I have something similar to these flower (railing) boxes, would growing herbs in there (legal variety) work?

Yea, just make sure that the ones you’re planting can tolerate the amount of sun they’ll get. It might also be helpful to read up quickly on companion planting, and plant things together that will cooperate and help each other. That way, they tend to require less watering and fertilizer.

Here are mine.

Most likely herbs will work just fine. I just talked to the lady at the nursery about growing herbs. She said to water them enough to keep the soil just moist, but not to let it get soggy. Medium to full sun every day. Just make sure your box has drain holes.

I just planted a pot with parsely, chives, cilantro and basil. Plus I put in 2 marigold flowers which are supposed to repel bugs and it makes the whole thing look really pretty.

I have also heard that growing chili peppers with basil keeps the bugs off of them. I know several of the Missions around Southern California have that combo running wild on their grounds. It smells so good!

I was just thinking of suggesting the marigolds like @Kardamom said. Certain types are medicinal, and can be used to make good skin ointments.

Yours are pretty much what my DIL has and some of hers are up again from last year. She has all her herbs handy outside her patio doors.

I’ve never found pests to be a problem with herbs – the strength of their “herbiness” seems to repel bugs just fine.

I find that I only use a few (cilantro, basil, chives, parsley), but they’re so pretty, I always plant extras. I use sweet basil for food, but it also comes in some really pretty varieties. Rosemary (although it can get big) and thyme are very pretty plants, and can have a “hanging” style that would look pretty growing over the edge of your planters.. Things like oregano and mints may be too tall for planters like those (unless you’re really aggressive about pinching them back). And always be careful of everything in the mint family – it’s horribly invasive and can spread seeds far and wide.

@incendiary_dan Do you have a link on companion planting?

Sure.

We grow a bunch of herbs in containers and bring them in before winter and we have fresh herbs all winter and then move them back out for next summer.

www.companionplanting.net seems to be a pretty good one. There’s also a couple zines I like. And most books on permaculture have lots of information on companion planting; I’ve been able to find several at libraries.

I’ve also had a lot of luck just typing in “companion planting” and the plants you intend to grow on Google, and often find what grows well with that.

@Adirondackwannabe -What size containers do you use?

Does lavender do well indoors?

@Jude It’s more really fucking big for indoors. Edit: Well, maybe if you get new, baby plants… Babies are usually smaller enough for indoors.

I think it is better to grow lavender outside, because it needs full sun, but according to this site you can bring it indoors for the winter if you live in a cold climate. And yes, it can get pretty big.

@lucillelucillelucille Depends on the plant. Rosemary does ok in as small as a gallon sized planter. Larger herbs I use small barrels, maybe two to three gallon seems to work ok.