Immediately after planting a range of herbs out on the balcony, spring burst forth in windy glory. It didn’t matter which corner, there was wind everywhere, going everywhere. The first casualty, sort of, was the mint. The main stem snapped in half before the end of the weekend. Thanks to the magic of the internet, I instantly learnt that mint can grow from cutting. Into the wine glass it went.

Within a week, the first roots started appearing. After the second, it’s ready to plant into real soil. Interestingly, the plant is also significantly taller than at the start. At a guess, the new growth is coming from auto-cannibalisation of the lower leaves, which are well submerged and obviously yellowing.

Naturally, my curiosity got the best of me this past weekend – should I reserve a bit of basil from the bunch we’d bought for soup? Sure. Will it grow? We’ll see.