1 5-6 inch decorative metal bucket
1 package miniature gardening gloves
2 packages miniature metal shovels, rakes, and hoes (with wooden handles.
1 ten pound bag of high quality potting soil.
An assortment of herb seed packets or seedlings from your local nursery. I’ve found rosemary and tarragon particularly easy to grow, and very flavorful in chicken dishes. Oregano is a must, since I make homemade spaghetti sauce on a weekly basis. And I simply cannot go with thyme, basil or parsley. Most herbs will grow especially well if left in medium to high morning or afternoon sunlight and watered regularly.
DECORATING INSTRUCTIONS:
At first, I was going to use mainly terracotta pots for my windowsill garden, but then I spied the darling miniature watering can and bucket in the craft store. I decided to purchase these items as well, to add interest and variety to the terra cotta collection.
TERRA COTTA POTS:
1 First, spray your pots on the outside with acrylic sealer. This will prevent the paint from chipping off when you water your herbs. Terracotta is porous, and the water will seep through and damage your decoration. There are also some new stone sealers in the craft store that you might want to try. Some are specially formulated for sealing terracotta.
2 Allow your sealer to dry for several hours. A second coat is recommended.
3 Using several of your favorite colors of acrylic paint, prepare a paint palette by squeezing out small amounts of paint onto a paper plate (paper plates work well, as you can simply toss them out when you’re done with the project).
4 Select a wide paintbrush, or the throwaway sponge-on-a-stick, and paint the bottom 3/4 of the pot using your favorite color. Apply paint in even strokes all the way around. Avoid streaks by going over each area only once with the brush or sponge. By going over wet paint with a second coat, you tend to pull off the undercoat, revealing a bare spot. If you need to, you can go back and add a second coat once the first one is thoroughly dry. It really depends on the type of “look” you want to achieve. If you want your pot to appear more “weather worn,” then you may decide that one coat is enough.
5 Cut two-1/2 inch cubes from your sponge (one cube for each paint color). Create a checkerboard pattern around the top band of the pot using two different acrylic colors. A light and a dark color (matching the bottom of the pot), create a nice contrast. Make sure your sponge is damp before dipping it into the paint. Blot several times on the paper plate to ensure even coverage and to avoid “blobs” of paint on the pot.
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