Cheers to the Cocktail Garden! If you are a gardener who enjoys a cocktail, you can grow your own fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs to infuse into your favorite drinks.
Cocktail Gardens seem to be the trendy garden of the year. I was inspired by a video by Laura LeBoutiller of Garden Answer, which is attached below. A cocktail garden is fun and easy, and is perfect raised gardens or containers. It can be a fun addition to your patio. I love having herbs right outside my back door, so that they are convenient to use.
If you do a search for “Cocktail Gardens” you will see a wide range of plants that people like to plant. Think about your favorite drinks and the ingredients you like to use for them and in cooking.
This is the beginning of my cocktail garden. Starting in the lower left corner and going clockwise, the plants are rosemary, purple basil (later replaced by peppers), strawberries, compact basil, sage, basil, lemon thyme, lemon grass and lavender.
Mint is probably the most commonly used herb for cocktails, the leaf brightens the flavor in everything it is added to. Mint is almost too easy to grow and will spread like crazy in your gardens. I planted the mint in a little pot, then planted the pot in the raised bed garden, to keep it contained to one area. This is Mojito mint.
Beautiful strawberry blooms add so much color – plus strawberries are just a wonderful to snack on.
Adding peppers, or other colorful plants, adds a pretty contrast to all the green.
Not only are these herbs add flavor to your favorite mixed drinks, they can be used in main dishes. The lemon thyme is amazing when added to chicken marinade, the sage is tasty in pasta sauces and we need basil to make summer caprese salad.
Growing a cocktail garden requires much less attention than a vegetable garden and it produces all summer all summer. When you snip off the herbs, they grow back quickly.
To be inspired to grow your own cocktail garden, watch the video below, it includes tips on planting, growing and recipes for cocktails. If you enjoy gardening, I would recommend following Garden Answer – so many wonderful and inspiring ideas. Enjoy!
