Laid out as a spiral, your herb bed has the right twist to set the scene decoratively in the garden. Even the slow-moving gardeners can make a herb snail themselves in no time. These DIY instructions explain how you can easily build your own herb spiral yourself.

A herbal spiral made of stone is the simplest construction variant

Site selection - tips for alignment

Choose a sunny, warm and wind-protected spot in the garden for your herb snail. The most popular herbal plants thrive in all their glory where they can bathe in light and warmth. The ingenious structuring as a spiral facing south creates a microclimate in which Mediterranean sun worshipers and native forest herbs feel equally comfortable.

Purchase of materials and tools

These building instructions explain how to build a herbal spiral made of natural stones with a small pond yourself. The following materials and tools are required:

  • Natural stones (at least as thick as a fist)
  • Gravel, crushed stone and sand
  • Herb soil or garden soil, compost
  • wheelbarrow
  • Shovel, rake, cultivator, hand shovel
  • wooden pegs, string
  • watering can
  • herbal plants
  • pond liner or pond tub

Use this guide as inspiration to bring your custom design plans to life. There are a variety of alternatives to choose from for the design of the frame. Do you have a soft spot for modern garden design? Then give the herb spiral a stylish shape with stone-filled gabions. Bargains use bricks or clinker for the spiral wall.

Prepare the base area correctly - this is how it works

The base area should be generously dimensioned so that at least 10 to 12 of your favorite herbal plants can be accommodated in the spiral. For a height of 80 cm and a diameter of 300 cm, please reserve an area of around 7 square meters in your garden. Mark out the floor plan with string and wooden pegs in such a way that a snail shape opens to the south. These instructions summarize how you can easily do the preparations yourself:

  • Stick a long wooden stick into the ground in the center of the area
  • Attach a piece of string with a knotted wooden stick and draw a circle
  • Mark a spiral of up to 2 to 3 turns within the circle by sprinkling lime or light-colored sand
  • Dig the garden soil to the spade
  • Spread out a layer of gravel about 10 cm thick as a foundation for the wall and drainage against waterlogging

Where the herb spiral opens to the south, mark the position for the small pond, which you will also build yourself. At this point, dig out the soil about 40 cm deep in order to later lay out pond liner or insert a pond tub. There is no layer of gravel here.

Build dry wall yourself - building instructions

For the construction of a dry wall, the natural stones are staggered and piled up without mortar. For the first row of walls, please use the largest stones that you lay on the gravel foundation along the markings. Each subsequent layer ends 50 cm earlier than the previous stone layer. Proceed in this way until the herb spiral has reached a height of 80 cm.

Wherever there are larger gaps, you can later add more herbs with the help of plant bags. This gardening trick increases the planting area, provides additional stability within the drywall and beautifies the appearance of your herb spiral. Numerous beneficials of the garden will appreciate the hiding places.

Fill the herb spiral correctly - this is how it works in the DIY process

An authentic herbal spiral stretches across different moisture zones and areas of life. In the upper region, Mediterranean, sandy-dry conditions prevail. The middle area is reserved for herbs that prefer partially shaded, moderately humid locations. The base with a mini pond is reserved for shade-tolerant, water-loving herbs. With the right filling, you can expertly meet these requirements. That is how it goes:

  • Fill the herb spiral in stages from the inside out
  • Center: Mixture of garden soil and sand in a ratio of 1:1
  • Middle area: one third each of garden soil, compost and sand
  • Base: Equal parts garden soil and compost

At the lower end of the herb spiral, fill the pond hollow with a 5 cm thick layer of sand. Lay the pond liner on it or insert the pond pan. Cover the edge of the small water world with natural stones or gravel. Distribute nutrient-rich herb or garden soil as a substrate for the shore zone. If the water is filled in here, the perfect environment for watercress and other marsh herbs is created.

Skilfully plant herb snails - tips for the planting plan

Allow about 14 days before planting your herb spiral to allow the soil to settle. For a varied planting, we have put together these tips for your planting plan:

Upper, Mediterranean zone:

  • Provence lavender (Lavandula x intermedia)
  • Marjoram (Origanum majorana)
  • Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

Middle, temperate zone:

  • Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)
  • Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
  • Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)

pond zone:

  • Water chestnut (Trapa natans)
  • Watercress (Nasturtium officinale)
  • Water mint (Mentha aquatica)

tips

When you plant garden herbs, the location is not the only thing that matters. By no means all types of herbs know how to be good neighbours. Marjoram and thyme are at loggerheads. The dream teams in the herbal kingdom include fennel, coriander, tarragon and thyme. Among the annual herbs, dill, parsley and marjoram harmonize wonderfully.

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