I should begin this post by explaining that Will, my husband, is the expert gardener but that I have been keen to learn.     Will built these flower boxes last spring with his father and they have been eagerly awaiting fresh plants since last season’s faded away.     We thought it might be nice to try an herb garden as we are cooking more and don’t always end up finishing our store bought basil, etc.   We planted:  thyme, dill, parsley, mint, lemon balm, basil, rosemary and oregano.   All were a joy to plant, and smell so good!  I have already made two tomato mozzarella salads because the basil is so delicious.

Will generously walked me through the planting process:  preparing the soil (which was quite damp), breaking up the roots, packing the plants and filling in the gaps with dirt, watering and then we added a layer of mulch on top to keep the moisture in and for aesthetics.   One thing that I thought was nice is that I felt it was a very small amount of plants but it filled the planter nicely and the mulch makes up for the gaps between.   In our limited experience, herbs grow really quickly and can expand so I wanted to leave space between.  A lovely reader let me know that mint apparently takes over so I have re-planted it in a separate pot.   Also, this bougainvillea is totally unrelated but was irresistible, so full!

We took the entire porch apart last weekend for a freshen up: sanding, a good scrub and a few coats of paint really made a huge difference — feels like new, just in time for the early summer weather!   See the video below for more step by steps.  And the all white went in the wash quite well 😉 xx !