Ideas for Creating Window Herb Gardens
A window herb garden is an herb garden situated by the window or windows of the home. It consists of the smaller growing herb plants, and can either be planted in containers which are placed on the windowsill, or planted directly onto the built in planter some old fashioned homes have underneath their large windows. Either way, it is important to choose smaller growing plants, or plants that you are confident you can prune and divide into smaller plants in the future so that your window herb garden plants do not end up killing each other while battling for nutrients or overgrowing their containers.
The great thing about a window herb garden is that it is useful in terms of the herbs, but it is also decorative to your home. Choose flowering herb plants to line the windows of your daughters. Lavender and jasmine generally go well with most house colors, and they will keep your daughters' rooms sweet smelling as lavender drives away bad odors. Not to mention that you can have a lot of fresh tea from these two plants.
For other windows, your sons for example. Choose mint, dill, or pineapple sage. These greens are very neutral, and they also eliminate odors from the bedroom. While the plants just mentioned can be used for cooking, plant your most often used cooking herbs by the kitchen windowsill. Doing this will allow you to pick fresh herbs as you cook. Just remember to give them a good rinse in water before chopping or throwing them into your dish. Arugula is a great herb to plant by the kitchen window, as this flavorful leaf can be used for cooking and salads.
Much like indoor herb gardens, a window herb garden has the advantage of using good soil, good fertilizer, and perfecting the water drainage system. This is very good news for your herbs and your stomachs! Invest in good quality and you will not regret it when you begin to use your herbs. The only problem some window herb gardens encounter is that of sunlight. For the best sun conditions, situate your window herb garden on windows that face west or south. When the sun hits either of these windows, it will not be too hot and blaring for your plants. Placing it in north windows may keep the plants too cold at night, though mint will do well in this situation. East windows on the other hand need herb plants that love a lot of sunlight. Do a bit of research as to what directions your windows are facing, and try to situate plants accordingly. Remember, there are hundreds of herbs to choose from so you don't have to compromise style or usefulness.
Window herb gardens are easy and fun to maintain. Just remember to water your window herb garden everyday. Not too much water though, as it can easily flood the plant. Other than that, you can enjoy looking at tiny life bringing plants every time you look out the window, even if you live in the heart of a busy city.
