The Backyard Herb Garden

We have a barn in the back with a small parcel of grass. The previous owners had perennials all around this little parcel. There has been so much I have wanted to do with this little parcel but the dogs go out there and do their duty all of the time so I was a bit concerned. But, when I have a goal, I want to do it. My son dug up a section of the yard (not the whole yard yet) and what I did was bought a bag of manure and compost, bought my plants and worked hard cleaning out the sod out of that little area. As you can see in the picture, the ground looks very dry. The new garden is the small piece that is to the left of the picture that is in a curve built with bricks put into the ground. Someone was giving away free bricks on freecycle and my husband and I filled the van and I was thrilled. Bricks are fifty cents a piece so getting a hundred bricks was money in my pocket. This job did not use all of the bricks and what the mauve colored blocks did for me was keep out the grass from coming into the herbs. I then added some compost to the dirt (not soil in this back yard). I hand tilled it in. Last year, I had bought black fabric to keep weeds growing in around garden plants, so I layed the fabric down with large staples to hold the fabric down. Then I layed out each herb where I wanted it placed. I cut an X shape into the fabric, dug a whole, placed manure in the hole (herbs do not need great soil), placed the herb inside the hole, and then filled the hole with compost and the remaining dirty. I did this with all of the plants. Compost is about $3.48 a bag so I bought five bags and laid that on top of the black fabric. So what you see in the picture is actually black compost that is so dry because of the 95 degree weather. I watered the herbs yesterday and they seemed to be doing well. The plants I started out with were small in the first place, so I am quite pleased with their well doing. I do expect some of them to die from the weather and am contemplating the fall and winter and what should be done to the plants. Thyme is a tough herb to keep in my yard and also sage.