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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Stone Troughs - Part Two - Germany

This past summer I was lucky enough to spend two glorious weeks touring Germany with my mom. We have quite a large family in Germany so rather than see the big tourist sites, we also got to see small places that only the locals know about.

My cousin Ingrid took us to the most amazing place. I don't know what town it is in, I do know it's an easy drive from Frankfurt. The place was a mill stone museum and they had a charming restaurant and hotel by the name of Hotel Wambacher Muhle. If you are visiting Germany, I think this would be a great place to spend a day or two. Bring some hiking shoes as I understand there's some spectacular trails that start at this hotel.

At first I wasn't sure I wanted to visit a mill stone museum, then I saw that they also collected troughs. These troughs were real ones, carved out of stone, not the new light weight ones.

Here you can see how they were interspersed through out the mill stone display.

Germany was going through a cool, wet season while we were there so everything was amazingly lush and green. I really loved the way these troughs looked. Here you can see a spot where the stream was diverted through a channel alongside the hotel.

Resting over the channel in various spots were these beautiful troughs. You can see how different they feel as opposed to the dry barren troughs in my previous posts (taken in New York). I think both styles are fantastic.


This trough was filled with a Sedum that was at peak bloom. I don't have the name of the Sedum but it could have easily been Sedum 'Acre'.

Now we'll see some troughs with stones in them too. How about a dward hardy Geranium in the planting scheme? I love it!

Don't have any troughs near you? No worries, how about a big old wash basin? I know they sell them here at the hardware stores and they aren't terribly expensive.


I had to throw in a landscape shot showing the hotel in the backdrop. Oh if only I had a good pair of walking shoes with me.

This wash basin was filled with perennials, and yes, there are daylilies in it too.

Another trough, so lush and full. I think the different stone arrangements inside the troughs add great charachter.

As a last shot, I give you a tantalizing view of one of the walkways. This one was easy to navigate so I went down to the water. I can only imagine how lovely the walkways that went up into the mountains and woods must be.

11 comments:

Thistlebrooms said...

Since I read this I HAVE to visit here...I live in southern Ct. and what a wonderful day trip it would be, especially in the Fall...Thanks for sharing your journey here...

Thistlebrooms said...

Excuse, I meant to say I would love to visit Stonecroft!!!Germany is a bit to FAR for me at this time...I was there a few years back with my daughter, brother & sister-in-law though...I too have family there...Love your Blog & your beautiful photos...
Marilyn

Anonymous said...

Hi Melanie, thanks so much for showing us these troughs and even the millstones are wonderful. They are all well planted and there are lots of ideas there. Think how heavy they must be though, even the so called light weight hypertufa troughs need two men to lift them once planted.

Frances
new url
http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/

stadtgarten said...

What a coincidence! The place where you have been is near where I live.
The town is called Schlangenbad and I am so often passing this mill, but never have been there. But through your photos I am now seeing what I missed all the time. I will definitively go there soon.
Thanks for sharing this trip!
Monika

Anonymous said...

The troughs and the plantings really emphasize the textures of the plants. I wanted to run my hands over the plants in the second last photo.

garden girl said...

They're beautiful Melanie!

Anonymous said...

Wow Melanie! What a wonderful visit! Thank you for taking photos and sharing them with us!!!

Wurzerl said...

Hi Melanie!
In my new post "Sempervivum" I show some stone troughs with Sempervivum. Your millstones and troughs are so beautiful. Love them all!!!
Have a great time Wurzerl

Anonymous said...

These are all beautiful. I have enjoyed the tour. It's nice to be in your garden today. I have missed you.

Colleen Wms said...

The stone troughs are a wonderful inspiration for the hypertufa containers my husband makes for me to fill around the pool. While they look lovely in the summer with annuals, I do make sure there are plenty of succulents as well and they tend to survive the mild winters we get here.
I look forward to browsing through your blog!

Anonymous said...

We love Germany! My husband and I both lived there as Army brats and when we got married we went back for Oktoberfest and then drove all around Bavaria. Didn't get as far north as Frankfurt.

I would go absolutely nuts in that mill stone place, and in that delightful village. Must go there someday...