Using paving stones in a chess board design (with the white squares being the soil) allows you better to grow invasive herbs that otherwise take over the whole bed.

It’s a major problem for me to deal with the planting of the invasive herbs I want to plant in my garden to use for cooking or remedies. I am redesigning and planting a bed that I have just cleared, and I’m going to use a chessboard design. I’ve already weeded the bed, I’ll then use the small paving slabs to set alternately – I’ll use weed control fabric underneath leaving about 10 inches free and push it down carefully at the edge, so that plants will be prevented (at least for some time) from growing out of the square. I’ve used this technique for edging my paths, and it does work, however, it is easier to dig out the soil to about 10 inches or more from the square you are going to plant, push down the fabric, and then put back the soil mixed with some compost.

Plants for the chessboard bed:

Spearmint and Garden mint

Tansy

Valerian

Wormwood

Chives