About 3 years ago, we had a huge Blue Spruce pine tree cut down. It had taken over a large part of our front yard, right in front of our corner porch & front window. And . . . it was dying. When we took it down, the big circle that it left was the perfect place to expand my window herb 'garden' to the outside!
I planted as many perennials as I could & a few annuals. But the Lord is gracious to me & a few of the supposed annuals resurface the next year, from time-to-time. :-) Generally, I have echinacea, rosemary, dill,
sage, flax, black-eyed Susans, cilantro, garlic, flox, lavender & a cucumber vine on a lovely trellis my DH got me that's next to the house; that year, it not only covered the trellis (see photo) but it eventually spread almost the whole length of the front porch! And we have tomatoes in the back yard. This year, I'm adding yellow AND deep red/Moulin Rouge sunflowers (can't wait to see how the red ones turn out!!), chamomile, basil; & in the back yard, tomatoes, summer squash, zucchini & MAYBE a few peppers & peas.
[Moulin Rouge Sunflowers]
Something that I've wanted to try for a while has been a Strawberry
Pot. Ideally, I'd like to set it right in the middle of the circle ~ EXTRA ideally, I'd like to find a bird bath w/a strawberry pot for the base like I saw a couple of years ago! It is SO cool & would be the perfect center of my little herb garden. How pleasant it would be to sit out on my log front porch swing & watch the little song birds splish & splash around.
I'm attracted to strawberry pots b/c they are so odd looking & b/c you can plant so many different things in them. If I lived in an apartment w/a balcony or if I rented a house whose landlord wouldn't let me have a little garden in the back yard, I would think that a strawberry pot would be the perfect thing.
I've done some research & asked a lot of questions & this the the advice that I've gotten for using strawberry pots:
~before filling w/potting soil, place terra cotta over the drain hole to hold in the gravel
~add a few inches of potting gravel; small enough to drain, large enough not to drain out w/the water
~the best advised herbs to plant in these pots are: thyme & oregano on the bottom, chives & dill in the middle, basil & parsley in the middle or upper-middle (depending upon the size of your pot), & a beautiful spray of rosemary on top.
We had such a long winter, I'm SO looking forward to spring, to watching my garden grow (if I can keep the varmits out of it!!!) & enjoying the fruits (& veggies & herbs) of my labors.
Do you keep any window herbs? Kitchen herbs or kitchen garden? Salad garden? Big garden? Are you changing or adding anything this year? What are some of your plans?
Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><
Hello from Ohio...this year we are doing a raised garden, I am still thinking and planning, but do want to change things up a bit. Black Eyed Susans, one of my favorites. We started out with a just a few plants, and over the years, these have divided and moved they transplant easily and bounce right back, giving us that glorious yellow gold in the late of summer. I would like to plant a peony bush this summer in my little garden still in the mind.. Tomatoes, basil,cilantro, peppers and brussel sprouts round it out..and garlic to be planted in the fall again this year. oh the joy...
ReplyDeleteYour plans sound wonderful! I've got to admit that I do not have a green thumb. We have a garden that only has strawberries and blueberries in it. One of these years I really need to broaden my horizons. LOL!
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful birthday :0)
Kim
Awww ~ Kim ~ Thanks for the birthday wishes!! <3
ReplyDeleteBlessings...
I will be doing a small vegetable garden which will include some sunflowers and other cutting flowers for Summer and Fall. Since, we are moving, I have lots of flowers and landscaping to do. Excited, to dig in the dirt! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteWe are expanding an herb garden to become a Potager, with vegetables, flowers,herbs, dwarf fruit trees and berries. It isn't all that large, but so far it is looking good with little brick pathways and some stone walls. I will do a post on it in a few weeks, when things have really started to grow!
ReplyDeleteWe have been gardening for several years. I love my herb gardens, which I expanded last year to include rosemary, mint, oregano, cilantro, lavender, dill and parsley. We also do several veggies each year, and I make and freeze my own pasta sauce using our own veggies and herbs. This year, we've moving to a home that doesn't have space for a garden, so this strawberry pot looks like a fantastic idea for herbs! I have a couple boxes and pots that I'm already planning to utilize, and I'm going to go on a mission as soon as we move to figure out whether or not I can find a spot for tomatoes so that I can make my own sauce again. Thanks for the strawberry pot idea!
ReplyDelete