Troughs

[Graham Catlow]

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)

I will have to go out and collect the names of the penstemons - there are many. I may be gone some time but will get back to you.

[Lesley Cox]

I have to echo Ann's words. "Lovely collection of troughs." I always feel they look at their best in groups rather than singly and isolated. A group seem to become a small mountain range. The brick set-up is really interesting. Another little mountain.

[ranunculus]

To echo Graham's super troughs, here is an image of some of mine taken yesterday.
I will keep you all informed about any successes or failures with the lewisias.

[Lesley Cox]

Oh yes, definitely groups are best. In my last garden I had a small "hummock" of ground and places 22 troughs over and around it. Before they were planted it looked very similar to Edinburgh Castle.

[Graham Catlow]

I will have to go out and collect the names of the penstemons - there are many. I may be gone some time but will get back to you.

Hi Anne,
Here is the list; in troughs unless otherwise stated
Penstemons -
rupicola - creeps and the old parts die off but never does well and only a few flowers occassionally.
rupicola albus - new
campanulatus pulchellus
laetus roezlii
procerus var. formosus - not doing well so I have just moved it.
procerus var. brachyanthus (in the rock garden)
davidsonii microphyllus
serratus (in the rock garden)
hirsutus pygmaeus - struggling
kunthii (trough and rock garden)
cyaneus
digitalis 'Huskers Red'
whippleanus (in the rock garden)

Not all do well and I have found that I need to dig up procerus var. brachyanthus and serratus every two years to remove the old plants and rejuvunate them with the rooted layers. This produces good flowering the next year then I start again.

Phlox:
austromontana - not flowered yet
Phlox douglasii 'Ochsenblut' - bought last week
Phlox subulata 'McDaniels Cushion'

Graham

[astragalus]

Hi Graham
Thanks for the list.  Penstemon procerus v formosus is a wonderful plant that will remain "trough-sized".  The flowers are such a lovely blue and it seems to be one of the penstemons that does not need to be in sun all day.  Mine gets half day sun and is quite happy.  It also propagates very easily because you can layer it.  Try and find a way to make it happy - it's a really rewarding plant. Penstemon spatulatus is another trough-sized penstemon and quite beautiful.  I sympathize with the struggles with P. rupicola.  It's never liked my garden no matter where I tried it.  Pity, because it's such a lovely splash of color.  You are growing a nice selection.
Unless your troughs are huge, you might want to look for some of the western phlox.  Almost any subulata type wants to take over the world.  The easiest of the westerners seem to be Phlox pulvinata and P. hendersonii.  Also P. diffusa if you can supply the moisture.  I think Alan Bradshaw of Alplains Seeds usually has a good representation of the western phlox.  You get very few seeds and they are expensive but every one germinated for me so it was worth it.  He also has a lot of penstemon seeds, one of the rarest being P. debilis, quite beautiful and trough-sized.

[Graham Catlow]

Hi Anne,
Thanks for the advice. I will look out for spatulatus and the phloxes pulvinata and hendersonii.
I should have said that McDaniels cushion is in the rock garden and needs controlling from time to time.

A nice selection of troughs Cliff. Quite a variety of styles, where all of mine are brown glazed troughs. I do hope your Lewisia experiment works.

I have another couple of combination troughs. The first (photos 1,2,&3), I showed last year just after I constructed it. There is no theme to the planting.

The second (photos 4,5 &6) I have not shown before. It is on the north side of the house on a curved wall. The gaps between the three troughs have a cylinder of butyl (pond), liner between them, planted up, and the fronts are disguised with pieces of logs. The troughs are decorated with moss covered tree branches, old tree stumps and elm burrs. It receives sun in May, June and July from about 4.00pm.
Plant list
Dactylhorizas, Epipactis, ferns, Primulas, Fritillaria, Dodecathons, dwarf Rhododendrons, hosta, Hepaticas, Saxifraga, Narcissus, Erythronium, Corydalis, and probably somethings I can't think of.

[astragalus]

What a creative way to use troughs!  I like all of them.  Please keep posting pictures as the plants bloom.

[olegKon]

Aquilegia scopulorum in a trough

[ChrisB]

Oleg, that's a lovely aquilegia....

[ChrisB]

Graham,  that's a very interesting way to exhibit using bricks, I really like that.  If I can find a suitable spot, I'm going to give it a go.  So easy too.  Did you stick them together with cement or just leave them loose?

[Tim Ingram]

Graham - I am really struck by your shade troughs. They contain all the plants that are so difficult to grow down here in the south. We have never had many troughs but now have the opportunity to buy a collection of them (not stone I hasten to add!) and I am greatly encouraged that this would allow a whole lot of new plants to succeed in shady corners of the garden. How many do I need? I was aiming for 10 or 15 but now Lesley has had 22 and Cliff - I'm not sure how many are there but quite a few? (How many people stop outside the gate and peer over at all those treasures?). The lady whose troughs I am considering had around 60(!) and some very nice plants in many of them. But 60 might break the bank! (as well as the back).

[Maggi Young]

At least one hundred troughs around here, Tim. From the carved, painted fish boxes, through cement to sandstone and granite.... from little chaps less than a foot square  to bigger ones, six feet by three  ... you really cannot have too many!

Even just using the polystyrene ones to grow on seedlings or cuttings is a great way to be able to move them arround to get sun, hide from sun, whatever is required. thene there is the joy of all the little gardens, habitats  and climates that one can create permantently ( or near enough so) in troughs.... best things since sliced bread!

[ranunculus]

How many do I need? I was aiming for 10 or 15 but now Lesley has had 22 and Cliff - I'm not sure how many are there but quite a few? (How many people stop outside the gate and peer over at all those treasures?).

Hi Tim,
Actually amazingly few ... we are at the end of a cul-de-sac walkway and only our immediate neighbours and their very occasional visitors go past and peer.  We get prolonged glances from leaflet distributors, parcel delivery men and carol singers, but they all have weightier priorities.  LOL.
I agree with Maggi ... get as many as you can afford Tim ... you don't need to fill them all at once and they come in for all manner of purposes.  I have 18 of all sizes (mainly genuine stone) in a very tiny garden.

[ChrisB]

Tim - I'd always find a spot for another trough, they are indespensible and like Maggi says, they can be moved easily to accommodate the plants requirements.  Clearly you have different conditions in the south than us folks up north, so most of mine hardly ever get watered.  The ones in the fish boxes seem to do extremely well, I think its the insulation provided by the box, to keep the roots cool in summer and warmer in winter, that makes them so good for alpines.  Good luck and keep us posted on what you get and what you do with them!