In fact, any number of herbs are important to salads and can be applied as part of the dressings and oils, or chopped or ripped directly into the salad bowl.
But it is always with great anticipation that I open my summer kitchen garden account with summer lettuce. It is important to use varieties that don't bolt - you might go through five varieties before finding one that doesn't. That's fancy garden talk for go to seed before they mature. Bolting can be mitigated by using shade judiciously, such as that cast by tomato vines, cucurbits grown on trellises or beans and peas.
Beans and peas are doubly good because they fix nitrogen into the soil, which helps lettuce grow quickly, giving sweet, crisp leaves.
Picking times in summer are also important. During the heat of the day lettuce is often wilted and a bit drab, however first thing in the morning or out of the heat of the day it should be upright and part from the stem of the plant with a little snap as you pick it.
My other summer salad favourites (and I concede not all are green) include beetroot, carrots, spring onions.
Then there are cucumbers. Cucumbers are really refreshing, especially when they are small, so we tend to grow the smaller "apple" varieties.
Avocados are also an illustrious salad extra, providing a good deal of body to go with the lightness of many of the salad ingredients. The avocado flesh lubricates the salad leaves nicely as you toss your salad before serving.
As summer comes to an end I usually revert to cooking more salad ingredients, so tend to go for a green component like rocket. With its peppery, crispy leaves, it proves a good contrast to the sweet, roasted vegetables that become more available in late summer like aubergine, caramelised onion, roasted garlic.
And much later on, more into autumn really, there are pumpkins. A story for autumn, that one.
