get your herb on

herbs, herbs, herbs

Last weekend, Mike and I had a super industrious weekend. He took this big project {building a desk} and I took the smaller project {building an herb garden}. Both of these projects were on our to-do list in 2012. YAY! I love marking things off my to-do list. 

Choosing what type of indoor herb garden was really hard. I wanted this:

but after doing some research - this idea just wasn't the best for growing herbs. Herbs need good drainage. I suppose if you have the tools to drill holes in the jars, that would work. Some places recommended rocks in the bottom but most 'experts' seemed to conclude it still had a high chance of root rot {no beuno - you don't want this}. After a semi-breakdown {because my heart was set on this style.. I mean, look at how good looking that is}, I went back to Pinterest and found this:

it looked doable

seemed to meet herb gardening guidelines

and it was cute!

so to work I went {with a few modifications}

1. buy wood and shelving - Mine is 3ft {ish} high by 20in {ish} wide

 I bought these puppies at the flea market a few weeks back for $1 a piece. Perfect.

 I purchased  one-  1x4x8ft,  one - 1x6x4ft and two - 1x3x6ft pieces of wood. The 8ft piece was cut in half and then shaved down to desired length. the 4ft was used for shelving, and the 6ft pieces were cut into 13in pieces for the backing.

2. lay out your wood to desired look

when I want things done, I kind of look past doing it perfectly just to get it done. I just laid sides face down and the back pieces on top. I had no idea what I was doing but figured it should work.

3. screw it together

 big hint - pre-drill your holes. I put two screws in each side {1-1/4 in screws were used}

4. ta-da... halfway? {not really a step.. have a celebratory drink/break at this time}

5. stain/paint that sucker

 I chose Provincial 211 as my stain color. It gives it an old wood look. You can use whatever you want - paint, stain, both. I used a rag to paint it but you can also use a paint brush. Tip of the day: don't do this when it is below freezing like I did. I couldn't feel my fingers for an hour. 

6. hang it

I love these shelves. It gives it so much more character than using wood or regular shelves. 

 I don't recommend using silver screws for the shelves like I did. 

7. put your herbs on it

my shelf looks a little crooked {it's not} but you could probably be a bit more precise on the back pieces to keep it from looking that way {or maybe I was leaning when I took the pic-who knows}.

I love it. It looks great on the wall. And, with the coldish weather upon us, it gives our house a pop of  life!

 Oh, and meet Avi our avocado tree in the corner there {only 6 more years and he may produce some fruit!}