Grow Your Own Garden
Benefits of container gardens
The uses for herbs in containers are plentiful. First, containers are portable. If you are working with limited space, you can get creative in your arrangement. Use cement blocks or empty pots turned upside down to create a tower of sorts upon which you can stack and stagger your various herb containers. Alternately, you can use the pots to line the edge of a patio. You can strategically place them around the sunniest spots in the house.
According to Amy Rawson, owner of C & A Greenhouse in New York,
container gardens are a wonderful way to "try out" herb
gardening. "You can see how they look and taste and learn how to
handle them," she says, and then if you choose, you can move on
to more advanced herbal landscaping later. Herbs gardens are practical. Depending on your tastes, you can
grow the herbs that you use most in cooking. Simply go to your
containers and pinch off whatever amount you need when you need
it. Having fresh herbs at your disposal is also wonderful if you
use them for homeopathic purposes.
Lastly, herbs are an easy exercise in aromatherapy. Place a group of herb containers by the front door, and as you and your guests pass by, their refreshing scents will greet you. Likewise, herb containers around the house allow you to accent your rooms with a living potpourri.
Getting your container garden started
You can grow almost any herb in a container, but you need to
consider the eventual size of the herb before choosing a pot. Basil, which can become rather bushy, needs a container large
enough to allow for its growth. If you want to plant a
combination garden (several herbs in one pot), take into
consideration the needs of each individual plant before putting
them together. Place tall herbs in the center, medium-sized
herbs around them and then put a creeping herb of some type
around the edge of the pot. Be sure your pot will accommodate
the growth of all plants, both above the ground and below. Dwarf
varieties of herbs work well in containers.
According to Rawson, you also want to consider your herbs' water
needs when choosing a container. Plants, such as rosemary, which
require more water, do better in less porous pots (which will dry
the soil out more quickly) than an herb like basil, which will
fare well in a porous pot.
If you are growing your herbs outdoors, they will likely thrive
in whatever amount of light they get. Indoors, however, herbs
require at least five to six hours of sunlight per day to keep
them healthy explains Barbara Damrosch in her book The Garden
Primer.