Dahlias and Herbs: 2014 Edition

Those of you who were frequent readers of this blog last year, know that I attempted a very lovely windowsill herb garden, and a few potted dahlia plants. Neither experiment ended well — my mint overtook the sill; the rosemary was as tall as me; I didn't cook a thing with anything I grew; and after a month of gorgeous blooms, all my beautiful dahlias died... no matter how much I told them I loved them. 

This year... will. be. different. 

Dahlias 2014 

I am frankly obsessed with the dahlia plant. I don't know what it is about them. They're just stinkin' gorgeous. I mean: Look at them. They're always so pretty! They never have a bad day. And they bloom in such beautiful colors. 

I read all about them last year, going so far as to have a giant Pinterest board dedicated to dahlias and how to grow them. Here's hoping I learned something. 

This year's dahlias are a deep, hot pink, placed near the door of my house and a sort of Hawaiian mix of pinkish/orangey/yellow that will sit in the front garden. They've been fed, the soil ruffled and combined with potting mix, and watered. Grow, baby, grow.  

Herbs 2014

The herbs, while they grew well last year, went largely unused. This is mostly because I don't cook. However, I did love pruning them because they smell nice. So when I went shopping for my herb plants this weekend, I kept that in mind. 

I also decided to make use of the many Harney & Sons tea containers we've collected over the winter for this year's herb garden. These containers are just too pretty too toss out, and they'd been growing so high in my closet, I started calling them my Dalek (gratuitous Doctor Who reference). Well, the Dalek is no longer. It's now housing:

• Basil
  
• Lemon Balm
  
• Oregano
  
• Rosemary
  
• Spearmint
  

And then, there's a special Tower of London tea container that is holding a tiny annual plant with little pink flowers  — technically called the Superbena Royale Iced Cherry, a verbena hybrid. It was just too adorable to pass up. And, really, after all the torture and murder in the Tower of London, it could use a cute plant to lighten up its image. So that's an honorary member of the herb garden, as well.  

Will you be planting an herb garden this year? Do you plant herbs for culinary use, or just for the fun of gardening? What are your favorites? Share your experiences in the comments!

For full photo gallery of my new garden additions: DanielleMastersonBooks.com.