Spring Herbs On Display

It's finally that time of year again!

I spend most of Winter looking forward to the first signs of Spring because Spring brings with it fresh herbs for all of our cooking needs. During the Winter months most of the herbs I use are dried (which is not ideal) or store bought (which can get pretty expensive) but during the rest of the months of the year I try to keep fresh herbs just a few feet away from my kitchen. This year, however, I found a new and pretty adorable way to display my herbs while still keeping them accessible and I couldn't resist sharing it:

Source: northcarolinacharm.blogspot.com via VABelle on Pinterest

Pinterest to the rescue once again!

I mean, could this mini herb garden be any more adorable? So a few weekends ago I set out to recreate it.

I first gathered a few supplies:

Clay Pots

Paint Brush

Chalk Board Paint (I used Martha Stewart Multi Surface Paint)

Potting Soil

Various Herbs

Chalk

I then painted the base of the pot with chalkboard paint. This was my first craft with chalkboard paint and lets just say I'm officially hooked. It's amazing! If I'm not careful, I could easily paint everything in our house with this stuff.

I then filled each pot with soil and the particular herb, watered it, and wrote the herb's name on the pot (with the best handwriting I could manage) in chalk.

30 minutes later I had my own adorable herb garden!

The outdoor shelf was another project in itself. It was originally bakers shelf in my grandmas basement. I first saw it when my parents cleaned out her house and knew it would be perfect for our deck. But at the time is was a bit rusted from years of use and painted white. My parent's spray painted it black with rustoleum paint to match our iron patio furniture giving us a practically free addition to our deck decor! Right now it holds herbs but it can easily be converted to a bar for parties or buffet for dinners on the deck.

My herb garden is still not complete. There are a few more herbs I want to add to the mix.

In fact, my dream herb garden would include:

Basil

takes Italian dishes to a whole new level

Dill

quite possibly my favorite herb

Rosemary

Thyme

Mint

for all of those delicious mojitos I like to sip in the Summer

Cilantro

for Mexican nights

Italian/Flat leaf Parsley

I will admit that I was a little concerned about the chalk washing off with each watering and rain storm. But so far, 3 weeks later, the names are still in tact!

What herbs do you insist on having on hand for cooking?