Six years ago we bought a basil plant at the farmer's market and we hung it in our window - and for 5 years it ebbed and flowed. In the summer we would have a ton of basil, and in the winter we left the little plant alone. It was our "old reliable." Sadly, this winter it died. *pouring out a 40 of marinara sauce* RIP Basil Plant.

And then I bought a pack of basil about six weeks ago, and I decided to try something...different. Instead of using the whole package with pasta like I had originally planned - I set aside half of the basil and put it in a shot glass of water. I was curious to see if it would root. And if it didn't, I could just use the basil in another pasta dish. To my delight, I didn't need a "Plan B" because the basil started growing roots within the next couple of days. Jedd planted the basil plants last week and they're hanging in there. We don't have the best light, but the three little plants are getting lots of TLC and we have our fingers crossed that they will thrive.

Around the same time that I started to root the basil, I found some herb starting jars that my mother gave us a few years ago. They were too small for the basil, but they looked just right for scallions. Why not give those a try too?

With the scallions we decided not to plant them in soil, but to keep them in the water, because the green keeps growing! Now we have green scallion tops whenever we want for salads or potatoes. The trick is to dump out the old water once a week and to refill them with fresh water. These two scallions have been champs for the last couple of months - and we've gotten a lot of mileage from their new growth. We still have to buy scallions for stir-frys or anything where we need the bulb, but these two scallions are pretty delightful to have around.

I've never had the patience to be a "real" gardener, but I'm kind of ridiculously in love with our little kitchen garden.

(Photos by Launie Kettler)