As much as I enjoy living in a flat, there are times when I wish I had a garden to grow vegetables and salads, but, above all, to have my own herb garden. Whenever I visit gardener friends, my greatest treat is to be allowed to gather a few varieties of herbs. While I am grateful for little plastic pots of herbs found at supermarkets, I am afraid these soft, etiolated specimens pale into insignificance next to a bunch of sturdy herbs grown outdoors.

There are several notable herb gardens where I have found inspiration when travelling. The elegant potager at Chateau Belmont in Tours was where chef Jean Bardet used to grow an exceptional range of herbs, salading and unusual vegetables. It was quite possible to eat an entirely vegetarian meal, which was unusual in France at the time, although Alain Passard has now made this very fashionable.

Bardet used herbs in subtle yet distinctive recipes; a honey-sweetened tomato compote accompanied an angelica-infused cream custard topped with sesame seeds. Another dessert was fritters of acacia and elderflowers accompanied by an elderflowers sorbet and acacia honey. Bardet’s salad of unusual leaves and herbs was dressed with a herb juice. To make this he infused angelica stalks, mint leaves, lemon thyme and anise leaves in a little, lightly-salted boiling water. The mixture is then blended and passed through a fine sieve.

For those who cannot visit his restaurant garden in Laguiole, Auvergne-based chef Michel Bras has a website, particularly useful for the more unusual herbs such as rue, hyssop, savory, agastache rugosa, purslane and salad burnet.

In former times, Britain was one of the world’s leading producers of essential oils. Once again, fields of lavender are to be found growing in profusion in the southeast of England, as farmers diversify their produce.

Aromatic oils were and are still used for medical purposes, as well as cosmetics. The plants from which they are extracted are still widely grown on the continent to produce tinctures of herbal remedies, flower waters, herb and spice vinegars and other fragrant delights. Their flower waters are particularly lovely, not only for culinary and cosmetic purposes, but added to a steam iron make the laundry smell divine. I use rose water in a spray as a skin tonic.

Near Modena, Italy, we used to visit a restaurant with an organic herb garden which supplied the kitchen with all manner of herbs, flowers and salad stuffs. Herbs such as bronze fennel and lovage were used in simple pasta dishes. Specialities included duck and herbs as a main course, or perhaps a whole roasted calf’s liver, stuffed with herbs and pancetta. Meals at this place often start with an exquisite salad, much influenced by the writings of Giacomo Castelvetro, who was exiled from Modena in the 16th century and went to England, where he tried to teach the English about salads.

I must mention ‘my’ garden, Frances’ Garden, at Ta’ Frenċ restaurant in Gozo, where the gardeners and kitchen staff tend a wide variety of herbs and edible flowers for use in salads, fish dishes and desserts.

The plants are, of course, for admiring and not for picking. Nasturtiums are just about at an end, but given the late season, the lavender is still flowering, and the lemon verbena, lemon balm, sage and several mints are in full leaf. These are used in infusions that can be served at the end of the meal as a refreshing alternative to coffee. Many of the herbs have been brought specially from Gli Aromi, an incredible herb garden curated by Enrico Russino not far from Pozzallo in Sicily, and are well worth a lengthy visit by any keen gardener (www.gliaromi.it).

Today’s recipes combine to make a meal full of fresh flavours, ideal for summer entertaining.