How to Make an Herbal Knot Garden

Choose the location and size of your herbal knot garden. The garden site should receive at least six hours of sun during the day and be relatively sheltered. Herbal knot gardens are usually square, so chose the length of the sides of your garden. Bear in mind that there will be nine squares within your garden.

Decide which herbs you will grow in each of the nine squares, and purchase the seeds or seedlings. For each square, choose herbs that require the same growing conditions of light, fertilizer and moisture. You can have a different arrangement of herbs in each square, or alternate just two arrangements for a more formal look.

Place a stake at one corner of your herb garden and measure the length of one of the sides. Place another stake. Do this for each of the corners to create the boundary of your square garden. Run a string between the stakes to outline the boundary.

Remove any weeds from within the boundary and loosen the soil. Add organic fertilizer or peat moss, and dig this into the soil.

Measure one-third of the way along the string at the top edge of your herb garden and place a stake there. Measure another third of the way across and place another stake. Do this for each edge.

Place the paving stones across the top of the herb garden between the stakes at one-third and two-thirds of the way across. Do this at the bottom of the garden plot. These form the paths across the top and bottom. Place more stones across the herb garden itself in a straight line from the left of the top path to the left of the bottom path, and from the right of the top path to the right of the bottom path. You now have a rectangular outline in stones from top to bottom.

Create a similar rectangle of paving stones across the herb garden from left to right, crossing the first path. You now have divided the herb garden into nine equally sized squares. The paving stone path forms the knot.

Plant the seedlings in the appropriate squares by digging a hole just larger than the seedling root and to a depth that will cover the root. Plant seeds by using a trowel to create a shallow trough. Sprinkle the seeds in it and cover them lightly with soil. Water the seeds and seedlings and cover the herb garden with 1 inch of organic mulch material.