Besides wooden trays, one of the things I always keep my eyes out for at the thrift store is wooden tool caddy boxes. They have so much upcycling potential and the possibilities for their use are endless. Like this one that I turned into a lovely French Country-Style Herb Garden Caddy.

The inspiration for the herb garden caddy came from a trip to a quaint family-run greenhouse. Earlier in the day, I was going through my thrift store stash. At the bottom of one box, I found a wooden tool caddy that I completely forgot about. When perusing the herb aisle at the greenhouse my wooden caddy came to mind and the idea for a small herb garden was born.

Wooden Tool Caddy Herb Garden

A small wooden caddy is perfect for small space gardening. It's perfect for a window ledge, tabletop, or apartment balcony herb gardening.

I see refreshing mojitos being served on our patio soon! The mint plant is an orange mint that I'm excited to try 😋 and the stevia eliminates all that guilt-ridden sugar. I've never made simple sugar with stevia before so wish me luck.

You may be wondering why I didn't just use the galvanized herb garden planter pictured below on the shelf of our DIY Outdoor Potting Bench. Well, I had a little too much fun shopping for herbs and ended up planting two herb gardens, one for cooking and another for mixology.

This is what the wood tool caddy looked like before.

It has a heart-shaped handle that I seriously considered removing before deciding it added to the french-country charm. Besides, filled with herbs the heart is hardly noticeable.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to turn the caddy into an herb garden, almost all of the DIY projects shared here at Interior Frugalista have step-by-step tutorials so why not get your budget DIY on and subscribe. You can also follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

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How To Upcycle A Wood Caddy Into An Herb Garden

The first thing I did was clean the dirty wood toolbox with Simple Green spray cleaner and a rag. I also gently tapped the corners with a hammer to tighten the joints.

Next, I painted just one thin coat of Upper Canada Fusion Mineral Paint so the light wood still showed underneath. I used my handy dandy spray misting bottle to thin the paint as I brushed it on.

Once the paint dried, I transferred this French Herb Graphic from the Graphics Fairy website onto the front of the painted caddy using this Parchment Paper Image Transfer Technique.

After the ink on the transferred image dried overnight, I applied an exterior clear coat with my favorite applicator sponge.

Once the clear coat was dry I applied brown wax along the edges of the caddy for a time-worn patina. Brown glaze would also work to age the painted wood. I let the wax sit for about 15 minutes and then lightly buffed with a lint-free rag.

DIY Paper Bag Herb Markers

For herb markers, I made paper bag sleeves for each pot with the name of the herb stamped on the front. These are great for an indoor herb garden or in a covered area protected from the elements outdoors.

To make them simply cut paper bags in half, using only the top half for the sleeves. I don't throw anything out so I kept the bottom half to use as treat bags for the grandkids.

I used a stamp kit to label the paper bag markers. Simply slip the sleeves over each pot and tie with twine. Easy peasy!

Potted Herb Gardening Tips

I'm fairly new to growing herbs in pots and have been researching successful gardening tips. I thought I would pass some of those tips onto you in case you are new at it too.

• Growing herbs in individual pots are good for their individual watering needs.
• While mint likes more water, herbs like rosemary, basil, oregano, and thyme prefer to dry out between waterings.
• Use kitchen shears or your fingers to pick fresh herbs.
• Picking from the top increases growth and makes the plants grow bushier.
• For herbs that grow in clumps, like chives, it's better to harvest the outer stems first and work towards the center.
• For herbs like rosemary or thyme, snip individual branches.
• Once flowers start to form, remove the blossoms.

Here's another idea for a plant pot herb garden by tan outdoor herb garden by Transforming Terracotta Pots With French Country Charm.

Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! I hope you were inspired by this herb garden idea. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below or the Contact Me tab at the top to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!

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