7 Container-Friendly Herbs + Plants To Grow This Season

One of the biggest revelations in my gardening journey is that you can grow a lot more than you think in the space that you have.

I’ve been expanding my growing space over the years through one specific method — growing in containers. It’s a fabulous way to transform soil-less spaces like concrete patios and balconies, into a plant-filled sanctuary.

There’s a container for any sized plant — whether it’s a fruit tree or flower. However, one of my favourite things to grow in containers, is herbs.

Herbs are easy to keep compact and having them in containers means you can grow them on a balcony or front porch too, to keep them within reach when cooking. Here are some of my top picks to add to your garden over the cool season.

Spring onion is a herb that everyone can grow. It’s an absolute essential in Asian cooking, used as a hero ingredient in the popular spring onion pancake, or as a garnish in soups and stir fries. It’s also highly versatile as a quick-growing alternative to brown onions.

Growing spring onion is easily done. Simply pop by the shops to pick up a bunch with roots attached, cut off the greens, and plant the bottoms in one small pot — I guarantee you’ll see growth the next day.

For even more allium love, try garlic chives and onion chives, which grow in small clumps that multiply in size, giving increased harvests over time.

When I think of mint, I picture summer: garnishing iced drinks and fresh garden salads. In Australia though, mint is a plant that thrives best in our cooler seasons.

Within the mint family, there’s lots to explore. Common mint will be the one you’re most familiar with, but why not try something different?

Consider growing peppermint or spearmint, for a cosy morning tea, or explore the world of apple mint, pineapple mint, and chocolate mint gardener-only varieties with subtle fragrant hints.

Growing mint is spectacularly simple. In fact, it will take over your entire garden via underground runners, if you let it. So, if there’s one tip I want to share, it is to absolutely ensure you grow this one in a container.

For a flowery addition to your container herb garden, plant some calendula. Calendula flowers bring a wave of sunshine to my winter garden with their large yellow/orange flowers, and the neighbourhood pollinators absolutely love them.

Calendula flowers can also be cultivated and used medicinally. The flowers can be dried to make a homemade salve known for healing skin and soothing eczema, or used to make a calming, anti-inflammatory tea.

Being edible, the delicate petals can also be used to add a colourful garnish to salads and dessert.

For container-friendly calendulas, look for dwarf, compact varieties like ‘Pink Surprise’, which have unique, apricot-pink petals. These varieties grow up to 60cm tall in the ground but stay smaller in containers.

And lastly, of course, there’s coriander and parsley – two very popular herbs that thrive in the cooler weather.