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Alpine troughs are compact, easy to plant and very low-maintenance, so they’re perfect for gardeners short on time or space. As the name suggests, alpine plants come from mountain regions, so they’re used to tough conditions.&nbsp; Planting an alpine trough is a great way to appreciate these fascinating plants and provide long-lasting interest for a pot on a patio or balcony. Here’s how it’s done.

Alpine troughs are compact, easy to plant and very low-maintenance, so they’re perfect for gardeners short on time or space. As the name suggests, alpine plants come from mountain regions, so they’re used to tough conditions.&nbsp; Planting an alpine trough is a great way to appreciate these fascinating plants and provide long-lasting interest for a pot on a patio or balcony. Here’s how it’s done.
<h2>What you’ll need to plant an alpine trough</h2>
<ul>
<li>A shallow container or trough with good drainage holes</li>
<li>Loam-based compost such as John Innes no 2</li>
<li>Horticultural grit</li>
<li>Rocks for decoration if available</li>
<li>Alpine plants</li>
</ul>
<h2>How to plant an alpine trough</h2>
<ol>
<li>
Choose the position for your alpine trough. Most alpines do best in the sun, although some will grow in light shade.&nbsp;&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
The key to growing alpines is good drainage – they hate sitting with their roots in wet soil. Raise your trough on pot feet to improve drainage, and place pot shards or squares of shade netting over the holes to stop them from getting blocked up with compost.
</li>
<li>
Fill the trough with a 50/50 mix of a loam-based compost like John Innes no 2 and horticultural grit to about 2cm below the pot's lip.
</li>
<li>
If you have a few interesting-looking rocks, arrange them in the compost to create the look of a mountainous environment.
</li>
<li>
Plant your alpines among the rocks.
</li>
<li>
Top-dress with a layer of grit. This keeps in moisture, suppresses weeds and stops the plants from being splashed with mud when it rains.
</li>
</ol>
<h2>Caring for alpine plants</h2>
Most alpines are reasonably drought-tolerant but water the containers during long dry periods to stop the compost from drying out completely. Deadhead plants after they have flowered.
In winter, move the trough into the rain-shadow of a house to shelter it from excessive winter rain.
<h2>Plants for an alpine trough</h2>
There’s a wide range of alpine plants to choose from. Here are a few of our favourites:
<ul>
<li>
Armeria (sea thrift): Pretty pink flowers bob on slender stems above a mat of evergreen grass-like foliage. Deadhead faded flowers to keep it flowering.
</li>
<li>
Phlox douglasii Crackerjack: A semi-evergreen creeping phlox with small leaves, covered in a mass of bright pink flowers in late spring and early summer.
</li>
<li>
Sedum cauticola (stonecrop): A low, spreading sedum with small rounded blue-green leaves and clusters of small pink flowers in autumn.
</li>
<li>
Saxifraga (saxifrage): Rosettes of fleshy leaves form mats, with clusters of small pink or white flowers float above the leaves on wiry stems. Good for shady spots.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Lewisia: Colourful star-shaped flowers in late spring and early summer. It prefers damper soil to most other alpines.
</li>
<li>
Sempervivums: Evergreen succulents come in a wide range of colours and sizes, forming rosettes of fleshy leaves. Very tough and easy to grow.
</li>
</ul>
It's fun starting on a new project this summer. Gardening relieves stress and is healthy at the same time. We have a great range of alpines and other plants in our centre, so visit us soon and get some inspiration for your next gardening project!

How to plant an alpine trough

Here’s why you should love earthworms. Many people see them as a fun insect that continues to live as two worms if split in half. This is a myth! So leaving the worms to work the soil is much better than messing them around. There’s a reason why leaving them in the soil is the best thing to do and here is why:&nbsp;

Here’s why you should love earthworms. Many people see them as a fun insect that continues to live as two worms if split in half. This is a myth! So leaving the worms to work the soil is much better than messing them around. There’s a reason why leaving them in the soil is the best thing to do and here is why:&nbsp;
<h2>1. Earthworms&nbsp;improve the soil structure&nbsp;</h2>
Earthworms do a wonderful job of improving the soil structure - even clay soils and sandy soils. When you mulch your soil, earthworms naturally take that down to where the roots of your plants will be nourished. If you have earthworms in your soil, you are doing something right.&nbsp;
<h2>2. Earthworms are also food&nbsp;</h2>
Not only do they help to ensure your plants are happy, but they are also a protein-rich meal for your garden birds. Have you ever noticed that as your garden turns your soil, your garden birds won’t be far behind you? As the soil is turned, earthworms come to the surface, and they do the same when it rains.&nbsp;
<h2>3. Earthworms are incredible insects&nbsp;</h2>
Earthworms have the remarkable ability to breathe through their skin because they don’t have lungs. They eat almost any dead matter in the soil and the average life span of the year is up to 4 years! That’s a long and bust soil life for a small insect.&nbsp;
<h2>4. Life would be difficult without earthworms</h2>
If earthworms became extinct, the soil would diminish, and the food we eat would be vastly less, if any. We would have more floods (since earthworms also help the soil structure) and more pollution.&nbsp;
<h2>5. A wormery is useful&nbsp;</h2>
Wormeries are incredibly useful in the garden for home composting. Worms break down organic matter such as food scraps from the kitchen and make them into perfect garden compost. Just like magic! Wormeries are great additions to a kitchen garden or allotment and are also great for children to watch in action as well.&nbsp;
<h2>6. Worm castings are full of nutrients&nbsp;</h2>
Those little piles of worm mounds on the grass or soil are full of nutrients which make a great soil conditioner. So worms in your soil both under the surface and above are a good sign of a healthy, biodiverse garden.&nbsp;
Keep your garden full of earthworms and other insects by planting a range of plants for pollinators from our nursery.&nbsp;

Why you should love earthworms

If you have rabbits in your garden, you know what it feels like to look out in the morning and see a collection of bare nibbled stems where your plants used to be instead of beds filled with beautiful plants.

If you have rabbits in your garden, you know what it feels like to look out in the morning and see a collection of bare nibbled stems where your plants used to be instead of beds filled with beautiful plants. Rabbits can be a menace in gardens, eating a wide variety of garden plants. While there’s no such thing as a completely rabbit-proof plant, there are some that seem less attractive to most rabbits. Here’s a list of some of the more successful rabbit-proof plants.
<h2>Top 10 rabbit proof plants</h2>
<ol>
<li>
Helleborus x hybridus (Hellebore): These useful perennials will grow in the shade, have attractive palmate evergreen leaves and flower in winter, adding colour to the garden. Not only rabbits but also slugs and snails find their tough leaves unappetizing.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii (Mediterranean spurge): An evergreen perennial with grey-green leaves and vivid acid-green flowers in spring. When cut, the stems ooze a milky white sap that will irritate the skin, so wear gloves when working with euphorbias and take care not to get the sap in your eyes.
</li>
<li>
Digitalis (foxglove): A well-known and popular wildflower with tall flower spires in late spring and early summer. Foxgloves are biennial, producing leaves in their first year and flowers in their second, then setting seed and dying.&nbsp; They grow well in the shade and will self-seed and spread slowly around the garden if the conditions are right.
</li>
<li>
Alliums (ornamental onions): These easy-to-grow bulbs are a superb addition to a sunny border and range in size from compact chives (Allium schoenoprasum) to tall Allium giganteum with its enormous globe-like purple flower heads in summer.
</li>
<li>
Agapanthus (African lily): Rounded blue or violet flower heads on tall stems above clumps of long strappy leaves. These natives of southern Africa look lovely in a sunny border.
</li>
<li>
Acanthus (bear’s breeches): With their big leaves and tall, upright purple and white flower stems, Acanthus make a bold statement in a large border. They are happy in the shade but do tend to self-seed and spread.
</li>
<li>
Tagetes patula (French marigolds): With their cheerful orange or yellow flowers, these marigolds brighten up pots and window boxes, and they’re also good companion plants in vegetable gardens, attracting pollinators and deterring aphids.
</li>
<li>
Salvia x superba (hybrid sage): A classic border perennial with soft grey-green leaves and spires of purple flowers in late summer.
</li>
<li>
Bergenia (elephants ears): A low-growing perennial with large, tough rounded leaves. It grows well in partial shade and flowers in early spring.
</li>
<li>
Eryngium (sea holly): A striking perennial with steel blue foliage and spiky-looking flowers that magnet bees in summer. It does best in well-drained soil in full sun.
</li>
</ol>
We have a fantastic range of plants for all situations in our centres, so whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find something to suit your garden. Visit us today!

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How to plant an alpine trough

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