11 Herb Garden Ideas to Try This Summer

Who needs essential oils when you’ve got the real thing in your own kitchen? Plant herbs for their aromatherapy and culinary applications, such as lavender, peppermint, rosemary, and sweet basil. Simply pinch off a leaf or a blossom, rub it between your fingers and add a heady fragrance. Or, by simmering fresh leaves in a pot of water on the burner, fill your home with their fragrance.

It’s one of the fantastic herb garden ideas. Fresh herbs have as much a place in the world of desserts as they do in tasty cooking. With sweet recipes like cookies, cakes, sorbet, and ice cream, just to name a few, plants such as peppermint, spearmint, basil, rosemary, lavender, thyme, tarragon, bay, and sage can all play well.

When it comes to herb garden ideas, creation is on the first list. With a little imagination, a planter can be just about anything. An antique cabinet such as this up-cycled card catalog makes an imaginative vertical greenhouse, while vessels for a single plant or your entire collection from teacups to enameled bowls to galvanized metal tubs make charming containers. Drill or punch a hole in the bottom of your repurposed planter for drainage for the best results.

You can turn even the smallest outdoor space into your very own kitchen garden with this trick. Embellish your patio, roof deck, or fire escape by installing colorful planters on the railing, packed with your favorite herbs. They get all the sun and rain they like, and you have plenty of space for a cute patio furniture collection.

No outdoor room, huh? No trouble. You can cultivate your own herbs as long as you’ve got a sunny windowsill. Simply position your plants, preferably with full sun, in the brightest window you have. It is best to have a window with southern exposure, but a window facing west with bright afternoon light works well, too.

We all know that the heady aroma of some herbs can have an effect on moods, such as soothing lavender and refreshing mint—but some common culinary herbs are said to have mood-boosting properties when prepared in food and drink. Adaptogenic herbs such as tulsi, also known as holy basil, may help to relieve stress (and with a spicy, bubblegum-like flavor, it tastes great, too). And the subtle antidepressant effects are often attributed to cheerful, citrus-and lemon balm.

Hanging baskets is one of the wonderful herb garden ideas. If you’re out of space—or just want to switch things up—skip the petunias and stuff your hanging baskets with your favorite herbs. Trailing and spreading herbs like thyme and rosemary work well, or you can plant a variety of different seedlings in one basket. Then just hang it in a sunny spot and harvest as needed.

Ready for the best happy hour drinks at home that you’ve ever made? Just plant and harvest your own herbs like basil, rosemary, thyme, lavender, and sage for the freshest taste in your cocktails. Infuse the leaves or flowers into simple syrups, mix them into recipes, mix the fresh leaves into drinks, and use sprigs as a colorful, aromatic garnish.

Switch up your summer tea routine with a herb garden that makes a refreshing, tasty cup. In your next batch of black or green tea, iced or sweet, add herbs like chamomile, mint, lavender, or lemon verbena, or skip the caffeine and brew your own blend for a cold, personalized summer sip.

In order to get the most out of your herb garden, harvest every few weeks during the summer to encourage absolute, bushy growth. Don’t let it go to waste when you have a bumper crop—preserve it! Hardy herbs such as rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, mint, and lavender are best dried: simply bundle them and hang them in a dry, well-ventilated area, then store them in airtight containers once they are fully dry and crispy. When pureed with a little water or olive oil, soft herbs such as cilantro, basil, and parsley are best stored and frozen for later use.

Turn a pale, boring wall into a beautiful vertical herb garden that saves energy. You can use shelving or brackets to show your favorite food and medicinal herbs in individual pots. You can also buy repurpose wood pallets made from tissue planters that have landscape tissue pockets that give your grass wall an even greater look. This configuration is suitable for outdoor use, such as a patio or roof-deck.