Name:  Basil Bonsai aka Ocimum basilicum one of the  Kitchen Minis™ plants from PanAmerican Seed/Ball Horticulture 

Type of Plant:  This is a fine-leaf Greek basil that is perfect for containers or gardens. These plants grow 8 to 12” tall and wide. They would be lovely planted in a row as a border around an herb garden.

Why I Love this Plant: This basil has it all: a sweet, rounded form that looks fantastic in an herb garden, in pots or in window boxes. The small leaves are perfect for use in cooking or as a garnish. Put sprigs of this on a tomato salad plate, around a bowl of potato salad, or even in a basil cocktail.

I’ve used this basil in all types of dishes, cooked and raw. It’s a treat for the eye as it grows, and to the tastebuds when it is added to your summer meal.

A Word to the Wise:  When growing this basil in a container, fertilize it regularly in the summer. If you want to keep it’s appearance round and tidy, harvest from the bottom edges first.

How sweet is this? A well shaped, bright green herb that is a beautiful in a pot as it is as a garnish on plates or in basil cocktails.

This year I have an assortment of herbs in pots near my kitchen door. The Basil Bonsai is on the far right. Any of these would be perfect on an apartment balcony as well. No space? No problem.

Even the flowers are tiny and sweet. Basil Bonsai is one of the Kitchen Minis™ that will play a staring role in my herb garden and pots for years to come.

This is a lineup of several of the Kitchen Minis™ – a photo I took last week at the Ball demonstration gardens in West Chicago. See more about all of the Kitchen Minis™ here.