'The Herbs' Trivia Quiz

Answer: Parsley

Parsley sat on the pathway outside the herb garden at the beginning of each episode and the lovable lion became the star of the show. He even had his own spin-off entitled 'The Adventures of Parsley'. There were 32 episodes of 'The Adventures of Parsley' made, but only 13 of 'The Herbs'.

Answer: Dill

Dill is owned by the Lord and Lady of the estate and lives in a kennel in the garden. He is hyperactive and as his song tells us he loves to run in circles and chase his tail. 'The Herbs' was first broadcast on 12th February 1968 as part of 'Watch with Mother'.

Answer: Sage

Sage is a grumpy owl, who hates the rain and owns a treasured umbrella to keep him dry. He was given singing lessons by Signor Solidago, but he failed to find any vocal talents in Sage.

Answer: Basil

Sir Basil owns the estate which contains the herb garden and is a lover of the country pursuits, such as hunting, shooting and fishing. He is so absorbed in his pastimes that he generally misses what is going on around him, leading to many a mishap. Sir Basil and the other Herbs were created by Michael Bond, who also wrote the 'Paddington Bear' books.

Answer: Bayleaf

Bayleaf is the gardener hired to keep the estate in order. He is the font of knowledge of all things herbaceous, but he is usually nowhere to be found when he is needed. He has a strong West Country accent and he is a lovable rogue. The narrator of the series was Gordon Rollings.

Answer: Knapweed

Constable Knapweed is a redheaded Yorkshire-man. His methods are somewhat Victorian and he likes to write down the names of 'The Herbs' at every turn, whether they are guilty or not. 'Nicholas Nickleby', a new Sunday afternoon serial was advertised on the front cover of the 'Radio Times' for the week the first episode of 'The Herbs' was broadcast.

Answer: Rosemary

Lady Rosemary wears the trousers in this marriage. Sir Basil has to rely on her so many times to sort out his messes and she keeps the entire herb garden in check.

Answer: Tarragon

Tarragon appeared when Bayleaf drops some plant food onto a tarragon seed. A beanstalk appears with a giant egg on top. The egg is given to Sage to hatch and presto Tarragon is born. He does have the problem of setting things on fire at random, but interestingly we only ever see smoke coming out of his nostrils, because fire is difficult to stop-animate, the process which 'The Herbs' is made in.

Answer: Belladonna

Belladonna is an evil witch. Her homemade wine turned Sir Basil and Lady Rosemary into weeds, but she did have a fear of her own, Dill the dog. She was so scary, however, that the BBC requested she be dropped from the show. She never made it to the end of the series and never appeared in the spin-off show.

Answer: Mint

Aunty Mint is knitting all the time and can knit anything to order, e.g. a balaclava for Sage's birthday and jumpers for all the chives when they caught a cold. She proved to be an underused character and she is thought to look like a female 'Postman Pat'. You do have to look twice to see if Jess is nearby!