Fresh herbs are always better than any other option and that’s when the lovely hanging herb gardens featured here today come into play. Not only that they can provide you with fresh herbs whenever you need them but they also serve as fresh decorations for your home. You can have them placed in a lot of spaces, including the kitchen. Let’s now review a few ways in which you can build such a feature for your home.

We’ll start with a very simple project we found on persephonemagazine. All you’ll need for it is a few tin containers with plastic lids, coat hangers, pliers, scissors, masking tape, coffee filters, a nail, a hammer, an x-acto knife, some scrap paper or fabric and glue. Clean the can and remove the bottom. Punch a few holes in it with a nail and hammer and slide it back inside the can holding it up with tape. Push the plant into the can , take a coffee filter and make a hole at the center and a slit extending to the edge. Fold the filter around the herb and tape and edges together. Cut a hole in the center of the plastic lid and carefully feed the plant through this hole. Glue the lid in place.

A similar project which also uses tins can be found on stuffstephdoes. The supplies needed include, a nail, a hammer, tin cans, spray paint and clothesline, as well as a drill with a metal bit. Make some holes in the bottom of the can for drainage and two for hanging. Spray paint the cans and let them dry. Then just run the cord through the holes and knot it at the ends. Add the soil and the plants.

On therusticwillowyou’ll find a very interesting design for a hanging herb garden. You’ll need some clay pots, wood boards, paint and rope. First you need to paint the outer rims of the pots. Then fill them with soil and add the plants. It’s then time to figure out how to hang them. The diagonal display featured here is really chic. You can make the system yourself using some wood pieces and rope.

If you want a larger herb garden, check out the project featured on homemade-modern. This vertical garden is pretty easy to make. You’ll need terra cotta flower pots, some pine boards, rope, zip ties, a drill, a circular saw and pliers. Cut the boards, drill pilot holes, cut the holes for the pots, then drill the holes for the rope. Make sure they’re all lined up nicely. Sand the boards and thread the rope through the holes and tie knots beneath each board. Hang the boards and secure them to the wall. Place the pots in the holes.

Instead of using clay pots, you can repurpose some Mason jars as planters for your fresh herbs. You can hang each jar on the wall, close to the window so the herbs get plenty of natural light. To hang the jars you’ll need some hooks which you can attach to the wall or to the outside of a cabinet. Wrap some wire around the neck of the jar and make a loop. You can find a more detailed description of the project on domestically-speaking.

Instead of having the jars attached to the wall or cabinet, you can integrate them into a mall vertical garden made of an old wooden board. You’ll also need some pipe clamps, triangle ring hangers, hanging wire, a picture hanger for the board, chalkboard paint and chalk for the labels and a hammer, nails and a screwdriver. You can find out how to make this herb garden on camillestyles.

A very cute idea is offered on placeofmytaste. All you’ll need for this project is a round wooden plate, yarn and scissors. Take around 50 pieces of yarn (1.5 yards long) and divide them into four equal sections. Divide each part into sections and twist. Hang this somewhere and tie a knot a few inches below the top. Slip on the wooden plate. You can then arrange a few small herb pots on it.

Now that you know how to make your own herb garden, you should also learn how to preserve the herbs. You can find a bunch of great tips for that on thegardenglove. For example, you should always pick herbs in late morning for best flavor. Wash the herbs before preserving them. You can can dry them, freeze them in water using ice cube trays or in oil or keep them in salt or sugar.