Neither of my thumbs are green. Quite the opposite, in fact. I’ve never had a plant in my home that lived longer than a couple of months. This is pathetic, I know, because with the kind of plants I buy all I really have to do is water them and yet I somehow can’t get my act together to do even that. I hate that.
I also hate something else. Buying coriander, or Italian parsely, or any of the other herbs that they sell in the grocery store. What always happens is that I use the two tablespoons’ worth that my recipe calls for, then stick the rest in the crisper only to pull it out a week or so later when it’s a heap of slime. Such a waste! (Why oh why don’t they sell these herbs in smaller bundles?!! It makes no sense.)
I was complaining about this sad state of affairs to my butcher on the weekend, and she suggested that I grow my herbs instead. I told her “no green thumbs,” yadda yadda. But, really Michelle, is that a good enough reason to let food rot? Surely there MUST be a way to grow some basil that even I can get on board with? Enter this project, from design/garden blog Nest in Style:
It’s a hanging garden made from a piece of PVC rain gutter. A gutter garden!
This project appeals to me for the cottage for several reasons. First of all, you can use it to plant herbs and keep them close at hand in the kitchen. I’d hang it, for instance, inside the window that’s above the sink. That way, water is never far from hand, and it gets more than enough light. It would be hard to forget about these plants, because you are always at the sink. Plus, your herbs would be right there when cooking, and far away from the critter and creature attacks that are the death of so many cottage gardens. (Although, question: Do deer like herb gardens the way they like, say, geraniums? Discuss.) In addition, this project might be good for using up old scraps of materials at the cottage, which is always a plus in my books. Most importantly of all, this project looks really cool…a nice way to dress up the window without taking up too much real estate.
And a good way to clean up the crisper, of course.
For full instructions, click here.
