6:47 AM

My Bright and Fun New Herb Container Garden

I am soooo far behind this year when it comes to the garden and my container gardening. Life and business have been busy of late, which is great but, all of that has put me back a bit when it comes to the garden. Luckily, a few weeks ago I found this really cool bright yellow-green planter at the Ocean State Job Lot. I've been itching to fill it with herbs since I bought it and finally this week I have had the time to do it!

This four-legged container is really supposed to be to used to start plants from seed. There was an optional clear plastic cover to go with it. However, the cost of the cover was an extra $24 and since I wasn't interested in planting seeds at this late date, I opted out of that purchase.

Anyway, I thought this bright green planter would look great on my deck and would provide a really nice place for my herb garden. (Sorry about the messy pics. I was on a time crunch when taking them :/) Usually, I put random herbs in regular plastic window boxes in various areas around my back deck. I thought the addition of this planter would bring a little fun to the deck this year.

I mixed in various soils, compost and peat to fill the container. Unfortunately, I miscalculated and didn't have enough soil to fill all of it even though I had placed some crushed plastic soda bottles on the bottom to take up the space. My husband ran down to the local hardware store for me and purchased this bag of garden soil to top it off. I mixed everything all together and was really happy with the result. The great soil mixture I think should make for great plants. I guess we'll see!

Earlier in the week I had purchased these herbs at Trader Joe's. Their prices were better than I had seen at my local garden nurseries so, I thought I'd give them a chance. I bought basil, rosemary, thyme, cilantro and sage. The marigolds came from the local nursery. I like to add color to my herb garden and as an added bonus, marigolds supposedly ward off insects. It's a win - win.

The added benefit to buying the herbs at Trader Joe's was that the plants came in recycled and, hopefully, biodegradable pots. I thought that was pretty cool.

As I started to fill up the planter, I realized I had purchased two plants of thyme instead of one thyme and one oregano plant. Bummer! I would need to go to the nursery after all. I love having oregano around. I actually know how to use it in recipes, unlike some of the other herbs in the garden. I am slowly learning as I go to incorporate fresh herbs in my cooking. For instance, I found a neat Christmas drink recipe last Christmas that required fresh rosemary. The rosemary made the drink.

I saved a spot in the planter for the oregano. You can see it here. ↓ Unfortunately, filling the space was going to have to wait. I was going away for a few days. Thankfully, a rainstorm went through my hometown and kept my new herb planter watered. All was well when I returned home. Yay!

I went out and purchased some oregano yesterday morning and set out to finish the planter. I discovered two different kinds of oregano and couldn't decide on which one to buy. So...I bought both! I loved the look of this variegated variety. Doesn't it add texture to the whole scene?

I also purchased "regular" oregano and tucked in the back next to a marigold plant. It isn't quite as pretty but, smells divine.

I really do like the bright yellow-green planter on the deck. It adds some zip and a bit of the unexpected.

I know for sure I will be making caprese salad with the basil and adding some oregano to my spaghetti sauce. I'm not sure what other uses I will find for the herbs (Google and Pinterest are great for that!) but I sure do love running my hand over the fresh herbs and smelling their delicious aromas.

Next it is onto filling up some of my deck flower boxes with pretty flowers. I have already started on that project. Hopefully, the flowers will grow quickly and I will be able to share a few pics of them in the near future~

Until then happy gardening!