26 DIY Herb Garden Plans You Can Make Today! (With Pictures)
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With their bright flavors and attractive colors, fresh herb garnishes can make all the difference when you’re vying for professional-level presentations at mealtime. What better way to ensure they’re always there when you need them than with an herb garden of your own?
Building an herb garden isn’t just an easy and inexpensive way to conveniently keep your favorite herbs on hand at all times. It’s also a satisfying project, one that keeps your plants healthy and adds visual interest and delight to your landscaping or indoor areas. If you want a creative weekend activity that’s as practical as it is fulfilling, check out these 26 DIY herb garden plans you can start today!
Top 26 DIY Herb Garden Plans
1. Wall Garden with Trellis
| Tools and Materials: | Trellis, Pots, Paint (optional), Potholders, Drill, Screws |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
2. 3-Tiered Raised Cedar Herb Garden
| Tools and Materials: | Drill, Circular saw, Kreg jig, Cedar boards, 2×2 pine posts, Screws |
| Difficulty: | Intermediate |
Tiered herb gardens can get complex, but you can take it back to basics with this beautiful and abundant 3-tiered herb garden. When you have your cedar boards and pine posts, it only takes a few cuts, pocket screws, and lots of soil to pull off this planter box.
3. Herb Garden on a Pallet
| Tools and Materials: | Shipping pallet, Screws, Staple gun, Drill, Level, Landscape fabric, Plywood |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Repurposing old pallets is all the rage in the DIY community, and now you can add an herb garden to the growing list of uses. The pallet construction already lends itself well to separating and holding herbs, so it only takes a few minor adjustments to prepare it. Check out how a pallet, landscape fabric, plywood, and a unique approach to starting herbs combine to make a fully functional and diverse garden.
4. Tiered Herb Garden Planter
| Tools and Materials: | Drill, Miter saw, Table saw, Square, (8) 2x2x8’, (7) 1x6x12’ cedar tongue and groove, (2) 1x4x10’ cedar boards, (1) 4×8’ lattice panel, Exterior screws |
| Difficulty: | Advanced |
If you’re feeling ambitious, you can try out this beautiful 2-tiered herb garden. Two long beds offer plenty of space to grow a bevy of herbs behind cedar plank walls. Meanwhile, a lattice backing adds grandeur, decoration, and a place for vining plants to grow.
5. Outdoor Vertical Herb Garden
| Tools and Materials: | (4) 8′ 2×6 cedar boards, (3) 8′ 2×4 cedar boards, Wood glue, Miter saw, Kreg Jig + pocket hole screws, Spar urethane, Plant clips, Terra cotta pots |
| Difficulty: | Intermediate |
A few cedar boards create a weather-resistant and attractive backdrop for a flourishing grid of potted herbs in this hanging herb garden. The construction isn’t challenging, as the most complex steps involve drilling pocket holes and mitering 45° angles at the joints. By using plant clips, you create an arrangement of floating terra cotta pots to add even more appeal.
6. Spiral Herb Garden
| Tools and Materials: | Rocks, Cardboard, Soil |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
You don’t need wood and power tools to make fashionable garden elements. In some cases, all it takes are some well-placed rocks, as is the case with this spiral herb garden. Soil fills an ascending stone-lined spiral, giving herbs a single run to grow in. Choose your plants carefully, as aggressive invasive varieties may overtake your other herbs.
7. Double-Barrel Herb Garden
| Tools and Materials: | Drill with ½” drill bit, Large barrel, 42” wide, 24” tall, Small barrel, 30” wide, 17” tall, (2) 2x4s, ½” solid distribution tubing, ¼” solid distribution tubing, ¼” tubing with laser cuts or in-line emitters, ½” end cap, ¼” connector barbs, tees, and goof plugs, Punch, 12+ irrigation stakes |
| Difficulty: | Advanced |
Stacked planters can be awkward, but they aren’t usually complicated. In this double-barrel herb garden design, however, an additional irrigation system with drip tubing bumps the difficulty up a notch. The extra work pays off, as you get a hands-free watering system set up to manage herbs in any environment.
8. Hanging Gutter Herb Planter with Stand
| Tools and Materials: | 2×4 board, (2) 2×2 board, (2) RTA2Z rigid tie connectors, (2) RTT22Z rigid tie connectors, (40)1 ¼” screws, Spray paint, 10′ vinyl gutter, (3) Vinyl end cap set (2-pack), Rope, (2) Large S-hooks (1/4″ x 2″), (2) Eye hooks (¼” x 3 ¾”), Sealant |
| Difficulty: | Intermediate |
Gutters are your greatest ally in protecting your foundation from water, but as it turns out, they’re also handy for growing herbs! Cut down a single gutter to get this crafty hanging herb garden, a freestanding display to fit anywhere on your lawn. The creator of this garden finished off the gutters with a robin’s egg blue, but feel free to express your creativity in any colors you see fit.
9. Hanging Pot Herb Garden
| Tools and Materials: | (8) 6” potholders, (8) 6” terra cotta pots, Drill, Screws |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Hanging herb pots don’t always need backing to make a statement. That’s the idea behind this hanging pot garden featuring pot holders screwed directly into a masonry wall. Even though the process is quick, some helpful tips on preparing the wall and pots guarantee a lasting installation.
10. Modern Garden Stack
| Tools and Materials: | Miter or circular saw, Cordless drill and ⅛” drill bit, Staple gun and ½” electric cord staples, Scissors, Tin snips or cutting pliers, Cedar boards, Roll of wire hardware cloth, 1/2″ gap, Weed blocker fabric |
| Difficulty: | Intermediate |
Want a clean-lined geometric garden to complement your modern home? A modular stacked herb garden is the perfect solution! In this design, hand-built boxes pile on top of each other in a checkered arrangement. Follow the stair-step design in this plan or create a new layout to fit your space.
11. Cedar Wall Planter
| Tools and Materials: | Pocket hole jig, Drill, Brad nailer, Miter saw, (3) 1×8 8’ cedar boards, 1 ¼” pocket screws, 1 ¼” brad nails, Concrete anchors |
| Difficulty: | Intermediate |
Don’t let the simplicity fool you—it takes skill to pull off this beautiful yet subdued cedar wall planter.
If you’ve ever cut stringers for a stair set, you already have some experience in building this 3-stage piece, a perfect setting for various herbs and flowers. Most of the work comes in the way of precision miter cuts and hidden pocket holes, which give this elegant out-of-the-way herb garden a seamless appearance.
12. Standup Pallet Herb Garden
| Tools and Materials: | Pallet, Paint, Saw, Drill, Screws, 2×4 board |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Pallets are incredibly versatile for creative minds, and that’s even more obvious when you realize all the possibilities for herb gardens alone. As you can see in this pallet garden plan, it only takes a coat of paint and a fresh perspective to transform a pallet into a perfect herb display. If the pallet is in good enough condition, you can just add a few 2×4 shelves and a set of 2×4 legs to make a functional garden in no time.
13. 30-Minute Raised Garden
| Tools and Materials: | (4) 4×4 posts, 1×6 boards, Drill, Screws |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
When you have a lot of herbs to grow and not a lot of time to spend on building a bed, this is the plan to use. These simple rectangular raised garden bed plans can be custom-sized to fit your space, promising a ready-to-use plot in about 30 minutes.
14. Vertical Herb Garden
| Tools and Materials: | Pressure-treated pine lumber, Drill, Screws, Miter saw |
| Difficulty: | Advanced |
The plans can seem convoluted at first, but the finished product is well worth it with this multi-shelf herb garden project. You need to make several precise miter cuts to pull off the angled supports, so this plan is more difficult than some other freestanding options.
After your hard work, you get a sturdy slotted garden for housing several herb layers. With the A-frame design, you can also add wheeled casters so you can turn and maneuver the planter as needed.
15. Colorful Indoor Herb Garden
| Tools and Materials: | Plant pots with stand, Spray paint in your choice of colors, Spray shellac sealant |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Flex your creativity with one of the simplest yet most colorful approaches to an indoor herb garden. The plans for these vibrant herb pots let you create a palette any way you want, with a shellac finish bringing a gleaming highlight to a kitchen counter or living room shelf.
16. Vertical Herb Garden with Drip Irrigation
| Tools and Materials: | ½” drip irrigation tubing, ½” cap, ½” compression elbow, ¾” hose to ½” drip lock adapter, Hose pressure reducer, Hose backflow preventer, ¼” hole punch, ¼” drip soaker hose, ¼” barb coupling, ¼” end plugs |
| Difficulty: | Intermediate |
An herb garden is a fantastic DIY project, but if you’re a gardening aficionado, it’s also one more bit of upkeep added to your plate. A drip irrigation system can make your herb maintenance exponentially easier, allowing you to evenly distribute water to your garden with the turn of a knob.
Use this drip irrigation installation plan to make watering an entire vertical herb garden a snap. There’s also a link to the herb garden plans, so you can complete the build from square one!
17. Mason Jar Herb Garden
| Tools and Materials: | Mason jars, Labels, Rocks, Soil |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Here’s a look at the Mason jar herb garden, arguably the simplest of builds on this list. With only a couple of basic materials—jars and labels for different herbs—the construction speaks for itself. But there are still some critical cultivating insights when using jars for planting herbs, and that’s where the focus lies in this herb garden tutorial. Learn how to layer your growing medium and care for your plants to ensure a thriving crop.
18. Raised Herb Garden Planter
| Tools and Materials: | Drill, Miter saw, Pressure-treated lumber, Pressure-treated deck posts, Plastic utility tub, 2×2 cleats, Deck screws |
| Difficulty: | Intermediate |
Cut some corners and add some style by using sculpted deck posts as the legs on the raised herb garden planter. The plans walk you through every step of cutting your pressure-treated lumber, creating your reinforced frame, and readying your plastic basin. Finish up with a coat of stain and hanging hooks to keep your herb garden tools readily on hand.
19. Hanging Indoor Herb Garden
| Tools and Materials: | Circular saw, Drill, Nail gun, 1 ½” nails, 18’ chain, (2) 1×3 4’ board, 1×6 4’ board, (6) 4” terra-cotta pots, (16) No. 10 screw hooks |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Fill in your kitchen window with these hanging herb containers consisting of basic box assemblies held together by chains. Hanging systems can have their faults, but a few extra steps will make yours plenty sturdy and safe for up to six potted herbs.
Related Read: Can Basil Grow Indoors? Tips, Tricks, and How-To Guide For Growing
20. Tiered Herb Garden with Lattice Backing
| Tools and Materials: | Drill, Miter saw, Kreg jig, Cedar lumber, (16) Wide corner braces, (4) Corner plates |
| Difficulty: | Intermediate |
You have to purchase the complete plans for this raised herb garden, but the creator supplies enough information between the video and the free instructions for an experienced DIYer to successfully complete this project. Chunky exterior braces and lattice backing give you artistic bonus points in this clean construction.
21. Pallet Herb Garden with Shelves
| Tools and Materials: | Saw, Drill, Screws, Pallet, Paint, Sandpaper, Weed fabric |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
In another twist on the pallet herb garden, this shelved garden deconstructs and reshapes an old pallet into either a freestanding or hanging stack of herb beds. Just add some paint and a few bed liners, and your new herb garden is good to go!
Related Read: 14 DIY Vertical Garden Plans You Can Make Today (with Pictures)
22. Corner Tiered Herb Garden
| Tools and Materials: | Miter or circular saw, Drill, 8’ cedar boards, Pocket screws, Kreg jig, Outdoor wood screws, Wood glue, Clear silicone sealant, Stain, Landscape fabric |
| Difficulty: | Advanced |
You can pack a ton of herbs into this 3-tiered corner herb garden, a 3’x3’ L-shaped planter for herbs and flowers. If you have a lot of deck or patio space, give yourself a challenge with this impressive cedar build.
23. Herb Garden Tower
| Tools and Materials: | (6) Pots of varying sizes, Soil |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Take a break from cutting or drilling wood, and make a neat tiered herb garden with a few large pots and some soil in a clever arrangement instead! Three terra cotta pots nest within one another, making a quaint tower appropriate for gardens, decks, or patios.
24. Leaning Pallet Herb Garden
| Tools and Materials: | Drill, Staple gun and staples, Screws, Pallet, Plywood, Weed cloth, Stain |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Keep it casual yet clever with a leaning herb garden made from an old pallet. A stain finish and painted labels turn this otherwise simple build into a beautiful addition to landscaping along the side of the house.
25. Indoor Hanging Herb Garden
| Tools and Materials: | Hooks, Wooden rod, String, Pots |
| Difficulty: | Intermediate |
Part herb garden, part wall art, these indoor hanging herb pots are a crafty way to spruce up a living room, dining room, or kitchen. The supply list is short, and the result is modest. But take a closer look at the intricate and precise knot pattern, and it becomes clear that the rope holders aren’t as simple as they first appear.
26. Leaning Hanging Potted Herb Garden
| Tools and Materials: | Trellis, Hanging potholders, Pots, Labels |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Make the most of a small space with a hanging potted herb garden, an excellent addition for apartments, porches, and patios. Setup only takes minutes, and you can rearrange, add, or subtract pots if you ever want to change up your herbs.
Related Read: 15 DIY Hydroponic Garden Plans You Can Make Today
Final Thoughts
From a few Mason jars on the windowsill to a multi-level raised bed, a handmade herb garden is a flexible project to suit DIYers of all skill levels. Make it a full-blown weekend job, or knock out a simple build in a few minutes. Either way, you’ve found a healthy way to fill out spare space in your garden, patio, or kitchen counter with these herb gardens you can make today!
- See Also: Uses for Old Garden Hoses
Featured Image Credit: JillWellington, Pixabay
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