Kid Craft: Upcycled Herb Gardens You Can Make in an Afternoon

Schools are still closed and summer break is on the horizon, so to all you parents out there, we feel your pain. You may already be sick of DIY projects (I know a few parents that are), but this one has its benefits. I present: building a home herb garden.

Whether it’s one plant or several, growing your own herbs is a wonderful way to bring nature indoors, teach your children about sustainability and growing food, and gets you the freshest herbs possible for all your spring and summertime recipes.

You can make this project even more planet- and kid-friendly by using upcycled soup cans,  mason jars, bottles, or whatever else you may have lying around the house. Then, grab the kids, some non-toxic paints, and an outdoor space, and you've got a great craft for the family to enjoy on a nice spring or summer day.

It's that easy. But if you want some other ideas, I've got a few more examples of ways you can upcycle an at-home herb garden below. 

Cut up old bottles for hanging planters

Your old shampoo bottles never looked so chic! I love that these hanging planters are made from plastic bottles that would otherwise end up in a landfill. This project requires paint, yarn, and, ideally a hole punch.

Use a shoe rack for a hanging herb garden

If you have an old hanging shoe rack that you’d like to repurpose, then I'd like to introduce you to your new indoor herb garden. You can “pot” an herb in each shoe slot (maybe… clean it first??) and watch all your herbs grow. It’s adorable and convenient, and certainly a good use for something you may have no idea what to do with if you’ve replaced it.

Plant in off-beat items

Whether it’s tea tins, mason jars, or old sauce bottles, you can build an herb garden with really any vessel you have on hand, assuming it’s an appropriate size! Decorate it, or don’t, and enjoy reusing products you may have thrown away.

Give new life to old crates or wooden boxes

Find an old wooden crate, wooden box, or even a metal bucket, and plant a mini garden in there. You can paint it and label it as you’d like, and plant several herbs side by side. Just be careful with mint — it tends to outgrow other herbs!