Troughs

[wolfgang vorig]

Trough with Saxifragas and Dianthus microlepis

[Jlynx]

The troughs are looking good, John ... retirement is a WONDERFUL thing ... ENJOY!!!

John and Clare enjoying retirement at the Alhambra.

JohnnyD: what is the brand name for the black plastic containers in your pictures?  Great troughs

[Jlynx]

The troughs are looking good, John ... retirement is a WONDERFUL thing ... ENJOY!!!

John and Clare enjoying retirement at the Alhambra.

JohnnyD: I am referring to the black container in pic 965. Thanks.

[olegKon]

Something more than willows is flowering in troughs
1. Phlox austromontana
2.Draba bryoides
3. Viola koreana
4. Draba loiseleurii
5.Phlox coviellii
6.Phlox kelseyi Lemki Purple
7.Phlox pulvinata
8.Dianthus microlepis

[ChrisB]

Here's one or two of my troughs.  The last one, if you are looking at this post, John, is my tufa garden in the making.  Still have lots to do to make it look good for a show, but it has started to look a bit more established this year.

[Lesley Cox]

They're looking really good Chris. I like the last because it gives an idea of work in progress.

Do you have a name for the little iris in the first picture? It must be a really tiny one to be so nicely in proportion.

[ranunculus]

A trough that I stripped and replanted three days ago. It holds Lewisia cotyledons, a large Saxifrage 'Southside seedling', Delospermas, etc.
I have tried a new technique for the lewisias and the succulents of bare-rooting the plants, spreading the roots out in gritty, sandy soil and then covering the crown and the first few inches of root with a plastic membrane (a technical name for plastic milk bottles cut into four inch square sheets!!!). These are then covered with a layer of grit and large pebbles and then top dressed between the pebbles with a finer grit. The objective is to keep excess moisture away from the crowns but allow full development of the roots into areas of the compost not covered by the plastic squares. Time will tell if the extra effort has been worthwhile. Lewisias normally struggle for survival outside in our damp, cool and murky climate.

[ChrisB]

Hi Lesley,  I'm pretty sure its Iris reichenbachii or at least that's what I bought it as.  It now has loads of flowers on it.

Cliff, for my tufa sink I root cuttings in sand and then insert them into the tufa.  this has worked with some things and not others.  It certainly did with sax. and semps, but its more of a struggle with primulas.  I've taken to putting all of the plants I do in sinks this way, its easier to plant them up with tiny things and they grow a lot better and faster too.  I don't do anything to protect them though, you are so meticulous, guess that's how one wins those prizes you win though..... and I rarely do.

[ranunculus]

Thanks Chris,
I haven't won any prizes for years ... been concentrating on my camera and my presentations too much I guess!   

[ChrisB]

Well your mini gardens look great, you should show them....

[astragalus]

The troughs took a real hit this non-winter  with no snow cover and ridiculously high temperatures.  Many buns got burned in the center and other plants started budding in Feb. when it was 80F.  Then the temperatures plummeted and plants died or rotted.  Picture is of "the line-up", with daphnes no longer in bloom.  Everything was very early.

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks Chris, it looks very tiny to be reichenbachii but maybe it varies. Whatever, it's a little gem. Now I come to think of it, there's a MBD Iris called 'Little Gem' (but this isn't it. )

Cliff your newly renovated trough is incredible for just a few days. It looks established for at least a year. The Sax is a wonderful plant and to plant it out in full bloom must have taken some courage.

Ann, though I'm sorry about your losses and damage done through wrong weather at the wrong time, in a way your post cheers me as I'd had the feeling that absolutely everything in your garden was always lovely and grown to perfection. I know most IS, but that there can be slight blips is a bit reassuring for me who has had more than enough blips lately. The Edraianthus is really beautiful.

[astragalus]

Lesley, years ago a good gardening friend said "Don't mourn the dead plants, they leave empty spaces to try new plants".  I did notice that this was not in practice when he lost something really special, but it sounded good.
My garden is far from perfect at any time but there's always something to cheer me.

[Graham Catlow]

Hi,
Cliff I will wait with interest to see if your method with Lewisias works. I too struggle with Lewisias outside but keep trying. Some seem to do ok but others are replaced. I have a 'need' to keep trying.

Some photos of a couple of my trough set ups from today.
The first three photos are of a combination of five troughs from different angles. All the plants in these troughs are of North American origins; species and hybrids.
Some of the lewisias are new this year others are previous years plantings. There are also penstemons, iris, draba, primula and phlox.

The fourth and fifth photos are of the brick trough I created last year, (photo 4). Photo 5 is from today. A couple of the lewisias are new due to the death of last years plantings and the others aren't doing too well; perhaps they need another year. The dianthus and sempervivums have taken well, but the sedums have been damaged by mice over the winter and haven't been able to establish.

[astragalus]

Lovely collection of troughs.  Lewisias are wonderful suppliers of color.  I'm really interested in knowing what species of penstemons and phlox you are growing in your troughs.  (or elsewhere in  your garden)