Herbal Essence

I always thought it would be neat to grow my own fresh herbs to use back in cooking. In our house there is really nowhere to have the herbs to where they would get the recommended sun. Therefore, I decided I would  just grow them outside in a planter. As Bradley and I antique shopped recently, I found an old Coca-Cola box perfect to be my herb planter. Problem was the wood was super old and already falling apart. Me being the determined person I am, I figured I would just build my own. We had plenty of scrap wood already in the garage that I could experiment with. I began to cut the wood and away I went.

I intentionally hacked up several pieces of wood with the saw. I felt like it helped to "age" the wood.

 To add the old beat up look I was going for, I took a hammer and screws to the boards.

 I kind of got carried away beating the wood...it was too much fun.

To reach the old rugged look, I used coffee and dirt. Bradley and I had bought nasty coffee back during the holidays that we did not drink. What a better way to get rid of it than stain wood with it?! Oh and it made the garage smell good as I worked. 

 I took each piece of wood and "painted" it with coffee. While it was still wet, I smeared dirt/sand into the wood.

 Close up view

 Once the wood dried, I sprayed it with a water sealant. Then, to give the wood an even more worn look, I took a lighter and burned it in several places.

Final planter

Our herb garden includes: Greek Oregano, Curled Parsley, Rosemary, and Hot & Spicy Basil

I have already used the Basil back on a pizza. It made all the difference to me to have homegrown herbs! The planter has the exact "old" look I was going for and above all, everything was free minus the plants!!