Aside from the roaring 60's when rock garden's enjoyed a brief reprise in fame and glamour, the traditional alpine garden has been on the decline for decades. Across Britain, those inheriting gardens of late have been dismantling rockeries in their thousands, throwing out all that old, stale soil and discarding all those boulders and stones that were so carefully placed. I have to admit - I'm not a huge fan of rockeries on a small scale either. However, that shouldn't be a reason not to grow some of the stunning alpine plants available...hence why making a small alpine garden/rockery in a container is ideal!

A container alpine garden.

The Butlers Sink

The first time I visited the family farmland - having not been there for decades - I discovered some old building materials had been dumped by the new owners of the holiday lets. I wasn't mad. In fact, far from it...I jumped right in and started to see what I could find.

When I saw the Butler's sinks, my heart leapt. Yes, they were cracked and chipped, worn and torn, and would be useless as an actual sink. BUT - perfect for the gardener in me! They're darn heavy things though, so I only actually managed to get two into the car and back home. And so began the two new mini-alpine gardens.

Planting

Setting up is pretty fun, though as you can see, the first step is to get the dogs out of the sink! Then add well-drained soil (preferably mixed with gravel and perlite), set up your stones and rocks, pop in the plants and dress with more gravel.

Perfect. I seem to have planted a dog.

Fill with a soil, gravel and perlite mix.

A selection of plants - some new, some scavenged. Also some gorgeous iris reticulata bulbs.

Setting out the rocks and the largest plant - a hebe in the corner to give some focus.

Plants are all in.

Top dress with gravel and, voila, done!

Over the past few years the plants have grown exceedingly well. The iris reticulata was absolutely stunning this spring, and as you can see, the other Butler's sink is now also planted up and positioned behind.

Two Butler's sinks up and planted.

The flowers this year have been wonderful.

Iris reticulata flowering this past February.

What a beauty!

Succulents spread across the rocks.

A miniature forest of sedum trees poking up through wooly thyme undergrowth

Sedum, lemon thyme, wooly thyme and a house leek poking through.

They've really come into their own. And the thing I really love about them? Because they're gardens on the miniature you have to stop, stoop and take them in to really notice everything. It's a great way of finding a few quiet minutes! There are TWO MORE sinks at the farm...I guess I have another project for this winter!

Thanks for reading!
Geoff

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