URBAN HERBS

Whether they are the key ingredient in food (such as basil for pesto), add another layer of flavour to meat dishes (rosemary with lamb), make for a refreshing drink (fresh mint tea) or are used as a decorative and flavoursome touch when plating (a sprinkle of parsley on pasta), herbs are great value. Not only in the culinary sense, either — they have medicinal properties and smell wonderful while growing.

For Kath Saunders, horticulturist at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, the fragrance of the herbs at the gardens is one of the best parts of her job. “You get these big wafts of aroma as you’re working among the herbs and, when I go home, I can still smell them,” she says. (Saunders looks after a variety of gardens, including the