DIY Hanging Herb Garden

Want an herb garden, but lack the garden space? Try making a vertical hanging herb garden on your deck or patio.

Why Build a Hanging Herb Garden?

Location and space are key features for a hanging herb garden wall.

Our kitchen garden sits up on a hill on our heavily wooded property. It’s the only flat open area that receives enough sun to grow fruits and vegetables. We built an enclosed garden space to prevent the deer from destroying everything and have had wonderful success with it! You can read about this project in my post: Enclosed Kitchen Garden.

Unfortunately, when I’m cooking dinner and I need a couple snips of rosemary or thyme, I have to trek up the hill and back to collect my fresh herbs. I admit, the exercise is good for me, but sometimes I want a more convenient option.

After losing a tree in our backyard, the sun exposure on our elevated back deck increased enough to have some potted plants. In addition to flower pots, I realized I could add a small herb garden. Between the outdoor furniture and grill, there wasn’t much space left for potted plants. Thus, my hanging herb garden idea was born. However, I wasn’t sure where to begin.

A hanging herb garden would be perfect for a balcony with limited space. If necessary, check with your property manager before adding permanent fixtures, of course!

Read my post Design Guide for a Small Apartment Balcony Garden for more suggestions and tips.

What Do You Need to Create a Hanging Herb Garden?

Materials for sturdy wall support and good growing conditions (sunlight/water) are essential for building this project. This is how I made mine.

While walking through the garden center at Lowes, I noticed a metal trellis for sale. My original intention was to add it to my moon garden and to grow a white flowering vine on it.

However, after bringing it home and setting it in place, it just felt wrong. It looked small and awkward in the garden. I moved it to the deck and found it looked better next to the black metal furniture and light fixtures.

I also had some small empty terracotta pots looking lonely. My plan for a hanging herb garden was starting to come together.

Materials:

• Metal Trellis with horizontal bars (Lowes)
• Terracotta Pots 6 inch (9-12 pots)
• Hanging Plant Holders
• Coffee Filters or fabric scrap
• 4 inch potted herbs and flowers of choice
• Soil
• Mounting Hardware
• Power Drill
• Wire for attaching trellis to hardware
• Needle Nose Pliers with wire cutter

Ready to build your own hanging herb garden? Let’s do this!

Step 1:

• Locate where on the wall you want to mount your trellis.
• Drill 2 holes for the eye hooks. We drilled ours near the top of the trellis to keep it from falling forward under the weight of the plants.
• Insert two eye hooks and tighten.

Step 2:

• Snip a 10 inch length of wire and wrap around the trellis bar and through the eye hook.
• Twist ends together and snip off extra wire length.
• Use the pliers to bend sharp ends under to avoid scratches.

Step 3:

• Place a coffee filter or scrap of fabric over the drainage hole in the bottom of each terracotta pot to prevent soil from running out after watering.

*Ginger Tip: Try hanging the empty pots on your trellis to determine your preferred layout before filling with soil and plants.

Step 4:

• Add a small amount of soil to the pot.
• Remove your first plant from its plastic container.
• Gently center it in the pot and add soil around edges to fill close to top.
• Pat down carefully.

Step 5:

• Use the pot hangers to attach your potted herbs to the trellis.
• Try different arrangements to find one that suits your aesthetic.

Step 6:

• Water your herb garden and watch it grow!

What Plants are Best for a Hanging Herb Wall garden?

For my hanging herb garden, I chose several different plants:

• 2 Chives
• 1 Thai Basil
• 1 Rosemary
• 1 Lemon Thyme
• 1 Curled Parsley
• 1 Peppermint
• 2 Dill

Other herbs that would do well are cilantro and sage. I also like to add in small flowering plants for aesthetics like bacopa or marigolds.

*Ginger Tip: Keep a watering can handy because these plants are small and terracotta dries out quickly.

Want to learn more about my favorite herb, thyme? Read my post: The Best of Thyme: Fresh from the Herb Garden.

Or are you ready to make fresh basil pesto? Read Homemade Basil Pesto!

I hope you enjoy your vertical hanging herb garden! Please leave a comment or question below!

Having fresh herbs available for homemade recipes is just the beginning. Read From Garden to Table: Homemade Recipes Using Fresh Herbs, Fruits and Vegetables for more details!

For another DIY gardening project, read DIY Galvanized Stock Tank Planter.