A few weeks ago I shared how to make an Herb Spiral in your backyard to save room and still grow all the herbs you ever wanted. And that was all good for those who a). have the time to build one, and b) who have the room to accommodate a spiral.

What about gardeners who have only have room for containers?

Well, the answer is to grow herbs in a wine barrel planter. There's enough room in one of these tubs to cater for a few of your favourite herbs plus it won't take up a large section of your backyard.

So here's how to make one;

Step 1

You will need to buy or source a half wine barrel either from your local nursery, landscaping centre or direct from a winery (if there are any close by). They're not usually to hard to come by and might be a little more expensive than a similar sized plastic pot but cheaper than an equivalent terracotta container.

Step 2

The next step is to flip the wine barrel over and drill 5 decent sized holes in the bottom. These are for drainage and will allow any excess watering to run out of the tub without swamping the roots of your plants. Try and aim for the middle of the tub rather than putting them around the edges.

Step 3

Flip the barrel back to its right side up and cover the holes with a piece of gauze or shadecloth. I've used a piece of flyscreen that was left over from another project. If possible, fold the gauze in half a couple of times and then place over the holes.

This is to allow the water to seep out without taking your potting mix with it. It will also keep the drainage holes unblocked.

Step 4

Now it's time to get your hands dirty. A normal wine barrel can hold approx. 205 litres (54 gallons) so half will hold more than 100L. Therefore, you will need about that much in volume of potting mix. These bags contained 30L each and I had to supplement them with about another 1/3 of a bag.

Before you begin adding the potting mix move your tub into it's final location. Trying to move this after it's full of soil and plants will be impossible without a trolley.

Pour the first two bags (60l) into the wine barrel. Start pouring in the third bag to bring the levels up to your plants.

Step 5

Once the potting mix is in place, it's time to start positioning your herbs. The feature of my wine barrel is a bay tree Laurus nobilis so this will take up the majority of my planter.

Place all your herbs in their positions after removing them from their nursery pots. Don't start holding them in with soil yet as you want to take your time to a) move them around until you're happy with the look and mix of foliages, flower colours etc, and b) you will need to lift them all up to a common height.

You can do this making little mounds of soil under their roots until they are all at the same height. This should be about the length of your middle finger below the rim.

Once they're all in place you can begin filling in the spaces with the remaining potting mix. Water in well using a liquid fertiliser and your planter is now complete.

The herbs shown in clockwise order from the top are; Red Yarrow, Savoury, Italian Parsley, Hyssop, Lemon Thyme and the Bay in the centre.

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For gardeners living with limited space, a herb spiral may be a good method to incorporate some of your favourite herbs into the garden. It winds its way from the base into the centre perched more than a metre above ground level giving enough room to nearly all your herbs.

The herb spiral is a permaculture gardening method that uses nature to its full potential. Gravity allows the water to seep through the levels meaning that the plants at the top get full drainage while the ones at the bottom may reside in a simple bog. It also gives your herbs shady spots with varying degrees. The herbs that need full-sun can be grown in those positions while more shade loving plants can be located on the opposite side.

Here's a great resource for those needing to know which herbs to grow in a herb spiral by considering their light and watering requirements.

Another benefit of a herb spiral is the ease in which one can access the plants whether it be to pick or to plant and maintain them. The spiral doesn't take too much space and its varying heights means that you're not always bending over - much better for the knees and back.

How to build a herb spiral

Obviously, the first requirement is to choose the materials you plan to build with. I have seen these made from staggered PVC piping (100mm diameter), clay tubing and rocks and stones.

Next, drive a stake into the centre of where you plan to construct your herb spiral. Tie a piece of string (1m wide) to the centre and using a loose stake tied at the other end, mark out a circle. This will give you your base measurements and a place to start. If you're using the pipe or tubing you won't need to measure a circle this wide.

Using your chosen materials start forming a base by adding a perimeter of material and filling it with good draining soil. Continue until this base is about 30-40cm high.

Then, take the spiral from one of the sides and begin to work your way in, and up, to the centre adding materials to create a barrier and filling it with soil. Once finished it should stand about 1m high and have come to a small central planting area.

Water well and leave for a few days to settle in before planting. When the spiral seems like it won't move any further and the soil has compacted a little, it is time to begin planting.

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By far one of the most invasive herbs you could ever plant is mint. Any mint. Peppermint, Chocolate Mint, Apple Mint, Common Mint, Ginger Mint or any other derivative. They will seduce you into finding a spare sod of soil and reward you almost immediately with lush green leaves and a bushy habit that tells you all is OK.

Well it's not OK. There is a more sinister plot in hand that was unleashed the moment you introduced your peppermint into the garden bed. It's a plan bent on evil and control.

Peppermint, and any other varietal, wants control of your garden. And it's not prepared to settle for only a piece of the action. It wants it all!

If you've ever grown peppermint you will know what I'm talking about. This plant hates being confined - but must!

Growing peppermint is all about rules. If you break them then you reap the consequences. If you adhere to them you will be rewarded year after year with a bounty bordering on over-abundance.

How NOT to grow peppermint

1. Never grow peppermint in a pot. It dislikes being confined and would much rather be out playing with the other plants.

2. Keep watering to a minimum. Peppermint thrives in drought areas and will wither and die if it's given too much water.

3. At the end of its growing season, never repot peppermint as it will be just as vigorous as the previous year.

4. Give peppermint lots of shade. In fact, the more shade the happier your plant will be.

If you do exactly the opposite you'll find that peppermint, and any other mint, will thrive in your garden. Just never plant it in your garden beds without a serious barrier to contain it.

The origins of Peppermint

Peppermint (and the mint family) originated from the Mediterannean regions. While all mints belong to the same family, they also include oregano, marjoram and sage except these herbs can be grown in your garden beds without fear of taking over.

The peppermint plant is a hardy perennial and can flower in pinks, whites and blues.

Its main use is culinary and is often found in desserts or herbal teas. The leaves can be crushed to excrete their oil which is often used as a flavouring or in perfume essences.

Propagating Pepppermint

Peppermint can be grown from seeds collected as the flowers dry. These can be sown in a seed-raising mix in late winter or early spring and planted out (in a container) when the plants are about 10cm tall.

You can also propagate peppermint from root cuttings and you will find this process much easier and more successful than planting from seed. Take the cutting leaving a small root ball attached and repot into a smaller container. Feed and water well.

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One of my favourite herbs to grow is borage. In fact, I would go so far as stating that I couldn't have a herb garden without borage in it.

Borage is one of those unusual herbs that suffer from an ugly ducking identity crisis. It grows alongside basil, oregano, marjoram and all the usual favourites yet it can't be used in the way that these others are. You would never finely chop some borage leaf and combine it with your pasta dish. Or take some of its leaves and infuse for an herbal tea.

No, borage is not one of those herbs.

It has it's own distinct benefits and hopefully I will convince you that it needs to be incorporated in your garden too.

The Benefits of Borage

While the leaves of the borage herb aren't exceptionally tasty and won't flavour your dish like most aromatic herbs they do have one thing going for them. Their flowers! If you've ever seen borage flowers you will understand what I mean. Fragile, star-shaped blue petals with a black spear-pointing centre make an incredible statement when they begin to bloom in late spring through early autumn.

Not only are they amazing to look at and enjoy they make a great accompaniment in salads and can even be candied to garnish desserts. They have a mild peppery flavour that adds an extra taste to your salad as well as making it look unique.

But, what about those leaves?

Can anything be done with those borage leaves? Sure. Much like comfrey and yarrow, borage leaves are a great compost activator helping to speed up the composting process.

There are many medicinal uses for borage as well. Borage's main identity in this area hinges on its use for stress relief. While the leaves aren't exceptionally tasty they can be made into a herbal tea useful for relaxation and calming. They have also been used as an infusion for mothers who are struggling to breast-feed.

Are there any other uses for Borage?

Borage seeds are also being used extensively for their oil, which also has medicinal purposes. Borage oil's characteristics have been shown to be excellent as an anti-inflammatory mediator and have been successful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. If you're looking for more facts on borage oil search here...

How to grow Borage

This is not a difficult herb to grow at all. The photo at the top of this post is all my new seedlings coming up after I pulled out last season's plants. I haven't done anything special to prepare the soil for these plants apart from regular watering. They just self-seed year after year.

Borage prefers a well-drained soil and grows well in full-sun to part-shade. It prefers a slightly acidic soil and should be treated as an annual.

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