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As I get older and am less able to stand the grueling sun we have been getting from Global warming in our zone 6 or as I can no longer seem to find willing teenagers or any kind of helpers even at $8.00 cash per hour for even 2 or 3 hours in the early morning I have had to completely readjust my gardening mentality. So even at 73 going quickly onto 74 years of age I find this “old dog” having to learn some new gardening tricks.
For those of you who have read my article “How to Build a Stone Trough©” this article is basically a continuation of it. Perhaps this article should be called, “What to do with your stone trough.”
When plants are put in these stone troughs especially ones that might easily grow in the Mediterranean area they tend to do really neat things.
Fill one up with five small thyme plants and watch them quickly fill up the container. Make sure you fill your container with some really good gravel amended soil because thyme likes that kind of soil as do most all Mediterranean herbs and plants.
Should you have enjoyed making the stone troughs and for some reason gone simply crazy with them one could take one or two of them and put them up on concrete patio blocks or any other supports at various heights to create an intriguing array of miniature Mediterranean gardens.
Fill one up with Hens and Chicks and watch them grow quickly to the edges.
When you fill one up with your favorite drought resistant perennial in the center you can add some kind of trailing contrasting flowering plant along the edges.
You can create wonderful herb gardens including the Thyme I mentioned above and parsley (just remember parsley has to be replanted each year), Conehead Thyme whose flavor is similar to winter savory, winter and summer savory, Italian Oregano Thyme all which will grow in mild climates. Just remember to water them well the first year and they will give you many years of enjoyment not only for what they will bring to your kitchen and cooking, but the pleasure to your eyes with their shapes and colors and to your nose with their fragrance.
Fill them with Mediterranean flowers such as Helianthemum nummularium 'Ben More', Lavender, Anacyclus depressus, (Mt. Atlas Mat Daisy) which are high altitude cold hardy plants.
“Tread the Earth Lightly” and in the meantime… May your day be filled with…
Peace, Light and Love.
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Author Bio Box: Arlene Wright Correll
 For more gardening or cooking information click http://www.learn-america.com/
To see Arlene’s Gardens and to read her gardening diaries and to take a walk through her pictorial garden or click on Arlene’s Books where you can download or buy her gardening & cook books, including her new book, “The ABC’s of Wine and Beer Making”. Many of her articles written for Greenthumbarticles have paintings she has created of the subject and they can be seen at her “How to Do It” site. Remember to check out her artwork, especially of her fruits and vegetables. Many of her paintings are sold internationally and many of her works of art have been reproduced on note cards, post cards and other functional items and you can get Giclee prints of her artwork starting as low as $11.89 Arlene says, “All my royalties from the sale of my books, art, etc. go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and I thank you for visiting my sites.”
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