Whether you’ve got a yard or a windowsill, planting an herb garden family is a fun, educational activity to do with kids! And it’s even more fun when you personalize the plants by painting portraits on the containers, making face pots that you can group as a family or give to each person.
To make this DIY Herb Garden Family, you can either start with terra cotta pots, potting soil, and herb seeds, or buy pots of planted herbs. You can paint the container they come in or put them in terra cotta pots. Create portraits of your family members on each one or invite everyone to make their own! You can pick herbs that match their personalities—Mama Sage, Baby Basil—or just give everyone their favorite. You can even match the size of the pots to the age of everyone in the family, with bigger pots for mama and papa, and smaller ones for each kid.
It’s a fun activity for a playdate—each kid can paint their own self-portrait! And a great group craft for a birthday party or bridal or baby shower; pots of herbs make meaningful gifts or party favors, as each herb has a quality associated with it. (For a list of those, click here.) And if you group several herb pots together in the center of the table in a “family” of pots, you’ve got a centerpiece, too!
We love the idea of a portrait on every pot—whether it’s members of your family or people you admire like Ruth Basil Ginsburg. But that’s not your only option! You can also paint the pots with patterns, names, words, garden animals (a snail here, a butterfly there, a ladybug on another pot). Or paint the bride and groom and bridal party onto pots for a bridal shower!
And to personalize the pots even further, print out our downloadable herb labels, tape them to wooden skewers and stick them in the pot so you know what you’re watching grow!
There are labels for common herbs and also for family members so you can write in the herb you’ve chosen for them. (We’ve also included blank labels in case you want to add a second one with names as gift tags or greetings.)
And if you’re not painting pots, the labels are also great for identifying herbs.
Personalized herb pots are a creative project kids can learn from all year long—and they’re the gift that keeps on giving. Once you’ve got a pot growing strong, you can use it in cooking, from sprinkling into sauces to mixing into mocktails! Plus, the pot is a personalized work of art that will make people smile every time they see it. And if you’re creating an herb garden family, don’t forget your pets!
What You’ll Need
- Assorted potted herbs (or buy seeds and potting soil and pots and DIY!)
- Terra cotta pots to place potted herbs in
- Acrylic paint
- Paintbrushes of varying size
- Oil-based black paint pen (to make lines)
- Oil-based red paint pen (for drawing lips!)
- Printable Herb Label Template
- Cardstock
- Scissors
- Wooden Skewers
- Tape
How-To
Step 1: Buy potted herbs or plant seeds in potting soil. Download Printable Herb Label Template and cut out the labels for the herbs you’ve chosen. Tape the labels onto wooden skewers.
Step 2: Using acrylic paints, brushes, and paint pens, create portraits of each family member, one on each terra cotta pot. Paint the skin, hair, and clothes first, let dry, then use paint pens to draw features.
Step 3: Transfer herbs to the terra cotta pots and stick the appropriate label on a skewer in each pot. If you’re making an herb “family” you can assign roles to each herb: Papa Thyme, Mama Sage, Baby Basil. Or, use blank template to write herb names and to To/From labels if giving the pots as gifts. Now you have a DIY herb garden of face pots you can turn into centerpieces, give as favors, or set in your garden or windowsill to snip from every time you cook something for your family!
