Bay is called Laurus nobilis - the leaves from this are what get dried and used in cooking. In the ground, it becomes a very densely foliated tree, under which nothing else will grow, because the shade it casts is equally dense. Can be bought as a standard or a bush and kept in a pot, but will need regular cutting back or potting on as it gets larger.

It is easy to grow from a cutting taken now. I just pop them in under the tree and I get plants easily. I don't have any at the moment but they are not expensive. You should be able to get an 8" -!0" high plant for about £4.