THYME IS CREEPING UP ON ME.

About this time of the year I like to overhaul my alpine troughs and prepare them for the long wet season that lies ahead. Most years this is just a matter of removing any weeds that may have crept in, and top-dressing with horticultural grit.

This year however it presented more of task than I had expected. Thyme (Thymus serpyllum) had crept into all of the troughs and necessitated a complete renovation job. Thyme is such a tricky plant to remove especially when it get its roots wedged between stones or intermingled with the roots of other plants. After several unsuccessful attempts to eradicate it, there was no other choice but to remove the lot and replant the troughs.

A quick dash to the potting shed produced two buckets, a small shovel and a hand trowel. The plants were carefully removed and placed in the first bucket, while the second bucket had to be filled three times with the soil from the trough before I reached the drainage material at the bottom.

I keep all the soil from the pots in the alpine house when I am potting on the plants for jobs like this. Mixed with about 20% new soil and 20% grit it makes ideal compost for to refill the troughs.

A problem with troughs filled with compost is the flat earth look, when the soil settles and levels with the side of the trough spoiling the effect. To help avoid such a flat earth look I overfill, leaving a mound rising in the middle, and pack with a few stones to hold it in place. This is then covered with a good layer of horticultural grit which stops the rain from washing the soil of, and keeps the plants dry at the neck, a requirement for most alpine plants.

The plants in the other bucket were now sorted and the Thyme removed. Those that were worth keeping were quickly replanted in the trough and the rest discarded. Then a browse through the frames to try and find some replacements. Oxalis eneaphylla White Swan, Sisyrinchium macrocarpum, Asperula gussonii, Campanula choruhensis and the first trough was finished.

Four hours and ten troughs later as the light was beginning to fade, I had to make a hasty retreat to the potting shed to avoid a heavy shower which was accompanied by flashes of lightening, and a merciful rattle of thunder, which also had the dog making a beeline for his box.

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