An herb spiral is a raised circular bed designed to provide herbs with a variety of growing conditions. They’ve been around since the middle ages and are once again in vogue among gardeners, especially those who practice permaculture.
Herbs that prefer drier conditions are placed near the top of the spiral and those that prefer more moisture are placed near the bottom. Micro-climates allow for some plants to have access to more heat and others less. Shadier spots near the north side favor herbs that prefer less direct sun.
I began building my own herb spiral last fall. Early this spring I transferred my sage, oregano, thyme and chives from other locations in the yard and planted some garlic. I seeded cilantro and parsley and they are well on their way.
I was given some spearmint but left it in a pot alongside, as it can become very invasive if planted directly in the soil. In the fall I’ll bury the pot to the rim and that should allow the spearmint to over-winter.
I bought basil and rosemary from the garden centre and planted them this week. I’ll use an empty juice bottle to cover them overnight for the first few weeks until all risk of frost is over. I also added a dozen pepper plants – red hot cherry and jalapeno.
Building the herb spiral:
This was a fun project. I picked a location close to my back door and began by laying out a pattern using a garden hose. I dug up the grass around the herb spiral and saved the sod. On the circular area where I planned to put the spiral, I placed cardboard over the grass to kill it, then placed the clumps of sod upside down on the cardboard to build volume.
I placed landscape fabric over the area surrounding the circle and defined the spiral with pavers and bricks. I filled in the surrounding zone with cedar chips and small flat white stones. I added soil and created a spiral pattern with stones, and left it for the winter.
In the spring I added more soil and raised the spiral an additional foot to create a greater difference in height. I then transferred my plants and seeded some of the others. I bought a few bedding plants to fill out the spiral and in the end I was very happy with the outcome.
Gardeninggrrl 
practical and decorative!
My sister did a three teir circle with starwberries for my Mom’s garden:
I grow my herbs in various pots, but hadn’t considered their individual needs about moisture.
My only hestitation is my dogs eating all the herbs before I get a chance to cook with them!
nina
I love the strawberry bed she has – I want one, too!
This looks great! How big is the spiral? Did all of the grass and cardboard turn to soil over the winter?
Barb
It’s about 1.5m in diameter. The grass clumps are still “clumpy” (dense) but only in the lowest level of the spiral does it affect planting. I simply added about another 10-20 cm of soil over them and planted in that. The roots of the plants will help break up the clumps eventually. By the top of the spiral, there is a good 50-80 cm of additonal soil on top of the grass clumps.