If you’ve ever purchased fresh herbs at the market, you know that they are expensive. Oh sure, you could buy dried herbs, but they don’t taste nearly as wonderful as fresh herbs. Even better are fresh herbs from your own potted herb garden! Growing herbs is a lot easier than you might think.

One thing you will need to remember when planting herb gardens in pots is that the plants will need good drainage. Be sure to place stones, gravel or chards from broken pots in the bottom of the container. Also, use potting soil rather than soil from your yard as it will allow for good drainage as well as healthy root growth. When you first plant your herb garden, be sure to saturate the soil. After the initial watering, you will only need to water when the soil dries out. Subsequent waterings do not need to be heavy and should only be done when the soil has had time to dry out slightly.

Herbs are easy to grow, they don’t need a lot of space, and feel at home in a wide variety of containers. Herb gardens in pots, or other containers, can be grown indoors or out. As long as they get at least six hours of sunlight, your herbs will thrive. If you are growing your herbs indoors and don’t have a sunny location, you will need to provide artificial sunshine through the use of grow lights.

Herb gardens in pots especially love sunny patios. A clever idea I discovered recently is to plant a citrus tree in the middle of a large pot and surround it with a variety of herbs. For a dramatic effect, add an herb or two that cascades over the edge of the pot. Another fun idea is to add flowers, such as nasturtiums (which are edible), to your container.

My favorite way to create herb gardens in pots is to use strawberry planters. A strawberry planter is a vertical pot with tiers of holes, or pockets, in its sides. This is a practical way to grow a variety of herbs in one pot without worrying about them competing for space since they each have their own pocket.

Other ideas for planters are baskets, an old bucket (with drainage holes punched in the bottom), wood boxes, a colander, or even an old shoe or cowboy boot. As long as the container can hold enough soil and has good drainage, it will work. Let your imagination go wild.

If you are new to herb gardening, I urge you to give herb gardening in pots a try. Once you taste your home grown, fresh herbs in your favorite recipe, you will be hooked!