Natural Herb Plant Gifts

Containers

• Herb gardens grow successfully in well-drained soil in most containers that have drainage holes in the bottom. Decorate plant pots to match your gift theme or the recipient's interests. Window boxes, plastic bowls and clay pots hold individual plants or a selection of herbs. Hanging baskets, lined with moss or coir, provide an alternate site for growing the plants. Include small gardening tools, such as a trowel, with your gift, along with instructions for plant care and a recipe that utilizes the herbs or instructions to create potpourri. Plant names in calligraphy help novice gardeners identify the different plants.

Culinary Herbs

• Herbs used in cooking make for a particularly useful and rewarding gift. Select commonly used herbs, such as basil, thyme, rosemary and chives, and plant them individually or as a collection. A container of different types of basil, including sweet, cinnamon and Cuban, with an accompanying recipe, will please a pesto aficionado. Gather a selection of herbs used in a country's cuisine. Italian food calls for fennel, basil, parsley, sage, rosemary and oregano. Thai cuisine uses Thai basil, cilantro, lemongrass and cumin, as well as Thai chili peppers. For tea lovers, create a gift of herbs for infusing. Chamomile, mint and lemon verbena all make flavorful teas.

Send a Message

• In addition to their culinary uses, herbs have meanings that you can use to send a message to the gift's recipient. Bay represents honor and reward, chamomile represents patience and wisdom, and dill means good spirits. Lavender is associated with domestic virtue, mint with eternal refreshment, parsley with joy and victory, and sage with wisdom and long life. Select two or three attributes that you admire in the person, or several wishes that you would like them to receive, and choose the appropriate herbs. Include a short description or poem explaining the message of the herbs.

Literature Herbs

• A literature herb garden includes herbs mentioned in pieces of classic literature. Group parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme to represent the traditional English song "Scarborough Fair." Shakespeare mentioned many plants in his plays and sonnets. In "Hamlet", Ophelia mentions rosemary for remembrance and rue for disdain and as a protection against spells. In "The Winter's Tale", Shakespeare talks of lavender, mint, savory and marjoram. In your literature herb garden gift, include a handwritten reference to the book or play, along with the quote that mentions the plants.