Martha Inspired Terracotta Herb Pots

Posted on by
Monday I shared with you the beginning of my summer veggie garden in this post. Although I have several herbs planted in the garden, I also like to have some potted herbs on my deck. I plant the herbs with a fast growth rate {basil, parsley, oregano and mint} in the garden because they require more space. The smaller plants I put in pots. Not only does this give me more space in the garden for other veggies, but the herbs in the pots look pretty displayed on my outdoor kitchen counter.

I love good old terracotta pots, but decided they could be taken up a notch and made a little more attractive. Immediately chalkboard paint came to mind. HUGE trend right now in decorating. So I decided to use chalkboard paint on the pots which would then allow me to label them. 

I will admit that I did a Google search and had a little inspiration from these:

And this is how I decided to do mine. 
Supplies: Chalkboard paint, Frogtape, terracotta pots, herbs/veggies {and dirt}.
Tape around the top {or any area} where you do not want any paint.
Spray two good coats of chalkboard paint on each of the pots.
After the paint is fully dry, remove the tape.
I love Miracle Gro’s Organic Choice Potting Mix for my herb pots. Be sure when you are planting in pots you buy a potting mix variety. I also use the Organic Choice garden variety for my vegetable garden. 
Plant the herbs deep in the pots and cover with soil.

After planting the herbs/vegetables, label the pots accordingly. I did not use chalk since my pots were staying outdoors because it would wash off in the rain. They now make chalkboard ink which you can find at Michaels. Cool! They look like this:

Okay, I cheated, I just used a regular old white paint marker because that is what I had on hand. I didn’t see a difference except that it can not be erased. Oh well, that means the rain can’t wash it away!

And here are my herb pots! I do still need to add the trays underneath. And I might tie a raffia ribbon around each, but I’m not sure how it will hold up outdoors.

You Might Also Like:

67 thoughts on “Martha Inspired Terracotta Herb Pots”

  2. So cute!! Did you paint the inside of the pots too? We made pots with a flower for my daughter's teacher as an end of the year gift. We painted it white and put orange and black paw prints on it to symbolize the school colors and our bulldog mascot. It turned out really cute with the orange flower we planted in it. The next day we discovered the terracotta had soaked up the moisture from the soil (and my daughter over watering it) and all the paint was popping off. I did some research and discovered that I should have painted the inside of the pot to prevent this from happening. It could have been the craft paint I used but I'm not sure. We tried it again and the paint didn't come off when we painted the inside.

    Reply ↓

  4. I'm a new follower!! Love these pots…I have some terra cotta pots that I bought last Fall and wasn't sure what I was going to do with them…now I know. Thanks for sharing!! johanna @ Huggs and Kisses xo

    Reply ↓

  8. These are fabulous! I'm trying to improve my green thumb and these cute pots are certainly motivating me even more. Thanks for the fab inspiration.

    Reply ↓

  9. Darling! I definitely want to jazz up some planter pots this year and this is a fabulous idea. Would look darling in a kitchen windowsill also

    Reply ↓

  10. This is adorable! I love that you labeled the herbs, my husband could actually snip them for me this way while I'm in the middle of making dinner!

    Reply ↓

  11. I LOVE these pots. Very cute idea. I even have a can of leftover chalkboard paint…can't wait to give this one a try. Thanks!

    Reply ↓

  14. super cute! i love my herb garden. i had beautiful pots that did not make it out alive after this harsh winter {nevermind the fact i forgot to pull them in the garage}. this gives me some inspiration for my own!

    Reply ↓

  16. Your pots are very nice and so function since half the time I forget what the herbs look like and have to rely on the labels.

    If if were me, even though the raffis would be cute, I'd skp it. Since these pots will be outdoors, you'll have birds hanging around those pots trying to steal the raffia for their nests. Let's just say I learned that one from experience.

    Reply ↓

  24. You picture have me longing for spring even more. Two days ago it was beautiful; today we're back to snow. I'm ready to get my rosemary planted.

    Reply ↓

  28. Do you need to prime the chalkboard for the markers like you do for regular chalk? I've never used these markers before, in fact I saw them for the first time only yesterday. Ok, so I don't get out much.
    -Bethanie

    Reply ↓

  29. I love this idea! It is a great way to grow some of those herbs that will take over your garden if you don't contain them…passing this one on to my hubby, the gardener.

    Reply ↓

  30. I really like these, I would love to get some things planted but still to cold. Can't wait to get started.

    Penny

    Reply ↓

  33. I love your idea… I began growing some herbs in old buckets in my kitchen… But the chalkboard paint idea is brilliant!

    Reply ↓

  38. Those are adorable and functional! Love them. I am featuring this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com. Grab my "featured' button.

    Reply ↓

  39. very cute.
    Yeah, I wondered about those markers, cause they will wash off in rain. Guess if you want to relabel your pot, just spray paint over it again.

    Since you used a different kind of pen on them, could they just be painted with regular paint? it is cheaper.

    thanks for helping
    blessings
    barbara jean

    Reply ↓

  41. Hi! I saw your link at Craft-O-Maniac. Your herb pots are fantastic!! Thanks for sharing the instructions. I'd like to try this. :)

    Reply ↓

  42. I absolutely LOVE this idea! I have so many potted plants outside–I smell a new project in the works! Found you via Craft-O-Maniac… love your blog!

    Reply ↓

  47. So cute!! I love it! I am planting my herbs in a half wine barrel and putting it on the front porch to take in all the greenery =)

    Reply ↓

  50. Jen-You totally trumped the Martha on this one. I love the rim terracotta and the base of the pot with chalkboard.

    I'd love if you could share this with my readers @Creative Juice Thursday. Hope to see you there!

    Reply ↓

  51. Your handwriting is so cute! I love these. I especially love the way rosemary grows, like a small shrub.

    Reply ↓

  57. Just a quick question. Have you used the organic miracle grow in the past? I used it last year in my vegetable garden. I had the worst weeds! In years past I used, Mel's Mix. (Square foot gardening by Mel Bartholomew) I never had that issue before using the organic miracle grow. If you have used it in the past, did you have tons of weeds?

    Thanks!

    Reply ↓

  59. I have done some research and have come to the conclusion that I shouldn't paint pots that I am putting herb in due to the toxins. Is this paint okay for that?

    Reply ↓

  61. Pingback: Gardening Ideas

  62. Pingback: DIY Garden Plant Markers

  63. Pingback: Planting My Own (Indoor) Garden « abbeykatew

  64. Pingback: Vegetable Gardening for Kids

  65. Pingback: Just add stripes « Ivy in the Bay

  66. Pingback: 9 awesome things to do with chalkboard paint

  67. Pingback: 10 Kid Crafts for Mother’s Day

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>