easy patio herbs

I wanted to share a simple project we started last spring, in case you might like to try something similar while it's still early in the season.

We had a few empty strawberry pots that our parents had given us, and last spring my partner had the idea of creating a little herbal table out of one of them. He loves to propagate plants, and it seemed like the perfect situation to create an easy, tiny, functional herb garden. We didn't yet realize at the time just how much we would enjoy this living table.

We started at the top by planting some lemon thyme, and then worked down from there. We filled each of the smaller chambers with cuttings of established herbs we have growing around our home, including a couple varieties of thyme and oregano, marjoram, savory, and chives. Thyme, savory, marjoram and especially oregano, propagate quite easily if the soil is kept moist. The chives were divided off of a larger cluster.

The pot is beautifully full now, (and chives are about to burst into bloom!) but even last summer - just a few months from the time of starting - there were plenty of herbs filling out the planting vessels.

For the table top, Steven nestled 3 long stones into the soil, and then set a piece of salvaged stone tile on them. The triangular arrangement of the stones makes it easy to keep the top level, with a simple push or pull of a high or low side.

We eat a lot of meals out on the patio during the warmer months, and it's a real treat to be able to pick fresh herbs right at the table.

 

 

What are some of your favorite fresh herbs? We have been working on expanding our choices. I love to pile fresh herbs on my plate, adding healing properties, and a complexity of flavors to my food. Herbs can bring the simplest of meals to the next level.