Dad and I built an herb spiral! Oh, and knightguy04 helped with the material procurement & delivery.

Bill of materials:
1 yd^3 composted grass clippings, veg. peelings, coffee grounds, etc. (free)
5 ft^3 topsoil, ~280 lbs ($8.33)
5 ft^3 composted manure, ~280 lbs ($8.33)
5 ft^3 garden soil, ~280 lbs ($13.93)
150 brick pavers, about 27 ft^2 ($82.5)
cardboard or bamboo or other liner material (free)

About $120 after taxes.

Tomorrow I'm going to buy the herbs:
oregano
rosemary
marjoram
basil
thai basil
chamomile
lemon balm
chive
cilantro
mint

And I'm going to surround the spiral with a prophylactic ring of marigolds. Herbs plus flowers = ~$50. So the whole deal is done for $170! That's ~60 of those little baggies of pseudo-fresh herbs at the supermarket, with the obvious benefits of being fresh from the backyard in whatever quantity I like. And when I'm overcome by herbs, I can harvest, dry, and store them away so they can become gifts (bath tea, poultry seasoning, etc.).

Oh, and I've got the top of the spiral reserved for the pineapple plant isol8d gave me earlier this week!