5 Ways to Use Herbs in the Home

July 3, 2016

I love growing herbs! They are beautiful, fragrant, easy to grow, and have an abundance of uses. Any spare pot or empty planter around my yard is just an excuse for me to plant more. Some of my favorite herbs include lemon thyme, mint, and basil.

My love for herbs extends inside my home as well. Herbs have many fantastic indoor uses from freshening spaces to providing elegant table decor. Read on for 5 wonderful ways to use herbs in your home!

1. Brighten Spaces.

Wanting the brightness herbs add to a space but can’t grow them indoors? Simply place cut herbs in jars or decorative vessels to add an instant pop of color.

Dill, in a small etched mason jar, adds brightness to the kitchen shelf.

Spearmint, in a large blue mason jar, provides color and freshness to the bookshelf.

An antique creamer filled with gray-green sage brightens the lack luster wood table.

2. Fill Pots.

I love keeping potted plants around my home. Pots add texture to a space that you can’t typically get from a vase. Unfortunately, most popular indoor plants are considered toxic and that doesn’t bode well when you have a pet and child who like to put everything in their mouth. There are some non-toxic indoor plants, but in my opinion, they are not very visually appealing. Placing a jar or cup of cut herbs into a pot is a simple way to add instant color, interest, and beauty to a room.

Basil spikes, in my opinion, are one of nature’s great architectural achievements. They look stunning in a pot and add instant interest and texture to a space.

Sweet mint and spearmint cascading from a pot is simple yet stunning.

3. Decorate Table.

Need a quick and easy way to decorate your table? Simply add cut herbs to a vessel with water and arrange. Herbs add a touch of texture and fragrance to a tablescape, and last 1-2 weeks in fresh water. The best part is, you can re-purpose them for cooking later! Herb arrangements are also a great way to utilize clippings that you don’t have the time to dry.

The delicate pink Italian oregano blooms paired with the bright green Greek oregano buds looks beautiful set in a simple porcelain pitcher.

Freshly cut rosemary is a fragrant yet easy way to quickly spruce up a tablescape.

4. Cooking.

Don’t you hate when expensive store bought herbs are practically unusable after a few days of sitting in the refrigerator? Yep, I hate that too. Cilantro and parsley are two herbs I use in my cooking on a weekly basis. Unfortunately, they will only grow in my garden a few months out of the year (downfall of living in growing zone 9). Therefore, I find myself purchasing them from the store quite often. An easy way I found to prolong the freshness of my store bought herbs is to cut the ends and place them in water. Each day I give the herbs fresh water and re-snip the ends, similar to prolonging the life of cut flowers. I like to keep the herbs on my kitchen counter so I can pull off leaves as needed. This method typically adds 2-3 days of freshness to the herbs.

Cilantro and parsley, still fresh, 5 days post store purchase.

5. Freshen Spaces.

No need for expensive candles or messy scent sprays when you have herbs! Redolent herbs, such as lemon balm, basil, mint, lavender, and rosemary, smell amazing when freshly cut. I love to place them around the home, to add natural fragrance and freshness to a space.