Growing spaces: windowsill

Sweet basil — indigenous cultivation across India long before its pizza career.

A monsoon annual of verandah pots, with seed pods children cannot leave alone.

Sixty days from sowing to dal, and sproutable on a kitchen shelf.

Near-indestructible succulent for a bright sill; water only when the soil is dry through.

The dark-leaved tulsi, sharper in scent and a little slower to grow than the green.

Thick scented leaves on a succulent stem; one plant fills a windowsill pot for years.

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

One plant on a sill supplies a household. Crops for two years if you keep picking.

Regrows from the root end of a shop-bought bunch — the cheapest crop in the house.

A pot by an open window does more for a summer evening than any air freshener.