Herbaceous

Don’t ya just love fresh herbs?

Parsley

Basil

Rosemary

German Thyme

Last summer, having gotten tired of paying $4 a pop at the grocery store for small plastic containers of herbs that I never fully use before they go bad, I decided to take matters into my own hands.  I bought two of these lovely planters from Crate & Barrel, had The Mr. mount them on the railings of our back “porch,” and got my hands dirty.  I planted basil, parsley, and oregano in one and rosemary, mint, and thyme in the other.  It sounded like a good idea at the time.  With daily watering and all that direct sunlight on my “porch,” I had spent less than I would on containers of those herbs at the grocery store and I was gonna keep myself in fresh herbs throughout the summer!  Those were my thoughts, anyway.  That is…until we went away to the beach.

I asked our pet sitter to please water the herbs for me daily.  Well, she did, and I came home to HERBS GONE WILD!!  They had tripled in size in 10 days time!!  (Unfortunately, I seem to have deleted this pics I took, so I can’t prove it.  But I promise it’s true!)  Horticulturally speaking, that was pretty awesome. But practically, I COULD NOT use them fast enough.  I put basil and parsley on anything that would stand still.  I made mojitos like they were going out of style.  I even infused olive oil with rosemary and mint and made a bath scrub out of it.  (I understand that all of those things would have made interesting blog posts, but who can write when you are worried about herbs taking over your home?) But the herbs just kept growing and growing.  I gave all my neighbors permission to just come up on my porch and snip off any amount of herb they wanted.  I tried to give them away to my friends.   And still they grew…and grew…and GREW!  By the fall, my “porch” railing planters no longer housed a lovely, demure little herb garden.  They had become monstrosities of the highest order, disproportionate in size to their containers, with yellowing leaves from disuse and snaking limbs.  They were huge and hideous and starting to choke each other.  So, I did what any self-respecting gardener would do – ripped them all out and planted pansies.

Despite this failed experiment, I still had a strong desire to grow my own herbs.  I mean, even though they are just herbs, it’s still nice to think that I’m eating something I grew myself.  Also, without having my own, I’m forced back into my original predicament - paying $4 a pop at the grocery store for small plastic containers of herbs that I never fully use before they go bad.  This year, though, I decided to take a different route – CONTAINMENT!

I was given this sweet little plant stand by a neighbor who moved and wasn’t going to be able to take it with her.

It had been sitting on my “porch” for a couple of months, as I was uncertain about what to do with it myself.  But then I thought, “Hey, what’s this in my living room?”

A HUGE window with excellent natural light, perfect for plant growing.   Plant stand, meet ginormous window.  You both love plants.  Discuss!!

Hmmm…but what to put in said plant stand?  If, I put some herbs in smaller pots, and grow them inside through filtered window light, I might just be able to grow the herbs I need without running the risk of them squeezing me out of house and home.  One problem, though – the orangey-color of terra cotta pots doesn’t exactly mesh with the look I’ve got going in my living room.

What to do?  Several months ago I saw Martha decorate up some cute little terra cotta pots on her show and loved them.  I refreshed my memory with an archived video from her website, ordered up some Old Fashioned Milk Paint, and headed to Michael’s for a hot glue gun and some twine.  I’m usually not the crafty type, but this little project was just calling my name.   I know I’m no Martha but, they didn’t turn out half bad, huh?

I love the dusty, weathered look from the milk paint and the “Driftwood” color blends perfectly with the color palate of my living room.  Now I’ve got a window full of sweet little herb pots. They’re fresh and demure, just like I like ’em!

‘Cuz, let’s face it, nobody likes a haughty herb!

Cheers, ya’ll!