Coriandrum sativum is one of the oldest cultivated herbs on record, appearing in Sanskrit texts and Egyptian tombs long before it reached modern kitchens. It grows as a cool-season annual, thriving in the moderate temperatures of spring and fall and bolting to flower at the first sustained heat of summer. That bolting tendency frustrates cooks chasing fresh leaves, but it is the point of no return toward coriander seed — the mature, dried fruit with its warm, citrusy character so different from the green herb above it.

For leaf production, succession-sow every two to three weeks in a sunny spot with moist, well-drained soil, and harvest before the flower stalks emerge. In summer heat, light shade extends the leaf season slightly. Once it does bolt, the delicate pink-white flower umbels are genuinely pretty, and they draw Swallowtail butterflies reliably — Papilio machaon uses the plant as a larval host. Let a few plants go to full seed, and it will self-sow back into the garden in cooler weather.