Continuing my willing of Spring to officially arrive in Alaska, I’m sharing the indoor herb garden we recently installed. We love having fresh herbs to cook with and give the chickens during the summer and preserved some to continue using over the winter at the end of last season but nothing beats fresh, so I decided we should have an indoor garden just for that. With that in mind we picked up these hanging containers and rods at IKEA on our last trip down south.
They are a perfect fit for this small wall in the dining room and as you can see, this spot gets good light from the window across the room. The Hubs made sure to secure it to the studs since the plants will have a bit of weight.
For now I just have a few faux plants, also from the same stop at IKEA. The local nurseries should begin offering herb starts within the next few weeks, but until then the fake stuff provides a bit of greenery. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough to fill the large containers in the middle, but it still looks ok for now.
I’ll be creating some DIY plant stakes once I have our herbs selected. I considered a few ready to purchase options I’ve seen in the stores but wanted them all to match and wasn’t seeing all the options I was considering which includes oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary and thyme. I may try lavender in the larger containers just for the scent, but I’m not sure it would give the plant enough room to flower.
If anyone has used these containers with live plants I’d love to hear about how they worked for you. I plan to water sparingly at first since there are no drainage holes (good thing since we’re indoors), but there are small trays at the bottom that would provide a place for water to collect below the dirt and the plant to reabsorb the moisture. Hopefully that keeps the roots from getting soggy, but there may be a learning curve. I’ll share the finished project when everything is planted and growing!
Dust Bunnies and Dog Toys 
This is just awesome, I am just curious as how much natural “light” that are will get to make sure they survive 🙂
I wonder the same thing so this will be an experiment. Luckily, the containers can be easily removed from the rack and placed in other locations if they look like they are needing a bit more a times. 🙂
Hi! Just stumbled upon your blog while searching for herb gardens for small spaces. I have been looking into an idea like the one you created here – its looks great! Any updates as to how your herbs are doing? I too was worried about the plants not having adequate drainage. Thanks!
I’m glad you found the blog! There is actually a small raised drainage plate in the bottom of the IKEA containers that allows the water to seep through then be reabsorbed by the plants as needed. I did water sparingly at first to get the hang of how much they really needed. The bay leaf, oregano and rosemary have all done ok, but the others didn’t fare well. I think the problem is not enough light as Sammy & Sufi mentioned. Many herbs like full sun, so I’m going to replant a few things to see if it was just a fluke or if there’s really a flaw with the drainage or lighting. I’ll be replanting two of the containers with wheat grass for our cat so I can rotate the one she has access to with the one growing as needed. I also plan to rotate them out of the metal holders and put them in the nearby windowsill every few days to help too. Good luck with your garden!