A fragrant herb garden consists of herbs with aromatic properties. They are the perfect place to unwind after a stressful day or to help uplift your spirits with their light and refreshing scents. Most herbs will release their aromas when brushed up against or touched, so keeping them close by is ideal for a fragrant herb garden.
When it comes to fragrant herbs, there is a huge assortment from which to choose, each with their own unique scent and benefits. Whether you want to take up a relaxing hobby, save money on recipes or just have an aromatic atmosphere in your home for a little self-care, a fragrant herb garden is great for just about anyone!
How to create your own indoor fragrant herb garden?
Before you buy yourself a bunch of fragrant herbs for your indoor garden, you’ll want to make sure you are properly equipped with the right materials. Here are the basic components you’ll need as well as steps to create your own fragrant herb garden.
What You’ll Need:
- Your choice of baby fragrant herbs
- Planters or pots with saucers
- Soil and soil amendment
- Proper sunlight
Step 1 – Pick a location
Indoor herb gardens are much smaller, but will last longer and require less maintenance — perfect for beginner or moderate gardeners. Since they’ll be in your living space, you’ll be able to benefit from their lovely fragrances as well as easy access for culinary purposes. If you choose an indoor herb garden, there are plenty of ways to get creative and make them charming additions to your home. However, it’s crucial that you make sure that they have access to enough sunlight. This includes a sunny windowsill, sun porch or another area in your home that generally gets plenty of sunlight.
Step 2 – Choose a planting aesthetic
This step is all about getting creative and designing a fragrant herb garden that fits your unique style. Depending on where you choose your herb garden to be, this can range from a lush outdoor garden bed, decorated pots or an indoor planter of your choice. Choose something that fits your style and matches your aesthetic.
Step 3 – Amend your soil
A soil amendment is any material added to soil to improve its properties, such as water retention, permeability, water infiltration, drainage, aeration and structure.
Types of soil amendments:
- Peat Moss
- Coco Coir
- Perlite
- Leaf Mold
- Bark
The goal of a soil amendment is to provide a better environment for the roots and ensure a solid foundation for your precious herbs. For amendments to do its job right, it must be thoroughly mixed into the soil before planting.
Step 4 – Plant your herbs
Choose which herbs best fit what you are looking for whether its for aromatherapy, culinary purposes, or aesthetics. Remove your baby herb plants from their containers and tease the roots slightly. Then you’ll want to place your herbs into freshly amended soil in their new pots, planters or garden bed.
Types of Indoor Fragrant Herb Gardens:
Indoor herb gardens are great for many reasons. For one, they provide a charming addition to your space while filling the air with their soft fragrances. For another, it provides easy access when cooking or for tending to their needs.
Check out some of these cute indoor herb garden ideas to gain some inspiration for your next DIY project! Don’t forget to download these cute printable labels so you can keep track of your fragrant herbs whether they be in your kitchen, living room or sun porch.
Types of Fragrant Herbs:
Herbs have a variety of uses including culinary and medicinal purposes, repelling pests and aromatherapy. When it comes to fragrances, there’s an endless list of herbs that have aromatic properties. From refreshing, citrus-like scents to one-of-a-kind woody aromas, there’s an herb for every unique nose out there.
The important thing to keep in mind is that everyone has their own particular tastes, so choose a fragrant herb that emits a scent that you find enjoyable so it becomes the perfect home fragrance. To get you started, check out this list of some of the most popular fragrant herbs to add to your new at-home herb garden.
1. Lavender
Lavender is a universally-loved herb that belongs in every fragrant herb garden. Both the leaves and the flowers emit a powerful, yet relaxing scent that turns your space into a calm and zen-like atmosphere — perfect for unwinding after a long day of work. Lavender’s scent helps to reduce stress and anxiety in humans while being abhorrent to mosquitos, ticks and other pests, keeping them at bay.
Pro Tip: Lavender requires regular pruning and should be located in areas with adequate drainage and spaced far enough apart to ensure good air circulation to help reduce chances of root rot.
2. Lemon Balm
Lemon balm is a member of the mint family and gets its name from its lemony-scented leaves. Herbal gardeners adore this herb for the sweet and refreshing fragrance it emits. This herb was used for centuries to reduce anxiety, improve appetite and promote sleep. They are very easy to grow and do well in almost any soil, but if not carefully controlled, lemon balm can spread rapidly. Make sure this plant has its own pot to flourish in.
Pro Tip: It’s recommended that you not fertilize lemon balm, as this can cause the strength of it’s scent to be reduced.
3. Mint
Mint is another beloved fragrant herb that’s instantly recognizable with its fresh scent and taste. There are many different varieties of mint such as peppermint, spearmint and chocolate mint known to each have their own distinctive fragrances. Aside from mint’s refreshing scent, it also is great for garnishing, repelling unwanted bugs, relieving stomach aches and reducing bad breath.
Pro Tip: Mint is known for being an invasive plant, so plant these herbs in their own containers and keep them spaced out at least a foot apart to prevent cross-pollinating.
4. Rosemary
Rosemary contains a beautiful one-of-a-kind scent that’s woody and pungent. It’s similar to evergreen with it’s earthy undertones and super fragrant needle-like leaves. Rosemary is a lover of the sun and is one of the trickier herbs to grow — especially indoors. However, it’s manageable as long as you make sure they are placed in a spot where they can get at least 6 hours of sunlight a day. The woody rosemary can also make a delicious addition to home cooked meals.
Pro Tip: Rosemary can also flourish under fluorescent light if you don’t have an area that gets enough sunlight.
5. Chamomile
Chamomile, known for its calming tea, is actually a beautiful plant that produces a warm, sweet and herbaceous aroma. It’s a great addition to any fragrant herb garden as it’s appealing in both smell and sight. Chamomile produces daisy-like flowers that are used in its tea which promotes sleep and relaxation. It’s often recommended as a companion plant in vegetable gardens due to its strong scent that keeps pests away.
Pro Tip: Chamomile needs little care and only a little fertilizer, as too much will result in weakly scented foliage and few flowers.
6. Thyme
Thyme is an aromatic herb containing gentle hints of lemon and mint. It’s popular for flavoring soups and marinades, but possesses a fresh, citrus-like scent that makes it great for a fragrant herb garden. It helps to treat stomach aches and sore throats. Thyme is a popular fill-in plant that can cover bare spots in your garden and make for an amazing, aromatic carpet that will reward you for years to come.
Pro Tip: Thyme loved the warmer summer months, so moving them outdoors during that time can promote plant productivity and health.
7. Basil
Basil is mostly thought of as a culinary herb, but it lands a spot in the fragrant herb list due to its undeniable pleasant and relaxing aroma. It is also called as the king of herbs due to its popularity in at-home herb gardens. It requires excellent drainage and sunlight to flourish, but often does best indoors due to its sensitivity to the cold.
Pro Tip: Once basil plants start to flower, their leaves lose scent and flavor potency. Removing the flowers will help get their potency back in a few days time.
8. Scented Geraniums
Last, but certainly not least, we have the scented geraniums which are known for their extraordinary scents making them one of the best plants for a fragrant herb garden. There is a wide variety of scented geraniums to choose from, with scents that include apple, cinnamon, ginger, lemon, rose and orange just to name a few. They are even great for flavoring teas and jellies. To release their rich scent, the leaves must be touched or crushed so it’s best to keep these aromatic herbs within arms reach.
Pro Tip: Scented geraniums need little fertilizer. They are active growers so regular trimming is necessary.
