my herb spiral and the bees - part 2

I finalized my very own herb spiral! In a previous post, I mentioned the ideas and steps on how to build one. I had to adapt my initial plans a bit, but all in all, I am quite happy with the result. My first concession, was the location: due to many reasons, I could not build one just next to the kitchen door. The current location is still reachable "without making your slippers wet from the morning dew when you pick your herbs” (freely adapted from Bill Mollison). 

The current location of the spiral, will provide me with an indirect advantage: an extra shelter from the wind (and view) at my future private spot. It will create a little protected area between herb spiral,  the flower beds, and the garden shed. A partly hidden place where I can be on my own, between the butterflies and bees and surrounded by different scents floating to me from the herb and flowers nearby.

Strawberry runner inserted in outer wall

The second concession I made were the choice of stones. I inherited some old stones found in our garden and from my neighbour. I decided to use these as a base for the herb spiral and then to buy some of the same kind to be able to finalize the construction before the autumn. There was no room for a big spiral so the stones were piled up with rather big crevices between them and it all looked a bit too square to me. The result is not exactly what I had dreamed of, but with some luck the matured plants will make the difference. In permaculture, one is encouraged to turn the problems into solutions. I really like that way of thinking! The many crevices between the stones turned out to be excellent spots to squeeze in a lot of  strawberry runners! I added wild strawberries on the shady side and regular ones on the sunny side.

Solitary bee shelter protected from rain

Here and there, I left some bigger spaces between the stones to insert my solitary bee shelters. My son selected a mixture of plant stems found in the garden with a soft or hollow core for the bees to use as nesting places. These stems were then cut in pieces of about 20cm long and inserted as bundles on the South-Eastern side to provide them with as much sun as possible. Little pieces of broken plastic pots served as a roof to protect them from rain and wind. In the coming months, solitary bees of all sizes should find their way into these little caves, lay their eggs inside, and then close the entrances with chewed plant material to leave them to develop into baby bees by next spring.

Bumble bee nest integrated

The inner parts of the bumble bee nest

The bumble bee nest was made of bits and pieces found in the shed and the garden: a flower pot, a piece of chicken wire, a piece of flexible tube, some pebble stones for drainage and aeration, and some soft nesting material, like dried moss. With the entrance turning South-East, all of it was then covered with the soil and plants. Unfortunately, I did not find any mouse droppings to add to the nesting material, which should be a bonus to attract the bumble bees to start nesting there. Hopefully, this will do the trick.

Drainage layer inside the spiral

The sandy layer inside the spiral

Let us return to the construction process. With the help of my son, we figured out the precise shape and the number of stones needed. I added a lot of stones for drainage at the bottom, then sandy soil from an old sandpit, my own harvest of organic humus, some extra humus coming from a garden center, and some extra sand mixed in at the very top for the rosemary and thyme.

Rosemary, sage, oregano, and thyme

Thyme, oregano,and savory

I just loved to do the final bit: adding the plants. I took some shoots of lemon balm, some mature thyme and chives from the old herb patch. The other plants I bought at an organic farm: several species of oregano, summer savory, garlic chives, sage, rosemary, spearmint, and of course the strawberries. All the plants have their own specific niche: in the shade or sun, dry or wet, sandy or soil with humus. This should be the base of a self-supporting ecosystem with very little maintenance.

Grass clippings added as a mulch layer

Just before we left, I added some grass clippings on top of the bare soil between the plants. This should prevent too much weed from popping up and protect the soil from sun, wind, heavy rain fall, or drought. To make up for the square look of the brick stones, I added some round shaped pebble stones collected on our beach to decorate the spiral. The two water collecting devices are also important to me: to provide some drinking and bathing water for birds, who will then leave their droppings as fertilizing presents for the plants, but also to provide water for bees and butterflies and other useful insects. The dish at the bottom  is meant for the little hedgehogs (and other small mammals) which we are hoping to see in our garden. 

An herb spiral like this, gives an excellent opportunity to combine several permaculture principles, like edging, creating micro climates, gardening for wildlife and people, stacking functions, recycling material, low maintenance gardening, etc. 

The final result: my own herb spiral ready to go!

I look very much forward to follow the life in and around this little wildlife hotel the coming seasons!

my herb spiral and the bees - part 1

My garden would not be complete without an herb spiral. Some years ago, I designed a big one for an outdoor workshop in Brussels (Scheutbos, Molenbeek) and I immediately fell in love with it. An herb spiral is a beautiful summary of maximizing space and functions on a small scale. Creating a three dimensional structure in an organic shape is a nice implementation of the so-called edging technique as used in permaculture.  In addition, it is a structure beneficial for pollinators, giving food for people, and a good educational tool for both kids and adults ;-) I like to insert animal shelters and strawberries in mine as described in my model at the bottom of this post and as shown in these photos:

Solitary bee shelters inserted in the herb spiral (IBee design, 

Molenbeek)

Entrance of the hedgehog shelter and strawberries inserted in the herb spiral (IBee design, Molenbeek)

With a bit of luck and patience, one can find all the material nearby. I got my first load of stones from our kind neighbour who was cleaning up his garden. I found a flower pot and left overs from chicken wire in our shed and started piling up pieces of tiles, stones and some odd pebbles as my drainage layer. Once I find new material, I will continue building it. I would like to fill it up with my own compost, so you will have to be patient to see the photo of my finalized and then full grown herb spiral.

The basic layers of my future herb spiral with a bumble bee nest inserted, spring 2014

Here is how I did it:
1. a layer of cardboard or garden fabric to suppress weeds and grass.
2. draw (or use rope to outline) the shape of the spiral
3. first row of stones (bricks, stones, whatever you can use or reuse)
4. first layer of gravel stones, pieces of tiles, anything to make some drainage
5. insert bumble bee nest (and hedgehog nest if it is a big spiral) - this is the stage of the photo above
6. fill up with compost and mulch layers while creating a slope going up towards the middle of the spiral
7. on the way, insert solitary bees nests (made of branches of 20cm of different sizes or wood with holes drilled in it, or bricks with holes in) roofed with a tile (see photo at the top) and on the sunny (not windy or rainy) side
8. leave holes for plants to hang from the wall, like strawberries
10. plant herbs on correct position: moist lovers at bottom and those needing a dry spot on top
11. add a layer of bark chips or plant some cover plants to suppress weed both outside the spiral and on top of the soil in between the plants
12. add a little shallow pond at the bottom of the spiral

The bumble bee nest is rather easy to make: a flower pot turned upside down; gravel at the bottom; a piece of folded chicken wire on top and then some dry material like dried moss (or the nest material from an old mouse den, which bumble bees love); a 3 cm thick and approximately 20cm long piece of pipe going from underneath the pot upwards and sticking out of the spiral wall; some small pebbles and a roof on top of the flower pot to leave space for air and avoid rain coming in from the top. This whole nest will be covered with soil once the herb spiral is finished.

strawberry fields

I felt so lucky to get good advice and some wonderfully thriving plants from our neighbour! She came with a whole wheelbarrow filled with plants for my garden! I did not mind to alter some of my plans and integrate her presents into my garden. Besides columbine, garlic, forget-me-not, common mulein, and linaria, most of the treasure consisted of strawberries. I do not yet know which variety she gave me, but the plants look strong and healthy.

I created two strawberry "fields": one as part of the little orchard and a central one close to my future herb, veggie, and flower garden. In both fields, I inserted their best friend: borage (borago officinalis, komkommerkruid, hjulkrone). 

Borage (borago officinalis, berganie, hjulkrone)

Borage has several advantages for strawberries:
- it attracts pollinators
- it attracts predators, like mantis and wasps to get rid of pests 
- it is a good nutrient accumulator (e.g. K, Si, Ca and P)
- it improves the flavor of strawberries!

Additional advantages: 
- it is a pretty flower
- the flowers (and leaves) are edible and look very pretty in a salad
- the bees love it
- it is one of the host plants of the painted lady butterfly 
- it is an excellent mulch plant 

Knowing that I would not be there to manage the beds for two months, I had to plant the strawberry plants and borage seeds immediately. I chose for two strategies: 
1. for my bed on a slight slope, I removed the grass sods and added white clover seeds as a future ground cover (see photo below).
2. in the other bed, situated between the fruit trees, I just removed the moss between the grass and threw my white clover seeds in between on the cleared spots.

One of my strawberry fields with borage and clover, with thanks to Karina

For a week or so, I irrigated both beds thoroughly each day and then, with a small heart, I left them for themselves... 

Then, my kind sweet neighbour gave me another present. When I told her about my frustration to have to leave my plants and seeds for some months, she said: "the birds might eat some, the slugs might take some, and the lack of rain might kill some, but some of the seeds will survive and they will be strong". To let go. I will try!

the guild for our little plum tree

Our little plum tree is also situated in the fruit orchard. I have been told it is a "Victoria", which is one of the self-fertile old English varieties.

Our little plum tree to the left

The tree will be protected from the north-western wind by a ribes sanguinum and some pine trees in the neighbour's garden. I also added three sea buckthorns. I love the sight and powerful taste of their berries. When I found out that they also are excellent nitrogen fixing plants and wind barriers, I did not hesitate. We bought one male and two female bushes and hope that will do the trick to get some berries.

sketch in my notebook on the little plum tree guild

The plants we added to create our little plum tree guild are:

- sea-buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides, duindoorn, havtorn): nitrogen-fixing, edible berries, wind barrier, shrub layer, berries and shelter for birds, host plant for butterflies, medicinal, pioneer plant
- vetch (vicia lathyroides, lathyruswikke, vaar-vikke): ground cover, nutrient accumulator, nitrogen-fixing
- red clover (trifolium pratense, rode klaver, roed kloever): ground cover, nutrient accumulator, pollination insects, nitrogen-fixing
- wild strawberries (fragaria vesca, bosaardbei, skov-jordbær) : edible fruit, ground cover, nutrient accumulator
- borage (borago officinalis, berganie of komkommerkruid, hjulkrone): herbaceous layer, supporting the taste of strawberries, edible flower, pollination insects
- nasturtium (tropaeolum, Oost-Indische kers, tallerkensmækker) : vine layer, attracts aphids, pollination insects, edible flowers, mulch, barrier
- gooseberry (ribes uva-crispa, stekelbes, stikkelsbaer) "Invicta" and "Rolanda": shrub layer, pollination insects, edible fruit
- chives (allium schoenoprasum, bieslook, purloeg): herbaceous layer, edible, pollination insects,
- phacelia (phacelia tanacetifolia, bijenvoer, honningurt) : pollination insects, nutrition accumulator, ground cover, aeration of soil

 Or to list them by some of their functions:
- nutrient accumulator: sea buckthorn, vetch, phacelia, red clover, strawberries
- mulch: nasturtium, vetch, red clover
- edible fruit: strawberry, gooseberry, sea buckthorn
- edible flower: borage, nasturtium, chives
- edible leaf: chives
- attracting pollinating insects: phacelia, chives, berries, nasturtium, red clover
- ground cover: strawberries, phacelia, red clover, vetch

It sounds pretty impressive, but most of the plants mentioned here were planted as seeds. I have no idea which of these plants will ever reach the full grown size. In addition, other challenges might turn up, so we will need to monitor the guild and add or maybe remove plants as we go along. 

Victoria plum

the guild of our apple tree “rød aroma”

Our red apple tree is a Danish variety called “rød aroma” (red aroma), which is a cross between two “old” Danish species (“Ingrid Marie” og ”Filippa”). It is a dwarf tree with big red apples (see photo at the bottom) which can be harvested in September. Just next to it, a tall elderberry (sambucus nigra, vlier, hyld) and an English dogwood (philadelphus coronarius, boerenjasmijn, uaegte jasmin) are protecting it from a Western wind. Since I will not be able to add a tall tree on this side of the garden, the nearby maple tree will have to act as canopy layer. The shoots of the autumn raspberries under the elderberry are spreading towards to the apple tree. It is quite shady under the tree, because of the shed on the Southern side. All these ”inherited” elements form the basis of my future guild. Now let us add some good plants to create a proper guild...

Our red aroma apple tree in early spring 2014

The first thing I did was to cut the grass underneath the tree and then cover it with cardboard and grass clippings. Then I inserted wild strawberry plants, borage, and nasturtium into some holes in the cardboard. Around the cardboard mulch, I added comfrey and bear’s garlic to one side and pot marigold and daisies to the sunny side.  On one side, I added a gooseberry bush with some chives, and on the other side red and white currants. All the berries will be surrounded by phacelia.

A sketch of the guild in my garden notebook



Here are some functions of the plants added:
- comfrey (symphytum officinale, smeerwortel, kulsukker). : herbaceous layer, nutrient accumulator, nitrogen fixing, pollination insects, mulch, ground cover, tonic for other plants, composting element, (medicinal)
- wild strawberries (fragaria vesca, bosaardbei, skov-jordbær) : edible fruit, ground cover, nutrient accumulator
- borage (borago officinalis, berganie of komkommerkruid, hjulkrone): herbaceous layer, supporting the taste of strawberries, edible flower, pollination insects
- nasturtium (tropaeolum, Oost-Indische kers, tallerkensmækker) : vine layer, attracts aphids, pollination insects, edible flowers, mulch, barrier
- gooseberry (ribes uva-crispa, stekelbes, stikkelsbaer) "Invicta": shrub layer, pollination insects, edible fruit
- white and red currant (Ribes rubrum, aalbes, have-ribs): shrub layer, pollination insects, edible fruit
- pot marigold (calendula officinalis, goudsbloem, have-morgenfrue): herbaceous layer, edible, pollination insects, medicinal
- bear’s garlic (allium ursinum, daslook, ramsloeg): root layer, ground cover, barrier
- chives (allium schoenoprasum, bieslook, purloeg): herbaceous layer, edible, pollination insects,
- phacelia (phacelia tanacetifolia, bijenvoer, honningurt) : pollination insects, nutrition accumulator, ground cover, aeration of soil
- daisies (bellis perennis, madeliefje, tusindfryd): ground cover, edible flower, crafts for kids ;-)

Or to list them by some of their functions:
- nutrient accumulator: comfrey, strawberries
- mulch: comfrey, nasturtium
- edible fruit: strawberry, gooseberry, white and red currant
- edible flower: borage, nasturtium, bear’s garlic, chives, pot marigold, daisy
- edible leaf: bear’s garlic, chives,
- attracting pollinating insects: phacelia, chives, berries, nasturtium, comfrey, pot marigold
- ground cover: strawberries, phacelia, bear’s garlic, comfrey

After some observations, I will decide whether these combinations work and if more plants can be added. I think, I still would like to add a proper root vegetable, like parsnip or horseradish. 


rød aroma (source www.dyrkfrugt.dk)