Skip to Content

Mason Jar Herb Garden That Hangs!

Bring the outdoors inside with this easy mason jar herb garden that you can hang. The vintage seed packets add a farmhouse touch!

DIY mason jar hanging herb garden

My friend Geralyn is an excellent cook and fresh ingredients are key to her recipes, but space is limited in her home.

She recently spotted a mason jar herb garden on Pinterest and asked if I could make a vertical version of it for her to hang in the kitchen. This mason jar craft proved to be a fun and pretty easy project, and I decided it was one that I needed to share.

Rather than go with a plain old board for the background, Geralyn and I decided that it would be cool to decorate the hanging herb garden with vintage seed packets. I knew I could attach it with Mod Podge, so I whipped up a quick design and got to work.

Supplies to make a mason jar herb garden

Mason Jar Herb Garden

Gather These Supplies

  • Pine board – 1 x 4 x 6
  • Scrap wood – small lengths (at least 3.5″ long)
  • Mason jars – quart size, wide mouth (3)
  • Matte Mod Podge
  • Outdoor Mod Podge
  • Acrylic paint – white
  • Laserjet printed images to cover the pine board
  • Metal tape (used to strap hot water heaters in place – check the plumbing section)
  • Screws
  • Drill
  • Tin snips
  • Paintbrush
  • Saw (optional)
Three pieces of scrap wood and screws

I gave the edges of the pine board and the shelves a quick coat of white paint and left to dry. While waiting for that, I got to work on my seed packet collage on my computer.

Creating the Background

I pulled images from Dover Publications and The Graphics Fairy.

I used Photoshop to layer the images together, but have done the same thing in MS Word.

Seed Pack Collage

I made the design just a bit wider than the board to give me some wiggle room for my mason jar herb garden. If you can print the images out on a laserjet printer, that would be ideal. If you only have an inkjet printer, spray seal both sides of all the printouts with clear acrylic sealer before using.

You could apply each image separately but, to save a bit of time, I printed it out in larger sections and Mod Podged into place using Matte Mod Podge.

Mod Podge DIY hanging garden

Once everything dried, I trimmed the edges and sealed the board with two coats of Outdoor Mod Podge.

Attach Shelves and Mason Jars

The original plan called for just using the metal tape to hold the jars in place. I was a bit nervous about that, so I did a test with a mason jar filled with paint and it held quite nicely. However, for a bit of extra security, I also added the little shelves.

I determined where the jars would go and made my marks. Then I drilled pilot holes for the shelves and screwed them into place from the back.

Attach-Shelves

I cut piece of metal tape a bit longer than I thought I would need. I made sure that once wrapped around the jar there would be two holes available to me on either side.

I put a screw in the outermost hole, then wrapped the tape snugly around the mason jar and screwed in the other outermost hole. I then put screws into the inner holes to tighten the tape securely into place.

Tighten-Second-Screw

I repeated this maneuver with the other jars. That’s all it takes to make a mason jar herb garden. Can you admit that it’s much easier than you thought? I can!

Hanging Herb Garden with Mason Jars

Hanging the Mason Jar Herb Garden

There are a variety of ways to hang this project. I would use wood screws into a stud, or plaster screws into drywall (make sure they are weight rated).

You could also put a D-hook on the back of the mason jars and hang it that way. The D-hook will require less holes/damage to the wall.

Vertical Mas Jar Herb Garden

Notes and Further Thoughts on my Hanging Herb Garden

  • Outdoor Mod Podge is great but it takes a while to fully dry – build that into your planning
  • Smaller jars for smaller herbs could also be used if you wanted more variety
  • With a wider board, you could stagger the jars to both 1) have more of them and 2) make them easier to get to
  • Hanging. My pictures have the garden leaning against a wall. At Geralyn’s place we’ll determine if we want to screw it into place or hang it from D hooks
  • The Plants: Geralyn assures me that the rocks in the bottom of the jars will provide adequate drainage to keep the plants alive – I will update here if I find that isn’t the case
  • Geralyn’s garden will hang on an interior wall. If this were to be an outside garden, I would also coat the back of the board with waterproof sealer

As always, I’ll monitor the post and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

Yield: 1 garden

Mason Jar Herb Garden

Mason Jar Herb Garden

Make a DIY hanging mason jar herb garden that hangs using simple supplies. The background is decorated for farmhouse or vintage style decor.

Prep Time 1 hour
Active Time 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours
Difficulty Easy
Estimated Cost $25

Materials

  • Pine board - 1 x 4 x 6
  • Scrap wood - small lengths (at least 3.5" long)
  • Mason jars - quart size, wide mouth (3)
  • Matte Mod Podge
  • Outdoor Mod Podge
  • Acrylic paint - white
  • Laserjet printed images to cover the pine board
  • Metal tape
  • Screws

Tools

  • Drill
  • Tin snips
  • Pencil
  • Paintbrush
  • Saw (optional)

Instructions

  1. If you need to trim the wood down with a saw, do that at this time. You'll want one board to be 1 x 4 x 6 and the three shelves cut to the ~4 inches width of that long board.
  2. Paint the edges of all of the boards with white paint. Let dry.
  3. Create a design on your computer using free images; print out in sections (laserjet preferred).
  4. Cut out the labels or sections of labels.
  5. Add Mod Podge to the board and to the backs of the labels - smooth down and let dry for 15 - 20 minutes.
  6. Add a coat of Mod Podge to the top and let dry for 15 - 20 minutes.
  7. Determine where the shelves will go and make marks with a pencil.
  8. Drill pilot holes for the shelves, then screw them in place from the back.
  9. Cut a piece of metal tape a bit longer than it takes to wrap around the jar and touch the board, with two holes available on either side.
  10. Place your mason jar on the shelf and attach. Screw in the outermost holes first, starting with one side and then the other. Then screw in the holes right next to them to secure your jar.
  11. Repeat with the other jars. Lean against the wall, screw into the wall, or hang with a D-hook to finish.

Did You Make This Project?

Please leave a rating or share a photo on Pinterest!


And, if you’re keen on seeing more of my DIY adventures please swing on by my blog: Cheltenham Road or my Etsy Shop! I’d also love for you to visit the following projects:

Mason Jar Herb Garden

Jamie

Sunday 30th of May 2021

How do the plants get light? My indoor herbs need a grow light that would not work with this

Amy

Monday 31st of May 2021

Hi Jamie! I suppose you would need a sunny kitchen for this project - it really depends on where you place this within your home.

Theresa

Friday 1st of August 2014

I don't have a lot of out door light in my apartment, Will the herbs still grow well inside with artificial light?

Cheryl

Thursday 31st of July 2014

What a unique idea!!! Will have to try it. Thanks

Shannah @ Just Us Four

Monday 28th of July 2014

Great idea. Now...any tips on how to keep them alive. I would be constantly replacing the plants to keep mine looking nice like yours since I have a terrible black thumb.

denise

Friday 25th of July 2014

adorable--don't overwater

Skip to Instructions