Culinary Delights: the Benefits of a Herb Garden Stand
Some of the greatest joy of spending time outdoors is cooking and sharing meals with friends and family. The experience is even better when you grow your own herbs which have flavors - as every herb gardener knows - a “zillion” times better than dried store-bought herbs. In so many ways, herbs are the easiest foods to grow. They grow quickly, take up the smallest amount of space, and add the flavor and aroma that every dish needs. With the assistance of an outdoor herb garden plant stand or a vertical herb garden, your landscape will become more beautiful and your cooking will go to the next level.
Which Herbs Grow Well Outdoors?
Herbs add an incredible amount of flavor and aroma. You can grow many herbs each season, and if you want, dry what you haven’t used. Some of the best herbs for growing outdoors are basil, chives, cilantro, dill, fennel, mint, parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage, and tarragon.
What Herbs Go In A Vertical Garden?
Almost all herbs grow well in a vertical garden. Certain herbs such as fennel and chives can be challenging to grow in a vertical garden with the limited amount of space above and below the plant. Chives tend to grow very tall and need some vertical space to grow. Fennel roots grow into large bulbs that may not have the capacity to fit in a vertical garden as well. Aside from these two, most herbs are fairly compact and do well in vertical gardens.
How Do I Display Herbs In My Garden?
Herbs are some of the easiest plants to grow for the amateur gardener. They often grow quickly and thick with little assistance or maintenance. This allows you to frequently trim off some leaves or flowers and add delicious flavors and fragrant aromas to your food. If you’re growing your own herbs, it’s a great idea to display them for everyone to see because they aren’t just delicious, they are beautiful. Each different herb has its own exquisite beauty and there are plenty of ways to display them in your garden.
How Do I Make My Herb Garden Go Vertical?
One of the most popular ways to display smaller plants in a garden is to use raised planters. These are commonly made from wood, corrugated, metal, or masonry. That’s a start. Then, you can add an even more vertical dimension with a pallet set inside the planter. Some herbs can be grown in the planter itself, and others in small flower pots attached to the pallet. And voila, you have a space-saving herb garden that can even double as a small privacy wall.
How Do I Make An Herb Garden Stand / Standing Herb Box?
Building an herb garden stand is fairly straightforward. It’s one of the many small DIY projects around the home that the average homeowner can tackle with the right materials, some decent equipment, and a good attitude. In order to build an herb garden stand, you should start to collect some plant-friendly materials. This could include a plastic tub for holding plants and soil, wooden planks, sturdy posts, some screws, and maybe a screw-in hook or two.
An herb garden stand should be elevated a few feet from the ground in order to keep pests and fungus from making their way in unnoticed. Herbs are particularly delicate and vulnerable plants and they are often quite attractive to insects, rabbits, mice, and so on (and there’s nothing more frustrating than to carefully nurture your herbs only to find them one morning dug up or muched down to the roots).
Elevating your herb garden also makes sure the soil has good drainage. You can achieve this by drilling small holes in the bottom of the planter.
Can Herb Gardens Be Outside?
Keeping an herb garden inside your house can produce some great visuals and wonderful aromas as long as you have a big sunny window. This can also provide some great protection for the herbs from pests and disease. There are some downsides to keeping an herb garden inside, such as keeping the surrounding area clean, access to pollinators, and space restrictions.
Keeping an herb garden outside your house is not only possible but it offers some great advantages for the herbs and your outdoor lifestyle. Much like indoors, these herbs can produce some detailed backdrops for your outdoor living space as well as improve the atmosphere through added fragrance. Of course, the herbs will have much better access to sunlight, higher levels of oxygen, and pollinators such as bees, birds, and butterflies. The plants will be healthier living outside as long as they are protected and watered.
How Do I Make An Herb Garden Patio?
Herb planters are ideal for placing in the unused areas of your outdoor living space. Much like flowers, herbs make an excellent backdrop to all the fun and relaxation. You can include raised masonry planters, vertical herb gardens, standing herb gardens, and a collection of colorful pots. Consider the flow of your patio and add a stand up herb garden near your outdoor kitchen. You may be inspired to add more of these options in other parts of the patio.
Do Herb Gardens Like Sun Or Shade?
Your herb garden should be located in a location that receives lots of sunlight. Although herbs are fairly delicate, they will do best in areas of full sun on your patio. Many herbs, including parsley and mint in particular, will grow robustly (and quickly) in the right circumstances. Try to keep them away from overly shady spaces as they will start to turn yellow or brown and wilt in the lack of the sun’s energy.
Should I Water My Herbs Often?
Most herbs need plenty of water. Rosemary is one of the few herbs that prefer things on the dry side; otherwise, herbs are fairly thirsty. In a hot, sunny location, this may mean daily watering.
What Planter Is Best For Herbs?
Herbs can grow in a variety of different planters. Using planters for your herbs will create an optimal environment for them to grow and help keep them safe from pests and disease. Planters can be made of all sorts of materials including wood, steel, plastic, and ceramics. Certain planters have different properties that can improve the health of a plant: clay pots, for example, lose moisture faster than plastic, but also allow for better drainage.
We believe that ceramic planters offer the best opportunity for plants to grow without ever needing any maintenance themselves. A fantastic example of a ceramic herb planter is the Ceramic Wall Planter from Mkono. This simple and gorgeous planter is a stack of three 7 inch pots all held up by a hanging rope. Each pot can hold a separate herb, providing different flavors and aromas for your food. Having several of these in a row can create a beautiful living wall that is easy to access, maintain, and appreciate.
As for planters made from other materials, we can recommend a few other planters to make your herb growing easier while adding beauty to your patio or deck:
The Vertical Raised Garden Bed from Fleximount offers the wonderful opportunity to create a terraced herb garden in a fairly small area with its four container boxes set on a rack. This raised garden bed is made from plastic, guaranteeing that it will not need maintenance or deteriorate over time. The elegant color will blend in and let the herbs shine in the sunlight.
The Natural Bamboo Plant Stand from unho is a beautiful and spacious vertical garden that fits well in both indoor and outdoor applications. The treated bamboo will last for many years with no treatment and provide shelving for all sorts of beautiful plants and their gorgeous pots. Amazingly, this stand can hold up to 100 pounds of plants, soil, pots, and decorations on its many shelves.
The 2-Pack Wall Planter from ShopLaLa is a gorgeous wall hanging vertical garden that supports up to 8 small pots on each planter. Fitting on the side of the wall of your home or any other vertical landscape structure, this planter takes advantage of any unused vertical space without cluttering your landscape.