A Windowsill Herb Garden - Create Your Own One

Whether you live in a tiny apartment or a large house with an enormous garden, a windowsill herb garden outside your kitchen will provide you with a constant source of fresh herbs for cooking or for other purposes.

Your first step will be to choose a suitable container, or set of containers for this type of herb garden. Decide whether the herbs will be placed on an inside sill, or outside the window. Generally a row of single pots works well inside (provided they get enough light and sunshine), while a trough of some sort, hung from the sill outside, is usually more appropriate for external use. Individual pots can be relatively small in size, provided there is sufficient space for the mass of roots that will develop as the herbs develop and mature. Troughs and plant boxes need to be, not only large and deep enough to accommodate a mix of herbs, but also in proportion with the window. If your kitchen window is very wide, then consider using two or more containers alongside one another.

Remember that a range of different herbs can be planted together in one container, provided they thrive in a similar soil type and need the same amount of water. This way you can also produce a beautifully decorative display.

So your next decision will be what to plant. Of course you do not have to stick with culinary herbs that will be used for the pot or the table. You could opt, instead, for those that are scented or those that help get rid of flies and other insects, like basil. If you use herbs for medicinal purposes, you could establish a medicine herb garden on your windowsill.

The most popular culinary herbs for windowsills include those mentioned in the famous Simon and Garfunkel song - parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme - although the rosemary will eventually need to be transplanted into the ground because it grows into a rather large shrubby bush. Other suitable varieties include dill, tarragon, savory, basil and even mint, provided you make sure it gets enough water.

A few pots or barrels on the ground outside the window will add to the theme. For instance you could plant a couple of bay trees in containers on either side of the window. Why settle for dried bay leaves out of a pack when you can pick your own? Or you could pot a couple of citrus trees, miniature oranges, lemons or limes, to offset the leafiness of the herbs you are growing. Tomatoes also grow well in containers, particularly if you train them up a coiled cage.

Finally, you need to be sure that you give your herbs - and other kitchen plants - just the right amount of water that they need. Apart from mint, take care not to soak your windowsill herbs.