| When you are thinking about herb garden design, | | | | dot place another dot 50mm away and then one |
| but realise that your yard will only accommodate | | | | more dot in the centre, which will of course be a |
| a very small area for herbs, and yet you are | | | | further 50mm inside all the second layer of dots. |
| keen to grow a wide variety to complete your | | | | Now starting at the top dot, draw your spiral by |
| herb garden delights, there is a way to maximise | | | | joining the dots keeping your line 50mm apart as |
| your growing space in a small plot. That is by | | | | you progress round and round. Having practised |
| designing a herb spiral. | | | | this on paper you should have no difficulty doing |
| A herb spiral is simply a way to introduce herbs | | | | the real outline on the garden plot using cm |
| into your kitchen garden in a small space, with a | | | | instead of mm. |
| spiral of bricks or large stones or any ornamental | | | | Line the outer ring of the spiral with the |
| building material which encloses a heap of soil up | | | | cardboard or newspapers to stop weeds coming |
| to two metres wide, and about a metre or so | | | | up. Lay out the outer ring to the fourth dot with |
| high. | | | | your building material (two layers if using house |
| Basically the idea behind this concept is to provide | | | | bricks) but gradually raising the level to 50cm and |
| space for as many different herbs as possible in a | | | | infill to quarter height with garden soil. On top of |
| restricted area. The shape of the spiral and the | | | | that goes a 10cm layer of the composted organic |
| height differences that you create provides | | | | material topped off with a layer of pebbles, a |
| different environments which you could not obtain | | | | layer of pea shingle and a layer of course sand. |
| in a level small space. | | | | Leaving about 15cm unfilled at the top. |
| Your finished spiral does not have to form a circle | | | | While filling in, continue to place the inner ring of |
| but it is neater and easier to work in than an oval | | | | building material as far as the eighth dot gradually |
| shape. After all the idea is that you can easily | | | | raising the level until you are about a metre high. |
| reach to the centre of the completed spiral for | | | | Finally complete the spiral by continuing level, build |
| planting, pruning and harvesting. Where you | | | | round to the centre dot and finish infilling as |
| actually site your spiral will be a matter of your | | | | described. You should now have a gently rising |
| own choice, but if you intend to concentrate on | | | | spiral of sand which needs to be topped with |
| culinary herbs then as close as possible to your | | | | about 15cm of your growing medium. |
| kitchen is the ideal. Just remember that you will | | | | As a design refinement you could make a small |
| need a bright sunny position. | | | | pond at the outer end of the spiral. Just dig a hole |
| The materials that you are needing, besides the | | | | and line it with a suitable waterproof material, |
| wall brick or stones, will be small pebbles, pea | | | | creating a swamp area at the outer edges. If you |
| shingle, course sand, a non peat compost as your | | | | have electric power available you could install a |
| growing medium, some fairly thick cardboard or a | | | | pump in a suitable pond and have a misting spray |
| supply of newspaper, some composted organic | | | | coming out of the middle of your spiral. You will |
| material and some ordinary garden soil. | | | | naturally have to lay the necessary piping before |
| First of all you need to practise drawing a spiral to | | | | you start laying your spiral, and of course keep |
| scale of 1mm= 1cm. Put four dots as points of a | | | | the pond topped up with water; but you did not |
| diamond 200mm apart on your paper. Inside each | | | | need me to remind you of that. |