Liz’s DIY: Rustic Chic Herb Garden

Celebrating the Everyday, Liz's DIY  //  

Ohh Pinterest, sometimes you just make my heart sing!  ;)  While browsing through Pinterest, I came across a few herb gardens that just jumped out at me.  You all know our love for cooking… so having fresh ingredients in our home is something we have been trying to accomplish for awhile now, but we aren’t the best at keeping plants alive!  This herb garden seemed to make it look easy…. So I figured why not try it!?!  At least it would be cute even if it ended up not being functional!  ;)  We could always buy new plants right?!  ;)

Our fabulous Intern Caitlin joined us on this project!  And I must say- it was definitely a team effort!  ;)  As much as I would like to say we did this all on my own (I probably could have, because it is honestly not that hard) but we enjoyed having Ryan around!  I must give him credit for troubleshooting when we couldn’t get the screw through the metal, keeping us on track when we found ourselves just chatting and watching him do the work, and of course taking all of these beautiful photos to document the process!  Gotta love him!  ;)

We had an old barn floorboard in our basement that was left over from a previous project (we might just have to share photos of that too, because we are pretty pumped with that project too).  It just so happens that the floorboard was cracked anyway- so it just made sense to split it down the natural crack to create two bases.

We purchased the herbs from one of our favorite local nurseries (Valley View Farms).  The rest of the supplies we picked up at our local ACE Hardware store.

SUPPLIES WE USED:

    • Barn Floor Board (any piece of old rustic wood will work)
    • Herbs (Cilantro, Basil, Parsley, and Oregano)
    • 12 oz. Mason Jars
    • Metal Pipe Clamps (large enough to fit the width of the Mason Jars
    • 1 Small bag of Small Rocks
    • Organic Soil
    • Key Hole Fasteners
    • Wood Screws




TOOLS WE USED:

    • Drill
    • Flathead Screw Driver
    • Sharpie
    • Tape Measure
    • Hammer and Nail

Once we had everything together, we were ready to rock n’ roll!

PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS:
Step 1: First We split the wood.

Step 2: Next we started off with the power tools and screwed the keyhole fasteners to the back of the wood for easy hanging when we were done.  (Special Tips:  Make sure the drill battery is charged.  ;)  And make sure the drill is not set in reverse when you are trying to drill into the wood.  ;)  Yes, after about 2 minutes of thinking I was just super weak and didn’t know how to use a power tool, we figured it out! ;) ).

Step 3: Once the hanger was secured, we turned the board over so it was right side up and we could begin spacing everything out.  At this point, we had tightened the metal pipe clamps around the mason jars so we knew where we needed to drill them.  After just guessing on where to place the jars for mine, Caitlin was smart enough to get a tape measure out and space the jars 7 inches apart.  The tape measure also served as a straight line to make sure everything lined up perfectly!

Step 4: Once we knew where we wanted to place the jars, we used a sharpie to make a mark on the wood where we needed to secure the pipe clamp.  It was easier for us to drill into the clamp with the clamp unfastened.  Since the slits in the clamp are so slim, the drill struggled to get the screw through the metal.  Thanks to Ryan, we decided to use a hammer and nail to make a hole in the clamp that we could screw into.

Step 5: When the holes were all made, we were ready to screw them into the floorboard where we had already made our marks.  The drill made it easy and within minutes the clamps were all in place.

We tightened the clamps around the mason jars making them just tight enough to slide the jar in and out.

Step 6: Now it was time to plant!  I had read a post about indoor herb gardens in Mason Jars not working because of mold growing on the roots because there is nowhere for the Mason Jar to drain.  They recommended adding rocks to the bottom of the jar to give the roots some room to breathe.  So that is what we did.  We started with about 1 inch of rocks in the jars.  Then we added about 2 inches of fresh Organic dirt.  The last step was placing the herbs right into the Mason Jars.  And- they are adorable!  ;)

Step 7: Once all of the Mason Jars were planted, we placed them back into the tightened pipe clamps and tightened them just a bit more.

Viola… we made ourselves a pretty awesome looking Rustic Chic Herb Garden!  So much fun!

What a fun project!  Power tools (once you figure out why they aren’t working) make any DIY project more fun!  ;)

We actually completed this project a few months ago and sadly I was not very good about giving the plants the sunlight that they needed and we have since lost our herbs!  Lol.  However, as promised earlier, it still makes a super cute decoration for our wall!  ;)  We have plans to plant new plants and try this again for the fall!  We will keep you posted on my plant care progress!  ;)  It is certainly a work in progress! ;)

Let me know if you have any questions or want more info on the project!  Or, if you decide to make one yourself… please share pics! We love to see your projects too!