A pot of chives awaits its new home, I mean hole, in the ground.

Even people with very little land can grow herbs. You can set up a few plants in an indoor windowsill, set a pot or two on a balcony, plant them directly in your garden, or devote an entire landscape to them. Planting herbs in pots helps to keep the more vigorous spreaders in check. It also makes it easier to overwinter the herbs in an indoor location. But I like to be able to plant them in the ground.

With this method suggested to me by a landscape designer, now I can have the best of both worlds. I call it “The Double Pot Method.”

Materials for Double Pot Herb Garden

Grab the following materials:

I happen to have a large selection of pots from things I’ve planted over the years. If you don’t have these supplies, try calling your local gardening club or nursery to see if they can help you out.

Planting the Herb Garden Double Pot Style

Determine where you want to plant your herbs and dig a hole there. Put the larger pot in the hole. Then, take your herb, still in its pot, and place it in the larger pot. You’re done!

If you want your plant to have some room to grow, put it in the size of container you want it to expand to before you plant the pots.

Herb Garden Maintenance, or How Not to Break Your Leg

The best thing about this method is that you can move the herbs around. Been hankering for oregano? Move it closer to the kitchen door. If a plant looks unsightly, move it behind something else that’s flowering.

When it’s time for winter, check which herbs can winter outside right in their pots. For the ones you have to bring indoors, just remove the inner pot with the herbs and relocate!

If you don’t want to be left with unsightly holes in your garden (and risk breaking your leg), then find another pot the same size as your inner pot and fill it with soil and whatever mulch covers your garden bed. Place this pot in the empty holes. No one will ever know the difference!