No more excuses! If you’ve always wanted an herb garden but thought you didn’t have the space, then today is your lucky day! These clever herb garden ideas take advantage of the vertical space you have outdoors that is going unused so you can grow an herb garden just about anywhere. If you have sunny wall, then a leaning herb garden ladder will give you all you need to spice up your cooking. Or maybe you are always chasing the light with morning sun on one side of your balcony and afternoon sun on the other. Not a problem! Just put the herb garden on wheels and move the garden to meet the sun. If you don’t even have a square foot of ground, that’s OK too. You can hang an herb garden right on your wall. As you will see, these vertical herb gardens make the most of small spaces, in the most stylish way.
While vertical gardening is nothing new to me, I love to get new DIY ideas. And, boy, did I ever find a lot of great ones in my friend and DIY soul-mate, Amy Andrychowicz’s new and wonderful book, Vertical Vegetables: Simple Projects that Deliver More Yield in Less Space. When I get a book that I really want to share with you, I usually ask if the author can share a project with us here on Garden Therapy, but in this case, I found THREE projects I wanted to show you. If you like these projects, Amy has clear and very detailed instructions on how to build these at home. Plus, there are many other cool ideas like the garden tool trellis, living artwork, and obelisk building plans.
Three Vertical Herb Gardens You Will Love
Utility Rack Vertical Herb Garden
The first project I fell in love with was this rolling herb garden cart. It’s such a smart design for those of us who have a small space that is flanked by walls. I have a carport area that I use to grow plants that I’m testing out for the first time. I have limited garden space so I use that as my plant trial area. Because it is in between two garages, the west side gets the morning sun and the east side gets the afternoon sun. With a rolling cart like this, I can move my test herbs from side to side to be sure they got sun all day! Hooray!
Here is what Amy had to say about this project:
“My upcycled utility rack planter came on wheels, which is a bonus for me. The wheels make it easy to move my vertical garden planter around on the deck, and I can simply roll it into the porch when there’s a threat of frost. If yours doesn’t have wheels, you could easily add some inexpensive wheels, which can be found at any home improvement store.
For this project, I chose to line the wire baskets of my utility rack with coco liners because I like how they look with the color of the rack that I bought. But you could use landscaping fabric or burlap to line the baskets if you prefer. Coco liners can be found at any garden center or home improvement store, and they come in either preformed sizes or in large rolls.”
Vintage Ladder Vertical Herb Garden
Vintage Ladder Vertical Herb GardenI like the look of this ladder planter with the hanging pots. The ladder idea looks great, but it also maximizes sunny spots of the garden with a minimal footprint. This would be perfect to liven up a boring bit of fence or siding. I may even have to repurpose this ladder that I usually use for drying herbs.
Here is what Amy had to say about this project:
“This replica antique ladder planter is very easy to build, and inexpensive too. It looks adorable sitting on the front porch or leaning against an old garden shed or fence. If you’re lucky enough to own an antique ladder, you can definitely use it instead of building your own.”
You can also find all in one kits available like this wood ladder with three hanging metal buckets.
“For this project, I used simple metal buckets that I found at a local department store, and I hung them from the ladder using large S hooks. To make your ladder planter look even more authentic,you could comb local antique shops for buckets or basket planters to hang on it instead. It won’t take long for the wood to age, making the ladder look more authentic. But, if you prefer to speed up the process, you can use simple painting and distressing techniques to make the ladder look like it’s been sitting in your garden for years,” Amy advises.
Buckets similar to the ones that Amy used can be found online using these links:
- Wide painted metal flower pot with two hooks
- Single painted metal flower pot with one hook – 10 pieces
- Hanging Galvanized Metal Bucket 10″ & 8.5″
- Single Hanging Galvanized Metal Bucket – set of 4
Living Picture Vertical Herb Garden
Living Picture Vertical Herb GardenYou may recognize a project similar to this in my own book, Garden Made, where I created living art out of succulents. A few years later, I transplanted the succulents and filled the frames with annuals to shake things up. I didn’t even think of planting herbs in there, but I guess I have a new project for this year. My frames will be overflowing with easy-to-grow mints in no time!
Here is what Amy had to say about this project:
Here is what Amy had to say about this project:“Picture frames come in tons of different shapes and sizes, and it’s fun to mix and match a few of them to create a decorative element on a blank wall or fence in your yard. You can even paint the frames to add bold splashes of color to your garden as I did here.
Used picture frames are a dime a dozen at secondhand stores and garage sales and are very easy to find. Or maybe you have a bunch of old ones collecting dust in storage that you can—literally!—give new life to. Wherever you find them, be sure to choose square or rectangular picture frames that are at least 11/2 inches wide for this project. The wider the frame, the easier it will be to work with, and the better it will look in the garden.”
Excerpts and photography reprinted with permission fromVertical Vegetables: Simple Projects that Deliver More Yield in Less SpacebyAmy Andrychowicz,© 2018. Published by Cool Springs Press. Photography: Tracy Walsh.
Amy Andrychowicz
Be sure to grab a copy of Amy’s new book,Vertical Vegetables: Simple Projects that Deliver More Yield in Less Spacefor more great vertical growing ideas. Amy is also the creator of Get Busy Gardening, a popular gardening website dedicated to beginner gardeners, where she has been actively blogging for almost 10 years. She is also the author of several successful eBooks.
Amy gets her green thumb from her parents, and has been gardening for most of her life. She is a passionate gardener who enjoys growing vegetables, herbs, annuals, perennials, succulents, tropical plants, and houseplants–you name, she’s grown it! After purchasing her first home in 2002, Amy soon discovered that she has a knack for designing and building DIY projects. Over the years, she has transformed her boring suburban yard into a garden oasis by adding several flower gardens, a large vegetable garden, a tropical garden, a rain garden, a Zen garden, two ponds, and many unique hardscape features, all of which were DIY projects. She is devoted to helping new gardeners learn through guidance, encouragement, and advice that is easy to understand. Amy loves sharing her knowledge, and strongly believes that there is no such thing as a brown thumb; anyone can be a gardener if they want to be.
Amy lives and gardens in Minneapolis, Minnesota (zone 4b) with her husband and two cats (though the cats aren’t much help in the garden!).
More Herbs to Love
If you don’t have outdoor space, then why not move the herb garden indoors? My Garden Therapy Seed Collection Indoor Herb Garden grows right on your window!
Or how about these herb gardening ideas?
- Wine Box Herb Garden
- Find the Best Indoor Herb Garden for Any Space
- Grow Your Own Perennial Herb Container Garden
- Fascinating Herbal Histories from Around the World
- How to Grow Herbs Indoors (Successfully)
- Which Herbs to Grow Indoors (and Which Ones NOT to)
