What zone are you in? That piece of info helps when trying to answer any questions. I'll take a stab, anyway. The seeds you listed don't need to be sown on the solstice. None of them really need stratification - well, maybe the English wallflower needs a little. Petunias and marigolds, in my experience, can be sown later; the sweet pea seeds could rot if left wet and cold for too long a period of time. If you really want to sow on the solstice, I'd probably choose the wallflower and the creeping thyme - leave the others until later (early March or so). Watering after the initial sowing really depends on your weather conditions and where you keep your containers. If you can put your containers out into the elements, where they can get snowed on and rained on, etc., you probably won't need to water again until the weather starts warming up and seeds are sprouting. If the containers are in a more protected area, you might have to water at some point; a bottom-watering is best. Soil? Most folks use Miracle-Gro, Pro-Mix, Fafard (my choice) or some other soil-less potting mix. Others make up their own mixes. The important thing is that whatever you choose should drain well. As for clamshells - ditch 'em! Too shallow. Gallon milk jugs are the container of choice - by far - but anything that can hold at least 3-4 inches of potting mix can be used. Hope this helps - and welcome to Winter Sowing! PV

never head tons of luck with the plain creeping thyme, but have had good luck with both lemon and lime creeping thyme. i'm planning an area of our lawn that dry and sandy to seed creeping thyme into, but have no idea if it'll work. i plan to plant it with chamomile, letting each take over where they thrive the best. i've had the same experience as john- they do great for a number of yrs, then mysteriously melt in a season. the one i've had the longest- more than 10 yrs now is caraway thyme, which is also a creeper. it's scrubbier and not as lush as the lemon & lime, though, and i've never used it culinarily. pretty rosey flowers in spring, and tough as nails. if you want to use thymes culinarily, i'd recommend going the plant route. just as filler for walkways & such would probably be fine for seed. actually, that holds true for a lot of the perennial herbs, since flavor is fairly variable. good luck! tam

Steve, I don't understand why you are using trellis's. None of the herbs you have have vining tendencies. If you are using the trellises for support, I'd recommend trimming back the plants instead to put more energy into making roots and filling out the plants themself. If you don't mind what the pots look like think of recycling 2 liter soda bottles, gallon jugs with the tops cut off or anything slightly resembling a gallon size pot and poke 4-5 1/4" or 1/2" holes in the bottom for drainage. If you have a recylcing center near by I've never found one that doesn't mind you going through it for containers (this is from experience) and they are free. Yard sales are another great source of cheap pots, I just bought a barrel, square plastic patio container and a 3 gal foam planter for $3 (don't be afraid to bargain...they were asking $5 for 2 of the pots and got them for $2. But do save your money and use a soil less potting mix preferably without fertilizer (the fertilizer washes out after a couple of waterings anyway). Daisy, I disagree with keeping the soil permanently moist. This may be so until and only until the plants are established, once the roots have developed enough that the plant is thriving allow to dryout between waterings. Many an herb has died from over watering, herbs prefer the soil to dryout between watering.

Whatever groundcover you choose needs to be compatible with the requirements of the roses. Creeping thyme prefers things on the dry side, as does both the lavender and the rosemary (btw, creeping rosemary is not as winter hardy as upright - doubt it would survive that zone) and roses like frequent irrigation and fertilization. I'd consider a creeping form of hardy geranium or Veronica 'Georgia Blue'. I'd also intersperse other low growing perennials.......geum comes to mind but there are others. Perhaps dwarf penstemon.