Bay (Laurus nobilis) is a fairly easy to grow shrub and the leaves are commonly used in cookery. You can buy dried bay leaves but, if you have some garden space, a live plant won’t take long to repay the investment if you frequently turn to it as an ingredient.

Placed in the ground in a spot it likes, the plant can rapidly grow into a large bush. That’s why I was struck by the examples of heavily pruned bay bushes I saw at Elton Hall last week:

That green cylinder is a bay tree kept under close control. I don’t know how often it has to be clipped to main the shape but it strikes me as an idea I’d like to try sometime.