Are you limited on growing space but want fresh aromatics and flavor at your fingertips? Maybe you are new to gardening, feel unsure of where to begin, and prefer a simple start. I’ve said it once and I will say it again: if there were ONE (type) of thing I would grow year after year, I would grow herbs!

Roughly 2 year ago, I was all but begging my mom to get into gardening. She didn’t want the “hassle” and felt like she didn’t have time. However, she is a phenomenal cook and I just knew a one container herb garden that perched on her back porch would not only be manageable but also elevate all of my favorite dishes she cooks.

I grabbed a small, round galvanized tin container (just like this one), a bag of gardening soil, and as many herb variety starts I could get my hand on and quite literally assembled this in less than 10 minutes.

She had basil, parsley, cilantro, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and lemon verbena all in that tin container. I did purchase to simple pots made for 1 plant at a time for lavender and mint. Pro tip: mint is VERY prolific and will overtake pretty much everything. Thus, it is best to contain it in a place of it’s own.

All herbs are cut and come again. To ensure a continual seasonal harvest, I recommend only taking what you need for your dish or tea and allowing the plant to keep growing and putting off new foliage.

This is as simple as harvest only open flowers (for herbs like chamomile, borage, etc.), the outer most stems, or the largest stems (for herbs like rosemary, parsley, cilantro). You will find that the flavor of fresh herbs is SO strong that less really is more.