Search Results for: herb garden

5 Easy DIY Herb Garden Ideas

5 February, 2013 By Penny

How often have you spent $3 on a bunch of basil, only to use it for one meal before it dies a droopy death in the fridge? Yet we all continue to do it. So perhaps it’s time to design and plant your own herb garden! Not only are they incredibly useful, they will save you money and look beautiful in your home or garden. Here are 5 awesome DIY Herb Garden ideas!

1. Personalised Terracotta Pots

Decide which herbs you are most likely to use on a regular basis and choose a selection of various size terracotta pots to suit. Use masking tape to cover the rim of each pot, then take Chalkboard Paint and either paint or spray the base of the pot. Leave it to dry for 15 minutes, then apply another coat. Leave for at least 60 minutes, then write the name of each herb on your pot!

2. Shoe Caddy Planters

Hang you Caddy outside, either on a fence or on an outside wall. It will become rather heavy, so be sure to attach the Caddy using a shower rod or strong nails. You will need to test that the pockets drain the water. If they don’t, simply poke a few small holes in the bottom of each one. Then fill each pocket with soil and seeds. Leave an inch between the top of the soil and the top of the pocket and wait for your herbs to bloom.

3. Mix and Match Pots

If you want to incorporate your herb garden into your home-decor design, this is a good option for you. Indoor plants are always appealing as they make the home feel lived in and less static. Starting a Mix and Match herb garden is a labour of love. It may take you months to collect pots of all shapes and sizes from various markets, roadside pick-ups and grandma’s garden. But your eclectic collection of pots will be worth the wait!

4. Vintage Tins

Re-using vintage biscuit tins and tea tins is the perfect way to display your herbs in the kitchen. And let’s be honest, we are much more likely to use the herbs if they are right in front of us, rather than having to walk outside to pick them. Be sure to place them on a sunny window sill though – they need sunlight!

5. Hanging Wine Boxes

Rustic wine boxes are a great fit for herbs, plus they add an earthy feel to a room. I love the added element of industrial pipes as a way of attaching it to the wall. If you have a window in your kitchen, try attaching the wine box under the window on the outside of your house. This way the herbs are in easy reach, but you won’t have any of the soil and water mess that inevitably come with a herb garden.

Tips for your Green Thumb

For great tips on helping your herb garden thrive, read 3 Rules of Gardening in Pots by my fabulous garden-loving sister Rebecca.

Penny xo

PSSSST… since I wrote this post, I have moved back to Sydney, Australia and am in the midst of a complete renovation of our 1920s terrace house. You can see all the progress of our renovation here.

3 Tips for Growing Herbs in Pots

5 February, 2013 By Penny

This is a follow up post from 5 Easy DIY Herb Garden Ideas. It comes from my sister Bec, who lives in a terrace house in inner Sydney with her husband and 2 daughters. Bec has mastered the art of growing herbs in pots and has shared her wisdom with us.

Calling all Herbivores!

Have you ever wished that you could just throw some fresh chives or parsley into your salad to spruce it up, or envied the person who tells you that a recipe calls for “just a few sprigs of rosemary from the garden”, or even just thought how lovely it would be to have some fresh mint to garnish the iced-water when friends pop in unexpectedly? Well, you can have all this, and it’s easy (no, it really is), if you just follow the three rules of gardening in pots – soil, sustenance and sun!

1. Soil for Growing Herbs in Pots

80% of the effort of any gardening should go into the soil. Soil is your plant’s food of life – if you look after its soil, it will thrive. There are two basic points to remember:

Make sure your pot is big enough: the depth and width of your pot should match the high and width of your plant once it is grown. Have a bit of a guess at what size you think your plant it will end up (just look at the picture on the label). If your pot is only big enough for the plant right now – it won’t grow. If you want to limit its size, you can do this by choosing a smaller pot.
Use a dense rich, dense, nutrient rich soil: you can buy this at any gardening store or hardware that has gardening supplies. The darker the soil, the better the nutrients.

Soil – your plant’s food for life and vital for growing herbs in pots!

2. Sustenance for Growing Herbs in Pots

Whilst your lovely, rich soil provides much of the food your herbs need in the first few weeks of their life, these nutrients don’t last and must be replaced. If your plants were in the ground, this would happen naturally thanks to decomposition and our friendly, garden earthmovers, worms. As we don’t have these in our pots, we must provide them for our hungry herbs. There are two main ways of feeding herbs:

The “natural way” is to use worm castings (or the colloquial worm “wee”): This is the bi-product of worm farming. Many eager gardeners set up their own worm farm or you can buy these freshly harvested at markets and garden centres – keep an eye out.
For those of us a little less enthusiastic (or a little more time poor), you can buy fish emulsion in a bottle from any gardening store. Whilst this may smell a little fishy (literally!), it is magic for your herbs. You will see dramatic growth within in a week or two. Just add to your watering routine once a week (follow the quantities on the bottle) and your herbs will prosper!

3. Sun for Growing Herbs in Pots

This one may sound like a no-brainer but, if your anything like me, you want your herb garden to look fabulous and to fit in perfectly with the décor. Unfortunately, no matter how perfect the spot next to the window, or the sideboard in the kitchen, or the hooks on the balcony may look if they had some plants there, if it is not in the sun, your herbs won’t grow. Herbs love, and need, full sun. Give them that and the rest will take care of itself.

Finally a few small tips that will help you make a success of your foray into gardening:

Start with seedlings (i.e. they already have a few leaves), starting from seeds is quite hard and requires a different approach
Select herbs that are hardy and grow easily. I recommend starting mint, parsley, chives and rosemary. Many others are fairly easy but steer clear of coriander (flowers quickly and stops growing) and basil (attracts bugs) at first.
Buy a bottle of pyrethrum spray. This is a low toxic bug spray that will protect your herbs from most pests – keep in mind that any pesticide will kill good bugs too, so use sparingly.
Sunshine -Herbs love and need full sun

Sunshine -Herbs love and need full sun

I would wish you luck, but you don’t need it. Just follow the three rules and watch your little garden flourish!

– Rebecca

Products We Love in May

29 May, 2013 By Penny

Whether you are looking for a unique gift or that special piece for your home, our 5 Products We Love this week are all available for purchase from online stores now!

Apple Green Towels from Watermelon Red ranging from $11.00 - $59.95

Stem Grey Towels from Watermelon Red ranging from $11.00 – $59.95

Set of 3 Herb Garden Markers from Forget Me Not Engraving for $29.70

: Dandelion Flower Weave Rug from Lived In for $420.00 – $630.00

: Fotofalls Floor Tree from Hart & Heim for &89.95

Queen Oxford Bedhead from BedNest for $1349.00

Restaurant Up!

19 February, 2014 By Penny

Hi friends!

Remember last year, I was asked to design a restaurant in the African country of Lesotho? Well the charity, Kick4life, has all the funds in order and the team has started construction! If you want to know how I got involved and what the project is all about, click here.

Kick4Life delivers a a range of projects for orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho. They provide holistic support by providing literacy training, housing and employment training. So with the restaurant, now called No.7, due to open next month, Kick4Life has been busy constructing the restaurant and training youth so they can run the restaurant and earn a living.

My friend and founder of Kick4Life, Pete, recently hired a fantastic couple to oversee the construction of the restaurant and run it for the first year of operation. Wayne and Tess hail from England, and while Wayne is busy being Head Chef, Tess will be the Restaurant Manager.

Here is a little from Wayne and Tess about No.7:

We will be open seven days per week and offer relaxed light lunches during the day and a more formal sit down meal during the evening. All the food will be made fresh on site with a good proportion of ingredients grown from our very own veg garden. The trainees will go through extensive training in catering and hospitality as well as growing and maintaining their own produce. By the time the trainees graduate they will be equipped with the required skills to go on and work in high-end establishments.

No.7 will aim to be as sustainable as possible and thanks to UNICEF we have been able to increase the volume of our veg garden by two fold and have started planting all the necessary herbs and vegetables so that they will be ready for the trainees to harvest when they start in January. We will run workshops for young people to come into the kitchen and learn how to prepare meals on our menu.

: Trainees learning how to roll meatballs!

: Trainees learning the facts of cooking. What is roux? What is blanching? What is the correct oven temperature used to bake bread?

: Trainees showing off their culinary masterpieces!

No.7 is due to open in the next month or so, and so far the team is off to a cracking start. I will bring you more updates about the design and construction of the restaurant over the coming weeks!

– Penny xo

P.S The number 7 is a lucky number is Africa!

Landscaping Apps

13 May, 2013 By Penny

This latest guest post comes from Erin – a freelance writer from Perth who loves the outdoors and tinkering in the garden.

With an increasing number of homeowners buying their first smartphone, and many others who have long been invested in mobile technology, it’s no wonder that landscaping applications are becoming popular for those looking to make a positive change to their home’s outdoor look. Application developers have been serving this market in innovative ways since the first smartphone apps were released, and they’ve only gotten more sophisticated with time. For those homeowners looking to transform how they garden and landscape, a few essential apps will handle much of the process and offer clarity about the options available.

Classic Patio.
Source: 5th and State

1. iScape

The iScape application for iOS devices is a great way to visualise how anything from native flowers to limestone paving will look in an existing outdoor area. The application actually invites users to take a picture of the space that they wish to transform. After processing that picture, the app allows flowers, walkways, retaining walls, fences, and more, to be placed onto the picture at relatively accurate scale. The application is the perfect way for homeowners to consult with a local landscaping business about their exact needs and their unique vision for their home’s outdoor spaces.

Stone Edging.
Source: Home Idea Network

2. Landscaping Guide

This popular mobile application works on both iPhone and iPad, as well as Android devices, and it comes with all of the terms, processes, and knowledge, that homeowners need to know while a landscaping professional transforms their home’s natural environment. From information about concrete installations and retaining walls to information about native plants, seasonal garden additions, and more, the app will educate homeowners in a way that is informative and intuitive.

3. Dirr’s Tree and Shrub Finder

Modern Patio with Fire Pit.
Source: The Good Patio

Finding the right tree or shrub for a landscaping job can be pretty difficult without an extensive knowledge of native plants and non-native options that will still be able to flourish. Homeowners shouldn’t worry about this, though, as the Dirr’s Tree and Shrub Finder application is the perfect way to identify exactly which plants belong in any outdoor environment. Simply enter the native climate, the preferred hardiness of the plant, and a few other preferences, and a full list of the best trees and shrubs will be returned. It’s an effortless way to make sure that anything planted outdoors will thrive for decades to come.

Outdoor fireplace & Sunken Seating. Source: Patio Design Depot

Outdoor fireplace & Sunken Seating Area.
Source: Patio Design Depot

4. Eden Garden Designer

Sometimes, landscaping design includes a garden that can be used for seasonal vegetables, fruits, and other plants, that will boost a home’s eco-friendliness and give homeowners a great new hobby. It can be hard to plan that garden without a visual aid, though, and that’s where Eden Garden Designer comes in. Like landscaping applications that allow for natural stone paving and fencing to be visualised, this application allows for each of a garden’s plants to be placed onto a picture of the home’s lawn. The application makes it easy to determine whether everything will fit into the garden, and how that garden will look when it’s in full bloom, without forcing homeowners to engage in their own trial and error first.

Cottage Garden.
Source: Le Blog de Haute

5. My Garden App

Finally, it’s worth noting that the Eden Garden Designer doesn’t go into specifics concern the seasonability of plants and when they’re best planted. That’s a job best done by MyGardenApp, with an extensive collection of herbs, vegetables, fruits, and more. Each listing includes the plant’s natural habitat, preferred temperature, best season for planting, and a wide range of other helpful information.

With A Mobile App and a Landscaping Professional, Everything is Possible. The best thing about today’s mobile landscaping applications is that they allow homeowners to be more educated and informed about their outdoor planting possibilities. In prior eras, it was hard for homeowners to know exactly with trees, flowers, or natural paving would work best for them. With the wide range of mobile applications available for iOS and Android devices, today’s homeowners can be more informed, prepared, and specific, than ever before.

– Erin

Urbanstone Central specialise in landscaping products such as concrete and paving and are a leading supplier of limestone blocks. You can use an App like one of those listed above, and then visit an Urbanstone display centre to visualise what your landscaping project will look like.