Herb Container Planting Ideas

Spice up your life with a scent-sational herb garden in a pot. Get growing with these fragrant combinations.

By: Julie Martens Forney

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Photo By: Anne Gibson

Photo By: Williams-Sonoma.com

Photo By: Gardeners.com

Photo By: Williams-Sonoma.com

Photo By: Gardeners.com

Photo By: Gardener's Supply Co. at Gardeners.com

Mix and Match Pots

Both culinary and medicinal herbs look fabulous in upcycled containers, baskets and containers such as small boots. Group herbs with similar water and sun needs together, says Anne Gibson of TheMicroGardener.com. For example, drought-tolerant Mediterranean herbs like rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano, chives, green onions and marjoram are perfect bed partners. These attractive planters also make great edible gifts.

A Basket of Herbs

Turn a hanging basket into a tasty herb garden. Line the basket with heavy plastic, poking a few drainage holes in the bottom. Fill with soil, then add one pot each of chives, golden oregano, silver curry, basil and thyme. You’ll need a basket that’s at least 12 inches wide to accommodate all these herbs.

A Sink-ful of Herbs

A sink on a stand lifts a garden to an ergonomically pleasing height—no bending required. This sink measures roughly 40 inches long by 18 inches wide. To create this herb garden, plant one each, left to right, tatsoi, upright rosemary, trailing thyme, silver plectranthus, trailing rosemary, sweet green basil, Italian flat-leaf parsley, trailing rosemary and germander.

Convenient Containers

Keep a pot available to fill with favorite herbs you use frequently. Display it near your back door to make harvest a snap. Parsley makes a great choice for a winter-spring herb in warm zones. Sow seeds in the pot or start with a seedling. When the parsley is done, sow seeds of fernleaf dill, a dwarf dill that thrives in containers.

Self-Watering Herb Box

An herb garden on the porch offers fresh-from-the-garden flavors for home-cooked dishes. Try a self-watering container to make herb care ever easier. This planter contains one each (left to right, front row): golden oregano, red cabbage, bok choy, red tatsoi, mustard greens; (middle row) 3 Thai basil plants; (back row): upright rosemary and purple kale.

Washtub of Herbs

A vintage galvanized washtub provides perfect footing for an herb garden that offers easy pickings. To create this garden, tuck two plants side by side to create a row. From front to back, plant: lamb’s ears, trailing or prostrate rosemary, spearmint, parsley, thyme (choose flavors you like), cilantro and oregano.

Stand Up Herb Garden

Forget bending over to tend your herbs—try a stand-up garden bed instead. This cedar planting table measures roughly 4 feet long by 2 feet wide. Along the front short side, plant two thymes in each of the corners, sandwiching two sage plants. Put in a row of Italian flat-leaf parsley on the opposite end, and fill the rest of the space with sweet basil sown from seed. Leave room for one upright rosemary in about the middle center back of the planter.

Herbs In Crates

A trio of crate planters makes an eye-catching herb garden. The first crate contains one plant each (clockwise from lower right): trailing rosemary, spearmint, basil, 'Fernleaf' dill and two more basil plants. The middle crate contains one plant each (left to right, front to back): thyme, sweet basil, parsley, African blue basil and cilantro. The rear crate is filled with lavender—use four to eight plants, depending on how quickly you want it to appear full.

Herb Window Box

Choose a self-watering window box to raise a crop of tasty herbs. This box measures 31 inches long. To fill it, plant one each lemon thyme, tricolor sage, lemon balm, basil, oregano and traditional English thyme.