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Welcome to

Hawthorn Alpine Troughs

We hope you will enjoy browsing our site. Please use the tabs above to view our products, and don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or queries you may have.

Who are we and what do we do?

We are a family run business based in Central Scotland, specialising in individually hand cast garden stoneware. Our items range from bird baths to bench seats, but our unique area of expertise is alpine container gardening. These alpine troughs can be best described as self-contained miniature rock gardens.

Attractive and distinctive, they make pleasing additions to any garden, patio, balcony or doorstep, and no matter where located will add a vibrant touch of colour all the year through. We also produce several other planters and creative garden accessories.

Over the last few years we have been present at a number of horticultural and garden shows across the country. Please see the section to the right for details upcoming events, we hope you will be able to come and see us. More about the business.

Read on for details on the alpines we plant and the garden containers we produce, including the options available should you wish to place an order.

The Boulder, Rugged and Mountain troughs

News

10th February 2008 - The Year Ahead

Please see below for updated details of the shows we will be attending this year.

16th September 2007 - Naturally Fife Winners

We're delighted to have once again been awarded a gold medal for our trade stand display at the 2007 Naturally Fife Festival.   Our thanks go to the show organisers for a well run event.

Sat 29th March - Sun 30th March 2008

Royal Caledonian Spring Flower Show, Edinburgh

Sat 19th April - Sun 20th April 2008

Dundee Spring Garden Show, Camperdown Park

Sat 17th May 2008

Perth Gardeners' Market, City Centre

Fri 30th May - Sun 1st June 2008

Gardening Scotland, Ingliston

Sat 14th June 2008 (Cancelled)

Perth Gardeners' Market, City Centre

Thu 19th June - Sun 22nd June 2008

Royal Highland Show, Ingliston

Sat 19th July 2008

Perth Craft Market, City Centre

Fri 8th August - Sun 10th August 2008

Ayr Flower Show, Rozelle Estate

Sat 23rd August 2008

Perth Plant & Craft Market, City Centre

Fri 5th September - Sun 7th September 2008

Dundee Flower & Food Festival, Camperdown Park

Sat 29th November - Sun 30th November 2008

Perth Craft Market, City Centre

Alpine plants originate from specific mountainous regions where they managed to prosper in cold, harsh and difficult conditions. These types of plants are therefore ideal for use in trough gardening, being compact and slow growing enough to manage in conveniently sized containers, and hardy enough to survive the variances of the UK climate.

Our Alpines

Our troughs are planted by an experienced horticulturist who sources alpines of only the highest standard. We also grow several of the varieties ourselves in our own nursery. The alpines to the left are some of those we use.

Each of our troughs is arranged uniquely, featuring a choice selection of interesting and complimentary alpines. They are top dressed with a combination of slate/shale stone, gravels and aggregates, recreating the picturesque mountain screed environment from which these plants originated. The alpines are planted in an appropriate alpine compost mix which will sustain them for a number of years.

All troughs have drainage holes and are effectively self-maintaining, though will require some watering in periods of very dry weather to keep them at their best.

Saxifraga x boydii 'Nottingham'

Aubrietia deltoidea 'Kitte'

Solidago virgaurea minima

Our troughs are replicas of original stone troughs, retaining all of their rugged charm. We do not use resins or hypertufa, but instead a mixture of sharp sands and high quality cement. This results in a durable and frost proof trough which will remain so for many years to come.

A new trough will weather naturally and gather lichens and mosses over time, soon becoming indistinguishable from its original stone ancestor.

Options

We produce our stoneware in the colours shown to the right, though please understand as each casting mix is different, there may be some variation in the exact shade.

Our troughs are available in many sizes and styles, from the largest Traditional Farm trough at nearly a metre long, to the compact Rock trough at a quarter of that. Along with our planters, they can also be purchased unplanted should you wish to create your own arrangement.

Each of our alpine troughs is one of a kind, with a character and individuality all of its own. If you are looking for something that bit different for your home, give container gardening a go and place an order with us today.