My love for gardening tends to extend all around our yard – let’s just say it’s not contained in one specific area. Poor Jon. LOL! It’s fine – he knows plants and flowers are the way to my heart. However, we have yet to tackle a “real” garden as our property has a decent slope to it and honestly needs more grading work done where I would love to have the fenced garden. *one day* Anyways, as a result, I tend to stick to container gardening when it comes to vegetables and herbs. This summer I decided to combine 2 of my favorite things – herb gardening and craft cocktails! I’ve teamed up with Fairview Garden Center to transform our patio into a herb garden oasis. I’ll be sharing all the plant finds so you can grow your own craft cocktail herb garden too! ????

Our planters are rather large. 22″high x 25″diameter. We try to keep the landscaping around the patio as symmetrical as humanly possible, so we selected 2 matching glazed ceramic pots. They are HEAVY, y’all. The ground wasn’t quite level when we positioned them, so we had to use a couple of pavers and setting sand to level the area where the planters sit. We then filled each pot 1/3 of the way full with packing peanuts (non-dissolving) and then 2/3 full of Sun Gro potting soil. Then I nestled all my plants into place!

To arrange the planters, I started with my Lemongrass plant since it would be the tallest and worked my way out to the edge of the planter using the trailing plants. The planters are seen from all sides, so I needed to make sure all angles looked pretty. It is always a good idea to stage your planters before removing their nursery pots.

CRAFT COCKTAIL HERB LIST

---

For this summer’s craft cocktail herb garden, we selected the following plants for our containers:

• Pineapple variegated mint
• Dolce Fresca Basil
• Lemon Verbena
• Tricolor Sage (hint of purple)
• Pineapple sage (red firecracker flowers!)
• Thyme
• Lemongrass
• Trailing rosemary

Feel free to use this list and go plant shopping!!

Visit a local nursery and ask them which herbs would work well in you area if you are unsure. It is pure magic walking down the rows of plant trays, brushing your hand across the tops and smelling the delicious mix of herbs. If you live in the south there is still time to get seasonal plants established for the summer (although quickly waning), they may just need extra water to help them get off to a good start. I believe in cooler states, now is a great time to plant and get going. Some of the herbs mentioned are perennials or will last far into the autumn months.

I’ve had these plants in soil for about 2-1/2 weeks and they have exploded with new growth. It will be neat to see how lush they are by end of summer! In terms of watering, I first check the soil by sticking my finger in about an inch and seeing if it is dry. If it feels dry, I will sprinkle a can of water over each planter. It averages to about 1-2 times a week. However, lately – the rain has been helping a lot.

*MINTY FRESH TIP: keep mint in slightly oversized plastic container then position in your full size planter. Then fill in with dirt. Mint can be very invasive and take over a planter – see last image for a great example.*

CREATING CRAFT COCKTAILS

NOW! On to how these herbs can be used. This list is extensive and this post, I will just be telling you my most favorite refreshing craft cocktail. But, get creative — Pinterest has so many recipes that I pull from regularly. You can search my Drink Specials board for a plethora of recipes. I also have a tasty Pineapple mint mojito recipe that is a crowd favorite!

As I mentioned, one of my FAVORITE and easy craft cocktails to make is a gin and tonic. They are super easy to mix up – little lime wedge, tonic or club soda, and gin! (I also like to have a splash of simple syrup.) Having fresh herbs at my fingertips is such a great way to make this classic cocktail taste unique. Gin is a botanical liquor so it easily pairs with freshly-snipped herbs. My favorite herb additions are mint, thyme, and lemon verbena. SO FRESH!

*FRESH TIP: this is also how I encourage us to drink more water. I put herbs, lemon, lime and cucumber in a pitcher of water and drink it throughout the week! Simply refill, chill in the fridge and drink up.*

I’m 90% sure I could create a collection of lime prints based on what I have accumulated in my archives.

Max’s domain. He loves running laps around the entire house. We are so grateful to have the space for him to get all his energy out. The patio has become a frisbee launch zone — we won’t mention the amount of mulch I had to photoshop out of these pictures…..even AFTER sweeping. HAH.

This is our cozy spot…minus the mosquitos…this is where we spend almost every evening. It is our retreat from the craziness of the world. From the birds, squirrels and neighborhood cat (talking about you PIPER!), this place is where we can breathe and let the stress fade away.

Fairview has a wonderful post they created with Mason Jar Tavern a couple years ago with delicious cocktail recipes as well! I hope you have enjoyed my mini-series of spring and summer gardening with Fairview Garden Center. They have been so supportive and a joy to work with. This has been an absolute treat to bring these ideas and curated photographs to you.

PS. Y’all. I have propagated this mint plant SO.MANY.TIMES. It is Mint Julep mint <– yes that’s the name. I actually bought this mint plant from Fairview a couple years ago. It is one of the most flavorful mints I have in my collection. I even have some plant babies started for gifting.

This post is sponsored by Fairview Garden Center. All opinions are my own (honest!) thoughts.  We have used their nurseries for our landscaping plants for years. They are family-owned and take great pride in their garden center! I hope you will shop locally if you are in the Raleigh/Cary/Holly Springs, North Carolina area. A big thank you to them for supporting my blog so I can continue to bring the best content possible to my readers!