Rock Garden

For less than $30, we created a lovely little rock garden on the side of our deck this weekend. I have always admired the beauty of a natural looking rock garden, and hoped to create something that didn't seem too contrived. We bought succulents and herbs from Lowes, filled in the trench with light potting soil and assembled a collection of rocks we found around the yard.

My Mom always had hens and chicks in one of her flower beds, and I loved them as a kid, so I was sure to get a lot of those. They were overflowing in their little quart-sized containers and were so relieved to spread out in the lush soil. I popped a couple of them off to try and root them. I'm not sure if that's how it's supposed to be done, but that's how I'm doing it. I remember them reproducing very quickly when I was a kid.

This bluish-green plant is really pretty and feels neat to squeeze. I threw out the plant name tags, so the next time we go to Lowe's, I'll be sure to check on the names of all the plants we bought. Along with the succulents, we planted thyme, sweet basil, mint and greek oregano. I like to rub the herbs between my fingers to keep the scent with me throughout the day. Mmm ... spaghetti sauce ...