Thank you to Ricola® Herb & Throat drops for sponsoring this post as part of an ongoing campaign with Socialstars. #swissherbs
I love blogging. For so many reasons. It gives me the opportunity to chat with way more people than I typically encounter in person on any given day, it has connected me with amazing people (hello, all of you!), it has allowed me to travel across the US, and sometimes it even gives me just a little extra push to go ahead and try something I’ve been wanting to do but have been putting off.
Take, for example, some of the sponsored opportunities that I accept. I know that sponsored content isn’t for everyone, and I totally get that, but I actually really enjoy writing my sponsored content because it’s with brands that I know I love.
All sponsored opportunities are different, which is awesome, because it keeps things fresh. Sometimes brands have very specific topics/post ideas that they need covered, sometimes, they leave it fairly open and up to me, and other times they’ll offer a few “suggested ideas” and let me run with them.
And that’s exactly what happened this month with my partnership with Ricola®; as a fun, suggested topic, they encouraged me to try to plant my own herb garden. And as soon as I saw that, I thought, “Ok, now this is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now. Perfect!”
I was actually supposed to share this post with all of you earlier in the month, but with everything that happened a few weeks ago, I had to put a few things on hold. Thankfully, Ricola was more than understanding, but now here we are and I’m excited to share my attempt at trying to keep a growing/living thing alive.
So I’ve already told you guys a couple of times now how much I’ve been enjoying the Ricola Revitalizing Herb Drops. They’ve got an awesome, fizzy center, and the lemon zest flavor is super refreshing any time of day.
I keep them stashed everywhere…my purse, my desk, my car.
And not only do I think they taste great, but they also pack a punch with lots of B vitamins and Chrüterchraft, Ricola’s 10-herb blend (hence, the reasoning behind the idea of an herb garden!).
Want to know what’s in the blend? Check out this post!
So now, let’s get to the good stuff: my “attempt” at an herb garden. And I say “attempt” because a green thumb, I am not. So we’ll see how all this goes. But here’s a look at what I got to get me started…
Before I even went out to get any herbs, I hit up Amazon and purchased a few items off of there to pot my plants in and make them pretty.
Chalk Marker // Chalk Labels // 3 Tin Pots in Tray
One of the things that I noticed in many of the reviews for the pots that I bought was that they needed to have some holes poked in them, so that’s the first thing I did. Just 3-4 little holes in the bottom of each pot, using the hammer and some other tool I can’t remember the name of…
Then I went ahead and made my labels for each of the pots…
And stuck ’em all right on there.
Once my pots were pretty, all I had to do was fill them up! I decided to start with 3 of my favorite herbs to start — basil, mint, and parsley — and I figure if they do well then I’ll consider trying some more.
I filled them about 1/3 of the way with the potting mix first, then added the herb plant, and then filled the rest of the pot up with more potting mix.
Oh, and yes, I totally cheated and started from plants rather than seeds. As much as I would have loved to see my “handy work” blossom and bloom from a seed, to a sprout, to a plant, let’s face it…I’m not that patient, and I can’t even promise they’d survive that long.
Now let’s just hope I can keep them alive long enough to reap their benefits. ;)
Get social with Ricola on Facebook: facebook.com/Ricola and Twitter: @RicolaUSA!
Tiff @ Love, Sweat, & Beers says
How fun! I’d love to have an herb garden, but the one time I tried to grow basil didn’t go so well. Better luck next time, eh?
Christen says
We have an herb garden in our yard and I love it! It really helps us save money at the grocery store too because we aren’t buying any at the store anymore!
Kanchan says
Hi.. I am a reader from India. I just love the way you write and keep it real.. Accepting and embracing the limitations and not pretending to be perfect. Just wanna wish you all the best :)
Beks says
Herbs are easier to keep alive than regular vegetables. They just kind of do their own thing. I’m growing chocolate mint in my back yard right now, and it’s absolutely insane (note: unless you want your entire backyard to be mint, do NOT plant it in the ground! It spreads like crazy!). I have more than I know what to do with. I’ve made chocolate mint ice cream, mint iced tea, and I’ve got chocolate mint extract steeping in a dark cabinet. I’m hoping to give it away as presents at Christmas. But overall, herbs just need to be harvested before they seed, and if you cut off some leaves a few times a week to use in food, they’ll be fine. Happy Planting!
Courtney says
Making your own chocolate mint extract?! That sounds so fun! I never thought to even look in to that. So cool!
Beks says
All you have to do is steep it for 2-3 months in vodka, keeping it in a dark cabinet, shaking it once a week. At least that’s what pinterest tells me. ;-) We’ll see.
Linz @ Itz Linz says
nice work! those are super cute! i had a basil plant a couple years ago but didn’t use it hardly at all
Ashley @ A Lady Goes West says
Hi Courtney! I agree that these drops are super refreshing. And I’m totally impressed you started an herb garden! I do not have a green thumb, but would love to branch out and try this one day. :) Good luck!
Courtney says
Haha, thanks Ashley! Starting it was the easy part…we’ll see how it goes from here ;)
Ashley | the Pike Place Kitchen says
I just killed a bunch of herbs :( I have to restart and try again, but I’m pretty sure I know where I went wrong – I didn’t realize I was supposed to start pruning them right away and I had NO idea how to prune them. I watched a ton of youtube videos and think I finally get it! let me know if you’re interested in the videos I watched :)
Courtney says
Oh no…I didn’t do that either!! I suppose I should probably start looking in to that…
Anna L. says
Love the planters! The chalkboard look of the labels. It adds a little something extra!
Brynn says
i have such a black thumb but would love to have a garden. Maybe a little herb garden would be a good start!
Melissa says
I would really love to have my own herb garden someday, I think it would be great to be able to use the fresh herbs I’ve grown myself in various recipes.
Elle says
I’m not great at keeping things alive either, but herbs are fairly low maintenance. As long as you water them occasionally they are pretty good at thriving.
Joelle malenic says
i would love to do more sponsor stuff, how to you attract companies? Get asked?