One thing I never envisioned myself to be is the crazy plant lady. In fact, for many years of my life all I managed to do was kill everything green I came into contact with. In hindsight, if that old saying of being able to keep a plant alive before you have kids is right, we really shouldn’t have had kids! Thankfully our children have an innate ability to let us know when they are hungry or thirsty. Over and over and over until they are satisfied.
So as it turns out, I think the opposite is true. If you can have babies and keep them alive, then you can garden. Your babies teach you (by repetitive nagging) to feed and water them. You then learn the routine and you start to preempt the asking by shoving food in their faces before they can utter a single word. For me gardening has been the same. I now manage to water them before they die on me by sticking to a little routine of actually remembering that I have plants. Crazy huh?
I’ve been accumulating a great many plants in our home for a number of years now (even having them babysat while we were in the van). Since being back and knowing that everything was alive and well, it was time to really get into this green thumb business… Planting things outside and still remembering to water them! (The trick is adding it to the list of chores the kids have to do – they literally fight over who gets to do it – guys, you’re welcome!)
Where to plant the herb garden…
Just outside our back door is the perfect spot for a herb garden. For a number of reasons, but probably the main one being that when you need herbs for supper, they are right there. Plus it gets the right amount of sun for a herb garden so it works perfectly.
We uhmed and ahhed about how to do this in a way that looked good and didn’t require too much effort. Also something that could be moved if necessary. After a lot of researched we felt that the 3 tier planter box from the Pole Yard was the right fit for the space. We wanted our herb garden to grow well and be easily accessible and this checked both boxes. Plus the wood is correctly treated to last for the long haul in outdoor conditions.
With a bit more research we realised that even though the wood is treated, being in direct contact with wet soil errday is eventually going to lead to issues. So we lined our box with plastic bags to give it its best shot at being awesome.
What’s in the herb garden?
For many years we had been cutting our grass and dumping it on a pile in the corner of the garden. Even the gardener laughed at us. But it proved to be the best thing we’ve done as it was the perfect compost! We added in a bit more that we bought especially for herbs and got planting. The girls were fully invested in this which was awesome.
We have a variety of things in our little herb garden but mostly the herbs that we actually eat. Tomatoes line the back tier as they need stakes and will look great growing up the wall. Then basil, thyme and a marigold for bugs in the middle tier. Lastly in the front we have more marigolds (that have since died from too much love or something I can’t fathom any other reason), sage (also not living its best life), leeks and garlic chives.
We use these things every single day and it really had been one of the best thing we’ve done in the garden. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as going out with a pair of scissors and getting herbs for supper! Plus there’s no more plastic bakkies of herbs to throw away. Winning!
Want to watch instead of read?
We made a little video of the process. You know, in case you’re quite over reading all the words I write in excess. Give it a watch if you’re wondering how to go about planting a herb garden. Or if you know better than us and want to have a laugh.
DISCLAIMER – Thank you Pole Yard for partnering with us for the long haul, on this and many adventures to come. You’re awesome and your products have me Pinteresting away on how to upgrade our garden. I can’t wait!
