3 amazing DIY indoor herb gardens

Want fresh herbs? You can grow your own, even during the dead of winter. Find out how to create your own simple indoor garden so you can enjoy fresh spices all year round.

If your window sills are narrow, suspend a planter made from a PVC pipe from the frame of the window with a hook and chain.

• Using a three-inch hole bit, drill holes in a four-inch PVC pipe that's been cut to fit the length of your window.
• Screw small eye-hooks on each end and plug the ends with snug-fitting knockout plugs.
• Line the bottom of the planter with pebbles, pack in some soil and plant one small plant in each hole.
• Put large eye-hooks in the frame of the window and hang the planter with chains and S-hooks.

This is an ingenious way to repurpose old glass or plastic bottles.

• Use scissors or a craft knife to cut the top off a plastic soda or water bottle, or score a ring around a glass wine bottle.
• Heat it with a candle and dunk it in ice water to cleanly break off the top, then smooth any sharp edges with sand paper.
• Turn the top of the bottle upside down, thread string or twine so it hangs out of the mouth, and fill it with potting soil, then plant the herb.

• Decorate empty cans with coloured paper or fabric, punch holes in the bottom for drainage and plant your herbs.
• Punch holes on either side of the can near the top.
• Cut a length of wire from a wire hanger, curve to form a handle and thread the ends through the holes you cut.
• Use pliers to pinch the ends and secure them.
• Create long hooks with the remaining wire from the hangers and hang the planters from a curtain rod in your window.

• Fill the bottom of the bottle with water and put the upside-down bottle top into the water, making sure the string is submerged in the water.
• The bottom of the bottle acts as a water reservoir, and the string pulls the water into the soil, irrigating the plant.

There are endless options for turning everyday items into inexpensive, colourful and useful planters for an indoor herb garden.