Spring is almost here.. sort of.  But even if you are still under snow or suffering from cold temperatures, it is time to start gardening! Even if that means doing it indoors.

So today I want to show you how I made a simple little kitchen herb garden which is perfect either right on the kitchen counter, or even mounted on the wall.

The premise is simple, grow your fresh herbs right where you are going to use them: the kitchen.  And in this case I made mine to house the most common herbs we use in our cooking.


Now anytime I'm cooking pasta sauce, or grilling chicken, I can snip off some thyme or pluck off a few basil leaves and I have flavors that could not possibly be fresher!


This project was my submission into this month’s “Spring Power Tool Projects” challenge.  You won’t want to miss the other entries:

Just the Woods -DIY Aiderondack Chairs Domestically Speaking - Solar Address Post
The DIY Village - DIY Barnwood Lantern
H2oBungalow - DIY Mid Century Modern Plant Stand
The Kim Six Fix - Kitchen Herb Garden
Create and Babble - How to Make Easy Wooden Flowers
My Repurposed Life - Reclaimed Stair Stringer Tiered Plant Stand

How to Build A Kitchen Herb Garden:

So how did this project come together?  I just used some scrap plywood I had leftover. The size and dimensions are really completely up to you.

I didn't even measure this project, just held up the pieces of wood and marked them as I went along, eyeballing them against the size of my plant pots.  

The entire thing is assembled using my nail gun.  Nothing more complicated than that. 
I gave the box a high back so I could hang it on the wall.  This will protect the wall surface from the plants and make it easier to make sure I don't get the wall wet while watering.

For a decorative touch, I covered the raw edges of the plywood with some decorative trim.  This stuff is really thin, so I had to use a hand saw to miter it.

I painted the entire thing a light spring green (a paint sample I had leftover from back in my money pit kitchen makeover days.. yes, that is like 10 year old paint!)   I used my Homeright Finish Max to make quick work of it.

Finally I added these copper label tags (I found them on clearance after Thanksgiving) to label each of the herbs.
It is a good idea so I don't forget which herbs are which! Nobody wants to put catnip or mint in their pesto! 
The tags can be changed if I ever change out the spices. 
I made sure to add a drip tray to the bottom of the box, to catch any water, and I left the plants in their original pots.  You could line and fill the entire box with soil, but that would make it much heavier.

I set it next to my kitchen sink, which makes it easy to water.

I don't have any free wall space in my kitchen otherwise I would have hung it on the wall.  So far it has been great.. I can't wait to cook with my fresh kitchen herbs all year long!