Growing spaces: ground

A slight winter annual of dry western fields, grown for the husk of its seed.

A dry-country shrub with yellow flowers, tough enough for a Rajasthan roof.

Fine blue-white flowers over ferny leaves, then the black seed of the spice box.

Feathery winter foliage, then umbels that hoverflies and small wasps work all day.

A winter annual of the north-west, grown for the thyme-scented seed.

The wild tulsi — taller, camphor-scented and perennial where winters are mild.

The pennywort of damp corners; spreads by runners and asks for shade and moisture.

A fine-leaved climber with tuberous roots, happiest scrambling up a partly shaded wall.

A small shady-forest shrub, historically important and now scarce in the wild.

The bitter herb of the monsoon — quick from seed and a reliable pot plant.