of its spreading roots. Terracotta breathes and looks lovely but loses moisture quickly; glazed and plastic pots hold on to water better.

Drainage holes are essential. A single broken piece of pot or a square of mesh over the hole is enough — skip the thick layer of gravel at the bottom, which historically does more harm than good. Stand pots on feet or bricks so water can escape freely.

Use a soil-based or good-quality peat-free compost, which holds nutrients longer than the cheapest multipurpose. For thyme, rosemary and oregano, mix in roughly a quarter horticultural grit by volume. Each spring, scrape off the top 5cm of compost and replace it, or pot the plant on into something slightly larger.

Watering Through a British Summer

A rainy morning does not mean your pots are soaked. Leaves deflect water and compost in a pot dries from every side, so check by pushing a finger in to the second knuckle. Water in the morning where you can, and keep going until it runs out of the drainage hole.

In a heatwave, small pots may need water twice a day. Saucers help, but empty them after an hour so the roots are not sitting in stagnant water. Feed leafy herbs every fortnight from May to August with a liquid seaweed or tomato feed; the Mediterranean herbs need very little.

Going away? Group pots together in the shadiest corner, stand them in a tray of water, and spread a layer of gravel over the compost surface to slow evaporation.

Harvest Little and Often

Cutting is what keeps herbs productive. The golden rule is never to take more than a third of the plant at once. Snip mint above a pair of leaves and pinch out flower spikes the moment they appear; once a herb flowers, the leaves turn bitter and growth slows.

Cut chives about 2.5cm from the base and they will be back within two weeks. Take parsley from the outside of the clump, cutting whole stems at the base. Pinch basil tips just above a leaf pair to make it branch. Regular picking makes bushy plants; neglect makes leggy, woody ones.

Small Rituals, Good Food

Once the pots are producing, the cooking takes care of itself. A spoonful of chopped mint stirred into vinegar and sugar for lamb. New potatoes tossed in butter with a fistful of chives. Parsley folded through scrambled eggs or scattered over a bowl of soup that was going to be ordinary.

There is a rhythm to it that suits the British year: sowing in April, cutting through the long evenings of June, then bringing the chives and parsley indoors to a bright windowsill when the nights draw in. Keep watering, keep harvesting, and even the smallest balcony will feed you well from spring until autumn.