How to make an indoor herb garden in 3 steps

You will need:

A vintage fruit box, roughly 13 inches by 11 inches and 6 inches tall 1 roll of landscaping fabric, cut into a 3-foot section 8-quart bag of potting mix

Herbs to use

One 4-inch rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Barbeque’) Two 4-inch nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) One 4-inch mint (Mentha ‘Sweet Salad’) One 4-inch oregano (Origanum vulgare ‘White Anniversary’) One 4-inch thyme (Thymus vulgaris ‘Transparent Yellow’) One 4-inch lemon basil (Ocimum basilicum ‘Mrs. Burns’) Three 4-inch sages: 2 pineapple sages (Salvia elegans) and 1 S. ‘Grower’s Friend’

Steps

1. Line the box with landscaping fabric, which will allow the water to drain, but not the mix. Add enough potting mix for the plants to rest at the top of the box. Add a protective lining first if you will be setting this on a water-sensitive surface. Un-pot the plants. Begin by planting the rosemary, as the tallest plant, in one corner. Place the nasturtiums on two other corners. Let one dangle over the edge and encourage the other to remain upright.

2. Add in the mint. Mint likes to spread, so keep it in its pot as a not-altogether-foolproof way to contain it.

3. Create a stream-like effect with creamy yellow and white variegated oregano and thyme running down the center and dripping over the edges. Fill in with the basil, pineapple sage, and sage around the edges. Lift and place in the kitchen sink to water about twice a week. Return to the countertop after it has drained, making sure it dries in between waterings.

Excerpted from The Plant Recipe Book by Baylor Chapman (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2014. Photographs by Paige Green.

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