Brian Minter: Bay laurel is one of the most underused varieties in our gardens today. And here's why

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Any time I’ve travelled to Britain or Europe, especially the Netherlands and Germany, I have admired their stunning bay trees simply growing in home gardens. Most European bay trees are grown in Italy where they do a magnificent job of shaping them into narrow spires, perfect cones or rounded spheres.

Laurus nobilis is a Mediterranean native which, left in its natural habitat, will grow 3.6-to-12-metres tall and wide. Trees are usually multi-stemmed and produce much-sought-after, aromatic leaves about five-to-10-centimetres long. Each spring, small clusters of yellow flowers appear and eventually turn into small black fruit.

The Sunset Western Garden book lists bay laurel as a Zone 5-to-9 plant, but in my experience, it’s truly a Zone 7, which, if well acclimatized and growing in the ground, can tolerate temperatures of anywhere from -10 C to -12 C.

I mention this because I think bay laurel is one of the most underused varieties in our gardens today. About 15 years ago we planted a young bay on a rather steep bank on the south side of our home and enjoyed the tree for many years. It was very vigorous and had to be pruned to keep it down to a manageable size, but once shaped, it was as beautiful a broad-leafed evergreen as any other in the garden. Every time I walked by, I would rub my hands on the leaves and enjoy its extraordinarily scented foliage. The true beauty was also going out at any time of year to gather a few leaves to enjoy in so many recipes. Leaves also make wonderful potpourris and we often used stems and small branches in attractive