May 2000 ... May 2000 ... May 2000 ...
May 2000
Alpine Troughs ...
There is not much room left in my garden, what
with the increased flower beds to stock my
ferocious need for more unusual plants, grasses in
the graveled areas of the path and the ever
diminishing "lawn". My so-called lawn has more
weeds in than grasses, but am I worried? Not in the
least, for soon there will be no more lawn at all
just a path meandering around the extensive
borders.
Even after all my plantings, there is still yet
one more area not yet occupied by plants - a small
well lit area on the patio ideal for an alpine
trough.
Alpines and rock plants do look particularly
attractive when grown in a multitude of troughs and
sinks. As long as the container provides good
drainage, is frost proof and of sufficient size for
the plants you are going to use (they are difficult
to move once planted up), a fabulous show can be
achieved.
Follow this simple step-by-step guide to
planting an alpine trough:
- Lay fine-mesh netting over the trough base,
covering large holes with crocks. Then add up to
10cm of coarse grit for drainage.
- Partly fill the container with a compost
which is gritty and moist, firming it in stages.
- Use sections of tufa so that up to half of
it is buried to keep it stable.
- Continue to fill the trough with compost,
firming as you fill, allowing for up to 5cm at
the top of the container for top dressing and
watering.
- Remove small sections form the tufa and fill
with compost.
- When planting, wash soil of them and ease
them into the tufa. Feed compost around the base
of the plants, firm, and place small shards of
tufa around the plants.
- With the remaining plants, set them out in
their pots, in order that spacings can be
checked. Plant and then water well.
- Finish the container off by watering and
adding a top dressing of coarse gravel or grit
to a depth of up to 5cm.
A garden in miniature can be enjoyed throughout
the season, especially with the careful addition of
miniature bulbs and other interesting alpines or
rock plants. Why not try some of the following:
- Saxifraga paniculata
- Sempervivum spp.
- Oxalis "Minutifolia"
- Phlox douglasii
- Helianthemum spp.
- Lewisia "George Henley" planted on its side
There are so many more - why not write to me for
the Rock Garden Fact Sheet.
In the Flower Garden ...
- Time for staking and tying any potentially
tall herbaceous plants - why not use brushwood
from any earlier prunings or link stakes. Do
this now and avoid trampling over precious
plants.
- Continue to weed and mulch - mulching cuts
down water loss from the border and suppresses
weed growth.
- Add a general fertilizer such as Growmore or
Fish, Blood and Bone at a rate of 35g/ sq.m.
- Be on the look out for pests such as aphids,
sawfly and other caterpillars - consider
cultural controls first before launching into
the garden with chemical sprays even if they are
organic ones!
Write in for the new Herbaceous Borders Fact
Sheet for all your questions answered.
Have a great time in the garden this month -
there is so much to do. If you want a question
answered why not drop me a line: Tom Cole, c/o
Capel Manor College, Bullsmoor Lane, Enfield,
Middlesex, EN1 4RQ, or e-mail me on
tcole@cgcs.freeserve.co.uk
Happy Gardening!
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