Hello there my pretties, and happy October! It is the absolute best time of year, even if you do live in Florida like me and it’s still ninety-degrees. Recently I have become a “crazy” plant lady, and this all started with my desire to start my own herb garden. I wanted to do this for a few reasons. First, for the first time ever, I have my own balcony. As soon as I started looking on Pinterest for ways to decorate a balcony, immediately I realized every picture included lots of lush-green plants. Next, I have always sucked at growing things. I have killed who knows how many cacti. For as long as I can remember, I have desperately wanted a green thumb. A balcony all of my own (my lovely roommate gave me free reign of that sacred space) seemed like the perfect excuse to get my gardening on. Finally… I mean, the metaphysical AND cooking benefits? You know I am going to be flaunting my home grown sage smudge sticks and making my own herbal brews. Plus, like I mentioned, most herbs in a witch’s garden can be used in your meals as well. And just like that, I drove to Home Depot full of hope and lacking any concept of what I was about to do. This is why I am making a post for all of you novices on how to begin your very own herb garden without making the same mistakes I did.
First, make sure you have all of your supplies before you have your plants.
This one may seem obvious, but for me it apparently was not. All I had prepared was a list of plants I wanted. I ended up buying plants, some I did not even want in the first place, with a cheap metal stand to put them on and disposable pots. I assumed the perfect garden stand that would fit beautifully on my balcony for a cheap, reasonable price would just be waiting for me. After thirty minutes of hunting, I realized how naïve I had been. As for the pots, home depot had a gardening center! But the options were few and lack luster. Therefore, I went home with disposable ones that now sit in a storage bin. After two more shopping trips to find the perfect, reasonably priced tools, I ended up ordering everything on amazon. Make sure you have everything before you buy your plants. It will save you time, money, and unnecessary stress.
Next, go to a plant nursery.
Knowing nothing about gardening, I did not realize that in the summer nearly no herbs are available at places like Home Depot, Walmart, and Lowes. I tried them all, and ended up with two plants that were not originally on my list and one plant that died within a few days (it was a pretty burnt crisp when I got it, but it was the only rosemary plant left). Going to a nursery never even crossed my mind. I honestly did not even know there was one in my town. It was not until I was googling where to find plants, having already tried my three go-to’s mentioned above, that I realized there was a big, beautiful nursery only ten minutes from my front door. Let me tell you, after only being to this place three times, it is possibly my favorite place in Tallahassee. The energy is so pure and calming, I had to be dragged out each time. I did not want to leave. Go to a plant nursery. The plants are much healthier, more varied, and your entire life will change. Just saying.
Finally, research the plants you want.
I kind of did this one, but not to the extent that I should have. Like I said, I started with a list of plants I wanted. But I had no clue how to care for said plants. Some plants require full sun, some need to have constantly moist soil, some will rot if you add moss to them for decoration, etc. Herbs, according to experts, are the simplest plants to grow. That’s the good news. Bad news is if you’re like me, you could still screw up. I am currently compiling a “how-to” guide for all of the plants I own. This will be on my blog once it is finished, and will be updated as I get new plants. It is a miracle I have only killed one plant. Do your research, know how to grow, how to harvest, how you will use it after so you don’t end up with jars full of dried dill that you will never use.
I hope you found these little tips useful. Now go off and start your garden witches! Blessed be and have a wonderful Spooky Season.
