Spiral Gardens - Not Just for Herbs!

Permaculture design relies in part on understanding microclimates. This may sound sciency, but do not despair: a microclimate is simply a small part of your yard that is shady or sunny, dry or wet, acid or alkaline, etc. etc. Figuring out microclimates can be accomplished through observation alone.

To give your plants their best chance at life, you can also build microclimates. You can design them right into your garden!

A beautiful example of this is the herb spiral. It's called a herb spiral because it is usually planted with lots of herbs and flowers. Those that need the most light go on the south side. Those that need the most water go closer to the bottom. It's a great way to meet the varied needs of many plants in one, space saving garden bed.

Now let me introduce you to...

THE BERRY SPIRAL!

Ta da!

As you can see, this spiral garden is fairly squat. Its highest point is less than a meter above ground level. But that meter can make a big difference!

I laid some serious partially composted vegetables, eggshells, and manure as my first layer. Because the grass beneath is buried at least 6 inches deep, and is suffering anyways because of its proximity to the spruces you can see in the background of this picture, I didn't feel the need to lay down a weed barrier. Will keep you posted on how that goes.

Next was a layer of partially composted grass. I put that in partly for water retention, and partly to help balance the bacteria / fungi ratio in the soil as decomposition happens. Grass favours bacteria in the soil, while woody fibres favour fungi. I needed the grass to balance out the large amounts of mostly-rotted woody materials that I used to build the inside spiral up with.

I used some really old, very rotted firewood from the former owners of our home to give shape to the spiral. Not only is this free and easy, but decaying wood can hold twice as much water as soil, even healthy soil. That means that my berry spiral will have lots of water, encouraging deep root growth and reducing irrigation needs.

Then came the tough part. We are doing some construction right now, building a garage, and I had to lug bucket after bucket full of topsoil from that construction OVER THE FENCE, WITH MY BARE HANDS, to this beautiful spiral. At the end of the day I could barely move, but when I taste those berries, it will all be worth it.

Next, I carried the beautiful, flat rocks that you see from miles and miles away, again with my bare hands, to hold the soil in place. For the upper part of the spiral, these actually visually block the old wood that provides the main structure. The rocks will act to hold heat from the day into the evening, helping to regulated the soil temperature and extend the growing season.

The berry spiral from up the slope. By extending the slope
with basically flat beds, I'm encouraging water retention!

Finally, I planted that bad boy. I chose to use a highbush cranberry in the back, and three different varieties of honeyberry for the front and two sides. The middle, highest point is being held (in deference) for a beautiful, edible nut producing siberian almond that will be arriving by mail in the next week or two.

Beneath the bushes, I planted a 'living mulch' of clover. Between the bushes, I planted a combination of native bee-attracting species, as well as a couple sunflowers in the back. All of those flowers will attract bees and other beneficial insects throughout the summer, ensuring that my berries get pollinated AND keeping excess herbivory down.

And last but not least, I put a little fence up to keep the dogs out. Of course, I didn't quite buy enough to go all the way around, so I set up some plywood as a stop-gap to protect my bushes.


I cannot wait to see how this looks when it is in bloom!