Growing Herbs: Pots

It’s simple to grow one herb in a pot. I love to mix things up a bit and put several herbs in the same pot. This adds more interest to your containers, such as pops of color and texture.

If you do want to get started with gardening with pots, make sure that you are selecting herb plants that have similar water, earth and sunlight needs as well as similar uses.

Here are a few herb plants that I’ve found that will grow well in pots:

• Sage: There are so many types of sage that you could grow only sage in your garden and still have an abundant array of colors, textures and sizes. Sage is one plant that you can start from seeds indoors in your container in the early spring and then move outdoors with the onset of warmer weather. Cultivate your sage in nice, large pot that has good drainage and put it where it can get lots of natural light. If you’re growing sage for the leaves, you’ll want to cut off any buds that appear on the plant, which will force the herb to concentrate on growing more foliage rather than buds.

• Scented geraniums: I like the bright, vibrant colors and scents of the scented geranium. I hope you enjoy scented geraniums as much as I do. Although they look very similar to floral (non-herbal) variety, these also grow well in pots that you can buy at any nursery, home improvement or discount store. Put your plants in a pot that has great drainage and put it in a place that will give your scented geranium a lot of light. You can harvest the stems and leaves for cakes and teas. You can even harvest the petals for use in floral pressings.

• Cardamom: Cardamom is a nice plant for you if bad breath is an issue for you. This is one of the larger herb plants you can grow in a pot; just remember that you’ll need to bring your plant in for the winter. Not only will the seeds add a hint of India to your rice and chicken dishes, you can also use it in soups and stews. In addition to helping with your bad breath, cardamom can help with your flatulence (not that you have flatulence) or least make your clothes smell nice.

• Lemon verbena: There are so many wonderful ways to use lemon verbena that I would call it indispensable in my plant garden. Don’t worry with seeds. I recommend that you pick up your lemon verbena and get it established in a pot with a wide rim that will support its stem growth. Lemon verbena can tolerate the full sun and does well if the soil has nice drainage. Check out your leaves for signs of drought because the foliage is the best part of the plant.

There are plenty of other herb plants that you can grow in your container plant garden, including thyme, mints, lavender, goldenrod, fennel and carrot.

Good luck with your plant gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.

Here is more information on Growing Herbs in Pots. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.