Turn Secondhand Plates And Coffee Mugs Into An Adorable Kitchen Herb Garden

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Sprinkling herbs into a meal is an easy way to enhance flavor. Wouldn't it be nice if you always had some on hand while cooking? In addition to creating your own thriving herb garden, this unique DIY shared by @scotts_au on TikTok turns it into a stunning piece of kitchen art, too. For this project, you're going to need thrifted glass plates and mugs. Secondhand items are ideal because you're going to be breaking them into pieces. No joke, smashing them right up. It's all part of the process to craft a mosaic kitchen herb garden.

Which dishes you use is entirely based on your tastes. However, we advise against using rare vintage dinnerware, as there's no putting it back together. You can usually find chipped plates at thrift stores that would be perfect for this DIY (plus, you might even get a better deal). Make sure the mugs are all intact, though, since they'll be housing your herbs.

Consider the dishes' colors, patterns, and materials. Do you want everything to match, or would you rather make something out of a bright mixture? Your mugs could feature fun sayings, or they could all feature the same lovely image. Bring a creative eye when shopping, but trust that no matter what, your garden will turn out gorgeous. Don't forget to stop by a hardware store as well for mosaic supplies like tile nippers, adhesive, grout, and silicone sealant. Finally, grab plywood to use as the garden's backdrop.

@scotts_au

This up-cycled kitchen herb garden is not only a gorgeous piece of art for your kitchen, but makes it easy to incorporate fresh herbs into your cooking 🌱🍝 With just a couple of second hand plates and cups, and some herbs, you can make this fun and sustainable DIY for yourself! 🪴♻️ #kitchenherbgarden #upcycled #mosaic #diyplanters #sustainablediy #gardenisnpo #functionalart #diy

♬ In the Mood – Glenn Miller

Start by getting your dishes ready for action: Place your plates inside of a bag and give them a few whacks with a hammer. The goal is to break the plates up without shattering them into teeny-tiny pieces. Carefully pour everything into a box. While wearing safety gloves and glasses, snip additional pieces off using a cutting tool, like this Glass Mosaic Nipper available on Amazon. Next, use your nippers to cut your mugs in half lengthwise. The idea is to create flat backs so you can glue them to a surface to hold your herbs.

Set your plywood on a table and use the surface to puzzle your glass pieces together. As TikTok creator @scotts_au explained, it's wise to do this first before securing the pieces to the plywood. Once you're happy with the design, glue everything down with an adhesive, like this Mosaic Tile Glue. Spread grout to fill in the empty cracks. Once you're done grouting, let everything sit to dry. Next, secure your mugs to the mosaic design using silicone sealant, following the package's drying instructions.

Pick out herb plants that you'll be excited to reach for while cooking, whether that's thyme, parsley, or oregano. There are also easy herbs to grow in your kitchen that'll add flavor to your meals year-round, like basil and chives. If you want to watch the growing process, you can purchase seeds instead. You might decide to plant the herbs in small pots since the mugs won't have drainage holes. You can then place the pots inside of them. When your herbs need a drink, simply remove the pots, then return them to the mugs after they're done dripping.

If you'd prefer to plant the herbs directly into the mugs, you'll need to drill drainage holes into their bottoms prior to the adhesive step. Keep a tray underneath your herb garden to catch any excess water. Set the garden up near a kitchen window so your plants can get plenty of sunshine. As an alternative, consider getting a grow light to keep them healthy. Not only will your herb garden be enjoyable to use, but it'll add lots of charm to your kitchen.