It’s a unique addition to banks of the Patawalonga at Glenelg North – and the recently constructed herb spiral has already become a talking point for the community.
And for good reason. Its creators, Tom Crowley and Dave Ryan of our Open Spaces team, believe this to be the only herb spiral to have been built in a public place in South Australia.
“They’re quite rare in the world I think but it’s all about making the most of a small amount of space by having different levels, and by making the most of water and the way it flows,” said Tom who was inspired to build the spiral herb garden after undertaking a permaculture course last year.
“Permaculture is about creating systems to mimic nature and using materials that are available to you and the herb spiral is a really good example of permaculture techniques.”
At the top of the spiral are herbs that are less thirsty and require little water, including rosemary and thyme. At the base of the spiral are herbs like chives, chamomile and mint as they prefer more moisture.
Using wood from a dead street tree that had to be removed, along with other recycled timber and rope, the pair constructed the spiral on site in a couple of hours – after much planning and several test runs off-site.
The project has already proven to be beneficial in multiple ways – not only in demonstrating how to transform a small, bare patch of land into something interesting and useful.
“We had a really good reaction at the time of building and whenever we do maintenance around here, people always come up to us and ask us about it,” said Dave.
“One lady made a comment that she often walks her dog around here by herself, and one day she stopped to look at the spiral when someone else came over and started talking about it.
“Because of what we had told her about it, she passed it onto the next person, and it sparked a conversation that she otherwise may not have had … so that was really great.”
The herb spiral can be found on the eastern side of the Pat on Adelphi Terrace, near Newhaven Avenue.