Herb Garden- Mature

Now that my herbs are a little more sturdy, I'm re-thinking the arrangement of the garden itself.
I'm having trouble with weeds (horsetails), slugs and rabbits. An omelet made with eggs from my own organic-fed chickens, topped with a garnish of chives and slug slime? Mmm. 

Is it an herb garden, or a yard sale?

I've been "pinning" raised herb gardens and came across the one below, made with bricks. Since I use salvaged bricks all over my garden and it's pretty much the only material I have lying around, I might give it a try. 
I have to figure out how to keep the mint out of the ground, hide the hideous septic lid, which is in the center of my garden space and keep the bricks on. Seems tricky.  

Raised garden bed, made with bricks. (Photo from Pinterest)

*** The Next Day ***

Yesterday, I removed all my pots and decorations from my old herb garden (a.k.a. the "yard sale") and scraped the weeds up with my trusty hoe. I leveled the ground and then kinda just went for it.
I brought 6 bricks at a time over, from my pile elsewhere in the yard, and made my swirly design until it fit the space and my needs. I included two levels for planting, in addition to the ground level, so I ended up planting at three different levels.

Three-tier brick planter

One and two tier brick planters

Left to right: Rosemary, chives, lavender (in front of chives), mother-of-Thyme ground-cover, Mint (in strawberry pot), more chives.

Parsley

It's a very interesting garden design idea and certainly captures the attention. I added lavender to give it an evergreen and of course there's the artichoke on the far right. I also transplanted my rosemary from its moldy, wood planter and gave it a new home on the far left. 

This type of garden bed can also be used for vegetables.

Herbs: Lavender, cilantro, lemon thyme, chives, chamomile, mint, sage, lemon mint, lavender, Mother-of-Thyme (ground-cover), artichoke.

When transplanting my homegrown plants, I was surprised at how extensive some of the root systems were, even for the smallest of herbs. Hopefully, they have enough room to expand and my herb garden will be rockin' in three years or so.

My concerns for my garden were slugs, rabbits and weeds. I can easily add slug bait inside the swirly, brick planters. The rabbits will still have access to my herbs, but so far, that hasn't been a problem this year. They stick to munching on the delicious weeds in my grass. As for weeds, I put a single layer of newspaper between the ground level and my fresh compost. I also hoe'd the weeds and added a thick layer of cedar mulch which will deter weeds and look nice around the garden. The mulch will break down, so I'll certainly keep an eye on the evil horsetails. I also have weed killer and I'm only a little afraid to use it around my edible herbs.

The unsightly septic lid is a necessary evil, bit hopefully the potted mint and chives mask the green lid.

I definitely recommend creating a brick planter to anyone who is considering it. If you have the materials (preferably free, or recycled) it's a great project because it's so fluid. You can change your mind about a specific space and make the bed higher, or larger... and it gives you a chance to be creative.
I'm excited to see my little herb garden mature even more, as the seedlings I grew under lights last winter thrive in this new garden bed.   

Happy Bodhisattva with sage over his right shoulder.