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Please tell me about alpine gardens!

4 replies

hereidrawtheline · 21/02/2009 18:36

I am making a miniature magical garden for my DS as a surprise & I am using alpines as I have always wanted to garden with them. But I have never done alpine gardening before! Any top tips or essentials I should know about? Such as best containers, anything really!

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Pannacotta · 21/02/2009 18:45

Lovely idea!
I know its important to have good drainage (lots of grit I think). WOudl have thought stone or terracotta woudl be best container wise rather than plastic.
WHy not borrow a book from the library or get a second hand one from Amazon?

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hereidrawtheline · 21/02/2009 19:00

thank you! I got some little plastic trays for it but on looking at them now they are way too small so will buy something more suitable tomorrow (hopefully!) at a garden centre. I cant decide whether or not to have it indoors or outdoors. I was at the library yesterday I wish I had thought of looking for a book!

I got a tiny little terracotta tray thingy for 25p to set into the earth to make a little pond within the garden. And I am getting some sort of creature for it tomorrow though I havent decided what. Might be a dinosaur. I am not sure yet! It has to seem magical.

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Pannacotta · 22/02/2009 09:40

You could keep it indoors for now and move it outside once its warm.

You can get some really unusual sedum plants with stange leaves/flowers which woudl look good with the little pond.

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hereidrawtheline · 23/02/2009 08:04

I still havent totally settled where it will be put yet! But I got my plants. 9 of them! And some pretty silvery black rock chip things for the top and some blue glass crystal looking things as decoration. And I broke my terracotta dish for the pond which turned out to be a blessing as I got instead a set of 6 old gold bowls for £5.00 - 5 smaller bowls & 1 big serving bowl. I am using one of the smaller bowls as the new pond, its deeper and as its gold & the glass is made with swirlies in it it will look much more magical.

And last but not least I am bidding on tiny brass buddha & 2 sleeping dragons to sit in the garden! I dont want him to see it til its all done & put together so I am holding off planting it up til the statues arrive. I bought a big hexagonal wooden planter for it but then remembered I have a big german tub out in the garden so I am trying to decide which style suits the garden better. The decoration is mostly shiny stuff so I am thinking perhaps the silver coloured tub thing? But the wooden one is nice too. Not sure! I cant wait though! DS will love it! Knowing him he will be so excited he wont be able to look at it for a while!