Container gardening.

When digging in a corner of our plot, sixteen years ago, we came across thirteen animal feeding-troughs, which had lain buried for many years. It was a huge find for us, not only because of the historic value of the troughs, but also in terms of their monetary value, as we had seen similar ones with an asking price of £100 each.

As we wanted to use them as plant containers, the first thing my husband had to do was to drill drainage holes. This proved more difficult than he had envisaged and it was after having broken several drill-bits, and, as a consequence, having invested in a more powerful drill that he finally achieved success.

After sharing a few troughs with our family, we decided to use some of the remainder for planting up alpines, and the rest for growing annual bedding plants and Spring and Summer bulbs. The alpine troughs, a great addition to our garden, create features of interest while the Summer bedding brings a splash of colour.