Making Micro-Climates
During the pandemic, I, like everyone else, was stuck in my house, using the internet as a tool to learn. My mother had just died, and I was getting used to the idea of making decisions about my childhood home, which included over seven acres of land – three of which were cleared and plantable, ready to be transformed from boring lawns into lush gardens.
Decades ago, our land had been used for horses, so pastures had been cleared of small trees by my father, and trails blazed through the woods where we could ride. The horses were long gone, but the cleared pastures had remained. My mother had simply mowed them flat for her dogs to run, but now there was an opportunity to do something different. I took in the wide expanse of green spaces and tried to imagine some of the vertical gardening I had seen on the internet. While navigating YouTube I stumbled across Tanya Anderson of Lovely Greens, and watched her build an herb spiral.
Tanya Anderson is a U.S. born transplant living on the Isle of Mann. Her perspective as a UK gardener is unique as she occasionally makes comparisons and translates for her American listeners. Her easy charm makes her a good teacher, and I watched many of her videos during that first pandemic winter. I learned about little frog ponds, how to DIY a planter out of a pallet, and how to make an olla (read about mine here) but to me the most fascinating thing was watching Tanya build a tiny mountain out of 125 bricks.
The herb spiral was invented by Bill Mollison in the 1970’s as a way to grow many different kinds of herbs in one compact area – think of it as one long raised bed curled upward in a spiral pattern to form a little mountain. It is usually made of stone or brick for the added benefit of castoff heat, and in the permaculture tradition of never wasting anything these items are almost always secondhand. It is recommended that you build your spiral no more than ten feet from the kitchen. As Mollison put it, “If you have to get your slippers wet, it’s too far from the door!”
This permaculture tool is intended for human convenience, and must be easy to reach in and harvest. Width should be approximately 6’ and height around 3’. During the day, the path of the sun throws shade on your tiny mountainside, protecting herbs that like less sun – like cilantro and parsley. The top will dry out as gravity causes the water you give it to flow downward, turning the peak into a Mediterranean-like area where plants like rosemary and thyme will thrive. The sun heats the rock or brick used to make the spiral, creating warmth for the plants after sunset. The classic herb spiral also has a little pond on the shady north side for “water herbs and a few frogs” according to Mollison.
After a lot of research and studying herb spirals all over the world, I decided to mess up my lawn and build one. I had a pallet of Pennsylvania flagstone delivered as well as several cubic feet of screened loam. It took me about four hours on my own, choosing rock sizes and fitting them together. It was a lot of fun, and when I was done it looked magnificent. It is a fantastic garden feature on my property and is attached to the side of a rock wall raised garden bed. People who come into my yard and notice it are always fascinated by the structure, and it’s a jumping-off point for conversations about the beautiful logic of permaculture.
My joy was complete when the first frog took up residence in the little pond I built. I can’t imagine anything else on my property being quite as charming and efficient as my herb spiral, while also providing habitat. I recommend Tanya’s videos and the study of permaculture to any aspiring gardener.
Karen Brockelbank
October 31, 2023
