After years of having herbs scattered in pots and tucked in corners of the garden, I finally have a garden spot for my herbs. It's made of clay flue liners that I got at the local masonry place. It will keep all of these mints from spreading too far.
Wow Katlian, what a great idea! I love those liners. I'll have to keep them in mind when I do my herb garden. I like them because they're square so you can butt them up against each other and they add great visual interest. Good thinking!
A friend said they remind him of a pueblo. I like the fact that I can drag a hose around the corner without smashing any plants.
Wow!
what a lovely idea!
Katlian, I LOVE the flue liners! I'm moving into a new house and was wondering how to contain the mints without keeping them in pots. These are great. Amazing what you can come up with if you keep your eyes open, isn't it? Are there length limits to these things, or can you get them really tall? I'm thinking a really tall one with pennyroyal draping down over the others would be pretty.
Oooooooooo... a gazillion different mints... the variety name stencilled on each liner... I'm getting excited here...
The liners are 12" tall but you can get taller ones that are meant to cap the chimney. I saw a round one at the masonry yard that was about 2 feet in diameter and shaped sort of like a cooling tower on a nuclear power plant (tapered up to a point in the middle and flared at the top). It was about 3 feet tall and had a thick, shaped rim at the top. It was tempting but I didn't have a place big enough for it and it was about $120 (too much for this project).
This message was edited May 25, 2006 9:12 PM
Okay, I had an attack of cuteness and bought these copper plant labels for my herbs. They're pretty shiny now but I hope they weather to a nice dark color.
I have to add a big thank you to Sunlover19 for the chocolate mint in the corner that has grown into a fragrant monster! I love to touch it when I walk past, makes the garage smell so nice.
This message was edited Aug 20, 2006 5:26 PM
Your plants are growing nicely! Those copper labels will be beautiful as they patina to green. Great idea!
LOL at your "fit of cuteness!"
Actually, I'm becomming a compulsive labeler... so handy to have the names right with the plants, especially in early spring when dormant plants begin emerging... cuts down on wondering "where did I put that one?" and "is that a weed or something I shouldn't be pulling up?"
Katlian, I have loved this idea since you posted it last spring. I just bought some mints (one of them is chocolate) and oreganos that I KNOW need to be contained. I've been driving my DH crazy. told him I NEED clay flue liners this week. so many places are using the metal flue liners now. I hope I can find them. tried to think of something that would work just as well, but I can't. these are just perfect. hope you don't mind if I copy it.
gram
these liners are wonderful!!! what a great idea. if martha here's about it, i'm sure that it will be broadcast nationwide. :-)
??? oregano spreads like mint? i had some that was self contained, unless i let it go to seed, now then it went crazy. any knowledge appreciated. thanks
debi
Thanks everyone,
I don't mind at all if anyone wants to copy the idea. I'm pretty sure no one I know is going to say 'Oh I saw a garden just like that last week' ;) I'll add the same warning I posted on a different thread: If there isn't good drainage under the liners you should consider sealing them before putting them in the ground. I didn't and now the clay is pulling salts up from the soil underneath. The salt accumulation at the top is starting to disintegrate the blocks and I have to keep cleaning it off with a brush.
debi- The regular oregano and the sage are well behaved but I also have a variegated oregano that spreads (but not as fast as the mints). I guess it just depends on what type you have. They're all in the mint family so it's not surprising that they have similar habits and flavors.
Oregano will out-compete some other herbs, so may need a bit more pruning from time to time... but it sure doesn't spread like mint, at least not in my garden. Give it a little extra room, but don't worry that it will take over your entire yard. ;-)
Mints and their relatives (like oregano) will only take over your garden if you let them. Mints need to be pruned back regularly. When the stems extend beyond the space you want them to live in, pull the stem up, including the roots, and cut the root off at its border. They only get out of hand if you snip them from the top and leave the roots. I've been able to keep my mints constrainted to their square foot plots for years by using this method.
or grow your mints in big pots or clay flu liners like Katlian does! :-)
Katlian, love your herb garden! Would just like to mention for those thinking about using the flues in colder climates that they might want to consider sealing them with pot sealer. It will extend the life of the flues for years in areas that freeze during the winter. We used them in a public garden here to grow our mint. Set them at different heights to add verticle interest to the garden while containing the mint. Did find that we had to divide the mint and replant it spring and fall so it wouldn't choke itself out.
Jeane, I've already bought some flue liners and I'm going to get more in the spring. do I just look for 'pot sealer'? is that what it is called?
That's what my spray can was called, but I'm pretty sure plain old polyurethane would do the trick.
Katlian - very cool idea! Great learning lesson on herbs as well.
Sharon
You can also find concrete sealant that soaks into the clay instead of making a layer on the outside like pot sealer. I think the stuff made for concrete would work better with rough texture of the liners. Should be able to find it a the hardware store.
Thanks, Kat, that's a great idea.
thanks, all. by the time I get mine in, I'll probably know what I'm doing, LOL. I'm planning on putting them in a heart shaped outline with them higher at the top of the heart tapering down lower at the point. then inside the heart I might be able to put a few things that need some protection in this zone, or maybe just annuals.
so here's what I have set up in my garden software so far. the heart herb garden is going to be the center (heart) of my new cottage garden. and Kat was inspiration (thanks again, Kat, I still love the idea). DH thought I was nuts when I dragged him to the builder's supply for the flue liners, but that wasn't as bad as the guy at the store. he asked me what size I needed and I said 'well, what have you got?'. by the time I left I think I had him convinced to start an herb garden LOL
gram
Wow! What kind of garden software are you using?
That's really nice. I love the idea and your fit of cuteness really paid off those markers look great. There is a house near my jobsite that has a brick walkway and they put the terracotta liners along the walk just like and edge down one side with a raised bed behind the liners. They used both short and tall liners and planted different annuals and some small Pyramidal bushes in them.The walk comes in at an angle. Wish I had a picture to share it’s a small house with what had been a very small and ordinary front yard now it’s very eye catching.
I thought this design thread needed a *bump*... The idea of using the clay flue liners is brilliant!
Please find your favorite design thread and give them a bump... it's the season of planning, and spring planting is just around the corner!
And while you're at it... please comment on your favorite threads here http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/696281/ so that our new "sticky" thread can become a great resource!
Great idea. I do love those flue liners.
I too am on the hunt for the flue liners.. That's just about the best longterm pot I can think of.. it is a brilliant idea. just love it.
Antoinette
I found them at a builder's supply.
I would like to repeat my warning to seal the clay before installing them. My larger blocks (that I bought from a different company than the smaller ones) all shattered this winter. The small blocks are fine but the large ones are beyond repair. Since I now need to pull them all out anyway, I'm going to scrub and seal all of the small ones. The two places in our area that sell them specialize in bricks and stone, so that would be the first place to look in the phone book.
thanks katlian for that advice and information.
debi & franklin
kat, I'm so sorry to hear that happened to you. I will definitely seal mine before I install them. I had 8 of them sitting out all winter with no ill effects, but they weren't in the ground yet. the freezing, thawing might be a problem.
several years ago I bought a dozen clay stepping stones and 3 concrete decorative ones. the clay ones are still fine and 2 of the concrete ones. one of the concrete ones shattered into a million pieces. I got them all at the same place. sometimes I think there's something wrong with the mix.
I noticed that in the yard (description above) that some of the liners over several years disintegrate and some did not. They would have been all bought at the same time and from the same place. Although there is noway for me to tell if they came from the same Mfg. batch.
Sorry to hear that not all the liners hold up well... makes me wonder a bit about the integrity of my chimney!
Now I am thinking along the lines of making some hypertufa containers, perhaps using boxes of different heights as molds, rather than getting the clay flu liners.... Heaven knows, I need another project, ROFLOL.
Hi there, I just got the flue liners yesterday... and the sealer, I got the spray sealer used in airconditioning, someone years ago told me to use that on the clay pots, don't remember why.. anyway.. hopefully they will not freeze and crack, I'll look up the one I bought.
Has anyone tried to cut these in half with a diamond blade saw? I was thinking of trying one of them and not buring them into the soil, just letting them lie on top, they are so heavy, I figured they would hold each other up if I put them next to each other and once filled, that should hold them up.
Is that a bad idea? any info is appreciated. I got six of them and they are two of each size. I like the way you have yours up there in mass, when I was at the store, I could not remember for the life of me how many to put together. Now I wish I had gotten at least four more.
yours look fantastic. I love them. have you direct sowed your herbs? I have not had a chance to start me seed indoors yet, I may have to buy some plants to start this year.
A.
I just re-read your thread and saw that yours are 12 inches tall, the ones we got are 24 inches tall and I did not see any shorter than that. Maybe if I ask around they may have some shorter.. ooooh..
This message was edited Mar 23, 2007 9:31 AM
gourd, I couldn't find any shorter than 24" either. I thought about cutting them, but I'm so afraid they'll break. I'm going to have my landscaper bury them at different heights.
Gourd, My husband Ric said, Yes you can cut them with a diamond blade or masonry blade, masonry blades are cheaper but you can go through quite a few blades depending on how many liners you are cutting. He says pour water over the blade to keep it cool. He thinks burying them would be easier and maybe cheaper depending on how many blades you need. Flue liners only come in 2 ft length but, he says the round collars come in different sizes. Although that would be a different look.
Several years ago my SIL had to dig up an old drain line and was going to throw away the clay pipe sections. I salvaged them and have been using them to add vertical interest to my flower and herb beds. I have everything in them from miniature roses to all sorts of herbs (except my rosemary which is a man-eater in the corner of one of the beds). They are not very large, maybe just 5 or 6" across and 14 to 16" tall. Some things cascade, some are taller. I bury the pipe sections at different heights. They are round, so not as organized in appearance as Katlian's, but I have found them to be quite fun--and they were free.
1gg, free is good!!
