Hanging Herb Baskets

These Herb Baskets were so much fun to make! Springtime is such a wonderful time of year and one of my favorite springtime tasks is planting a garden. Our garden is not huge and consists mostly of raised beds, containers, and hanging baskets. We like to maximize our garden space so instead of planting flowers in hanging baskets, I like to plant vegetables or herbs in the baskets. I’ve planted sweet potatoes in the baskets in previous years and those are always pretty. This year, my sweet potatoes did not sprout, so I decided to try making herb baskets instead. Anything that vines or drapes over a pot works well and you can mix different herbs together too for a nice look. I decided to go with thyme and oregano in one basket and chocolate mint in the another. Mint grows like crazy and can take over the whole garden so putting it in a container, either hanging or on the ground, is always a good idea. The chocolate variety smells amazing too!

herb baskets 2

I had these 2 hanging baskets from last year so I bought 4″ plants ready to go. You could start the herbs from seed too, which is always an economical choice. I tend to have better luck with plants here, so that’s what I’ve chosen to use for the baskets.

herb baskets 1

For the Thyme and Oregano basket, I made a hole on one side of the pot and popped the Thyme into the dirt.

herb baskets 7

Then, on the other side, I just pushed the dirt aside to make another hole for the oregano.

herb baskets 8

When I popped this out of the container, it had some roots wound tightly on the bottom, so I just broke up a few of them and spread them out to encourage them to grow once planted.

herb baskets 9

I added fresh dirt all around the plants and pressed the soil down all around with my hands.  I added a little more dirt and this filled the basket right up to the top. Lots of herbs like to grow next to each other. I’ve had good luck with oregano and thyme together, also parsley and basil. One time I had a really large pot (not hanging) with all four herbs together and they did really well – smelled amazing too! 🙂

herb baskets 3

Next, the Chocolate Mint got a new home in another basket. Check out all those roots! No wonder mint spreads like crazy! 🙂

herb baskets 4

I broke these roots up quite a bit because they were really wound up in that little pot. I made a hole and popped the mint into it, filling around the sides with fresh dirt.

herb baskets 5

I’m hoping this Chocolate Mint Herb Basket likes this spot in the front yard. I chose this spot for the chocolate mint because mint is so hardy and this spot is the farthest from the hose, which means I’m likely to forget to water it. 🙂 Hopefully it will look even prettier as the mint grows and vines over the sides of the basket. I know the kids will enjoy smelling and tasting the chocolate mint all summer long!

herb baskets 6