Even if you don’t have much space, you can still make a green oasis full of medicinal plants at your home. Ceramic & plastic pots make great places to grow the garden of your dreams. In fact, some herbs prefer growing in containers! In this post I am going to share some of my favorite container plants and how we use and grow them.
Take a peak just outside the backdoor of my parents home you will see our collection of potted plants. They are all located right beside the kitchen door and adjacent to the hose so they never go un-watered or forgotten. In this picture you see mostly culinary herbs like mint, shiso and ezpazote. Instead of planting them in the main garden (in the front yard) where the sun can be intense in summer, we are keeping them in pots & in close proximity to the kitchen. This way the leaves are always fresh and easily on hand for garnishing dishes fresh out of the oven, to use in medicinal teas, or to throw into a salad.
Mint :: is growing in several pots around the yard. Most grow mint in pots to keep the vigorous grower contained and limit its ability to overtake other plants. We grow mint in a plastic pot to help it maintain the humidity it needs (and is hard to come by in this dry climate). We use mint dried in tea, fresh in mojitos and in herbal pesto.
Yum!
Aloe :: this succulent medicinal loves to grow in containers as it needs great drainage. We do have aloe plants planted in the ground but they just do not thrive as these potted plants do. Aloe is essential for skin issues and sun burns so we always have a couple of plants nearby to be cut open and the sap lathered onto a rash or whatever the skin ailment is. These big ceramic pots are great for filling in areas like this rocky patio where we often sit with drinks on summer evenings.
Pots for planting :: much of our container garden is dedicated to starting young plants, like these valerian and calendulas, that just aren’t quite ready to be planted out in the garden. In these ceramic pots and in our nursery area the plants are protected from intense sun and are watered often. In a couple of weeks they will be planted into the herb garden out in the front yard.
-- these photos were all taken at my parent's home in California where I was visiting for the last couple of months, soon I will post more photos of my own garden in South America, until then :: Happy Gardening everyone!
Such an awesome post. Fresh herbs that you can literally collect while cooking are the absolute best! Very encouraging post, makes me want to garden now :)
yay!! that is the idea, to inspire others to garden wherever they are, even if you have only a two by two foot patio, you can still grow some herbs for your cooking. happy gardening!
Hi Libra
Yes I absolutely agree! The previous place we stayed in had a teeny tiny garden (about 2.5m X 3m and we still managed to grow all sorts of herbs, tomatoes and even a few peas. If you don't have space horizontally, vertical planting is a winner.
Have a beautiful day.