5 Herb Garden Ideas for Small Spaces

Herbs don’t need a lot of room to grow. Small pots or a scaled-down raised bed is all you need to grab a few fresh ingredients off your patio or balcony. You can even grow them indoors just as easily.

An herb garden may be ideal for renters interested in sustainable living. After all, growing herbs or vegetables at home can reduce your carbon footprint by decreasing your food miles and help lower your grocery bills. 

If you’ve never attempted to grow herbs before or are wondering how to do so with limited room, these five herb garden ideas for small spaces will inspire you.

1. Tiered Planters

Growing an herb garden in a small space may require you to get creative. You may not have room for a garden bed in your backyard — or perhaps you don’t even have a backyard if you live in an apartment. 

Tiered planters may provide the solution you’re looking for and they’re an easy DIY project you can do on a rainy day. 

Consider a leaning wooden ladder with a broader tread that allows you to position potted herbs on each step. You might also decide to build a small, tiered planter box that’ll sit nicely against a wall or in a corner. 

If you’re really tight on space, consider purchasing a stackable planter, like the five-tier garden tower by the Amazing Creation Store. City dwellers in tiny apartments can plant 15 herbs in five stackable pots, taking up very little room.

2. Veggie Trug

A raised vegetable trug is ideal for growing an herb garden on a small patio or balcony. While vegetable trugs come in various styles and sizes, some are specifically designed for small plants. 

For instance, the original eight-pocket VegTrug can hold eight of your favorite herbs and comes with dividers to promote greater soil health and aeration. 

The eight-pocket VegTrug is made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified organic cedar that provides enhanced insulation and temperature control. Many warm-weather herbs, such as basil, require soil temperature to be about 60° Fahrenheit for healthier roots and more robust leaves. 

Measuring only 31 inches wide by 23 inches high and 31 inches deep, the herb VegTrug takes up little room in your outdoor space.

3. Vertical Garden

Verticle herb gardens are attractive home and garden features, whether installed indoors or outdoors and are perfect for apartment living. 

They’re also quite versatile and can be constructed in various ways. Perhaps purchase a unique shelving unit like an open cabinet or hang floating shelves in your eat-in area. You could also reclaim an old crib base and use strong twine to attach your potted plants.

Of course, hanging planters could be another option for your vertical garden and enhance your decorative tastes with an organic, functional, and fuss-free look.

While vertical gardens are convenient and aesthetically pleasing, you may have difficulty finding pots with adequate drainage. Remember not to overwater your herbs as saturated soil could lead to root rot. Adding rocks to the bottom of your pots before the potting soil could solve your drainage issue.

4. Windowsill Planter

Sometimes, simplicity is best — and it doesn’t get much easier than placing a few potted planters on your kitchen windowsill. 

While most herbs can thrive in partial sunlight, full-sun herbs — basil, cilantro, parsley, dill, rosemary, chives, and mint — benefit from six hours of daylight or more daily. As such, growing herbs on a windowsill that receives direct sun is a good idea.

Easy access to herbs in your kitchen is also practical since you can use herbs in cooking or for medicinal purposes, such as steeping lavender and chamomile in hot water for a cup of tea. On the other hand, basil can help manage your blood sugar levels, so you should include it as often as possible in recipes. 

5. AeroGarden

Another space-saving herb garden you might consider investing in is an AeroGarden Harvest hydroponic planter. Thanks to its compact design with a grow light hood that adjusts to a height of 12 inches, you can put your AeroGarden anywhere indoors, including the kitchen, office, living room, and dining room. 

The AeroGarden Harvest requires no sun or soil and holds up to six herbs in individual seed pods, supporting growth nearly five times faster than conventional gardening.

Avid cooks and those interested in sustainable apartment living will appreciate the ability to grow herbs with zero effort indoors all year round. 

Build a Stunning Herb Garden in Your Small Space

Whether you have limited space on your patio or live in a small apartment with just enough room on the balcony for a raised bed, you can construct a thriving herb garden that satisfies your sustainability goals and culinary needs.