Tidy up that spiral!
Leek Seed-Head
I love being a Facebook gardener, so to speak. A friend in Florida liked my brick Herb Spiral, and asked questions about its dimensions and plan (oops - I didn't really have one). She also asked me for tips - aha! The surest way to a gardener's heart - ask for advice!
I went outside with tape measure, paper and pencil to do a drawing. And realised that the Herb Spiral's beautiful shape was almost invisible underneath rampant and basically undesirable greenery. Self-seeded yellow Euphorbias, the 'dwarf' (that's what the label said, honestly) Spiraea shooting for the sky yet again, Lychnis covering and smothering everything, Bowles Golden Grass spreading itself in the most undignified, scruffy way...
And Oreganum. Or is it Marjoram? The one that self-seeds everywhere. But regarding this herb I need to take a step back - the bees love its flowers. Mustn't go all silly and pull it all out.
Messy Herb Spiral
Anyway, I've spent two days (!) clearing out unwanted plants and bucketing in new soil mix. I've put some Pelargoniums in pots in the gaps. Those brick curves are now visible and stunning - we won't mention the slop-happy mortar application. Have drawn up a plan, now that I can see how it was built, hee hee.
Spiral Plan
The secret...
The secret of my Herb Spiral's success (she said modestly) is not only in the pleasing proportions of swirl versus height gain. The curved path which hugs it makes all the difference.
Next Day...
Time for yet another gardening promise. Non-Gardening Partner has levelled that Spiraea with the chainsaw (some silly gardener thought it was such a good idea to plant it there). I've placed a green coarse-leafed Carex in a pot on what's left of it, and freshened up the compartment with more soil mix and marigolds. Annual flowers are allowed.
So here's the promise : I promise to buy it some fresh herbs. But not mint. An earlier silly version of the gardening me grew the sweetest variegated mint in one compartment. One. Ha ha.
A Tidier Spiral