Renovating the herb spiral

In this photo: Rosemary Stevens composts soil in the herb spiral, Gabby Frankhouser patches up the watering system and Jason D'Amours collects sawgrass for mulch. This group of gardeners adopted the spiral for their semester project, a requirement for the gardening tutorial.

The herb spiral was built in the 2013 Permaculture ISP. Permaculture, as the Caples' Gardening Handbook says, is the "conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems." Brilliance.

The group will choose what to plant in the herb spiral next class. Options include some essentials: basil, oregano, rosemary, as well as lavender, dill and marigold.

*** Look out for more gardening project shout outs coming your way! ***