Making a herb garden

If like me you live in the city, it's not always easy to find the space to grow things, whether that be flowers or food, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.  I've found some ingenious ideas to help you create a herb garden.  Herbs are a good safe bet for the most part, as the majority of herbs need very little looking after (the exception is Basil which I never seem to manage to keep alive for very long - I'm told they need gravelly soil).  A few herb pots planted up imaginatively can make you feel very Nigella ish with relatively little outlay in terms of effort or money...who doesn't like to add fresh herbs to their dishes, wandering round the house or garden with a pair of kitchen scissors, snipping merrily!

There are many, many gorgeous pots out there that can be planted up with herbs - it's fine to mix and match plants in containers,  BUT NEVER put mint in anything but it's own pot.  It grows rapidly and takes over, spreading very quickly, so needs to be solitary and contained - don't say you haven't been warned...

You could try layering them like this planting - a smaller shallow bowl placed on top of a larger shallow bowl..

Or this...

layered effect herb garden.  This would work equally well indoors.

Some of my favourite ideas however, are the ingenious, eclectic ones.  How about using an old crate like this one

or plant in separate pots and group together for impact like this:

Check out these ideas - a great use for tin cans don't you think?

and Mason jars!


These ideas tho' are my favourites - for those with no outdoor space here are some fabulous ideas straight from the Summer edition of Sweet Paul Magazine.

You can buy your herbs from any good Garden Centre or order on-line at Norfolk Herbs or Laurel Farm Herbs.

Lovely pots to grow them in can be found again at good garden centres or on-line at Primrose Garden where they have a great range of different types of planters.

For tips on planting up your pot have a look at this

Then sit back and reap the rewards...happy gardening...