If you’re an outdoor person and/or love plants and fresh greens around you, one of the hardest aspects of apartment living is not being able to have your own dedicated green space. Due to the limitations of balconies or pre-landscaped yards, finding ways to bring fresh plants into your home can be tricky. Fortunately, there are many plants that thrive in containers, which can be placed on porches and balconies or near sunny windows. One of the easiest (and tastiest!) container gardens you can plant is an herb garden. These small plants thrive in planters, add much-needed doses of fresh green and are handy when preparing light and tasty meals.
A quick (and relatively inexpensive) trip to your local hardware store will yield everything you need to get started! Here’s what you should pick up:
- A few coordinating planters in various sizes and shapes; make sure the planters have holes on the bottom for adequate drainage
- A variety of pre-sprouted herbs
- Potting soil
- Gloves
- Small garden shovel
I really like picking up pre-sprouted herbs in these compact, biodegradable pots. Not only am I way too impatient for seeds to sprout, but I find these are super simple to plant, and the herbs really thrive with adequate sun and water. I can usually get (most of) my herbs to last almost a full year, but I still re-plant every spring!
To plant your herbs, simply take off the paper wrapper, wet the herbs with water, place the mini “pots” into an inch or so of soil and then pack in more soil around and on top of the pots. If you are working on a porch or balcony, lay down a tarp to catch all the excess soil and expedite cleanup. I highly recommend seeking out a grassy spot to do your planting so you don’t have to worry about the mess!
No herb garden is complete without some adorable garden stakes, and these are especially helpful if you have some herbs that look quite similar (parsley and cilantro, oregano and mint). To make a set of garden tags, pick up some chalkboard garden picks at your local craft store. Chalk would wash off every time I watered the plants, so I opted to cut the herb names out of vinyl with a die-cut machine.
After a quick transfer of the letters with transfer paper, I had a set of super adorable garden picks for my planters!
My herbs do really well situated by a west-facing glass door. They get just enough afternoon sun without baking in the heat all day. To keep your herbs healthy and long-lasting, don’t overwater them. I typically water the herbs when they are just starting to show signs of thirst. If your planters are inside, make sure you have trays or plates under them to catch excess water!
Having herbs at the ready is not only a great way to keep your cooking flavorful, but the infusion of greenery in an apartment space brings in instant energy. If you’re looking for other ways to add some sort of garden into your home, try this
herb garden alternative, and check out this
handy list for figuring out which plants will survive inside your apartment!
