And the winner of the June Photo Challenge is…

Congratulations to Michael Larkin ( plantman56 ) of Harrisburg , PA for his win entry to the June Photo Challenge : https://www.finegardening.com / item/9540 / alpine - garden

To see more of Michael ’s hypertufa containers , visit his webshots record album : http://home - and - garden.webshots.com / album/72936426UnvInU?start=24

We ask Michael to tell us a little about his experience as a gardener , and specifically about his alpine container garden :

“ I have been garden for more than 30 geezerhood . My home gardens are fill with all build and size of conifers : weeping , vertical , prostrate and toy . As I ran out of space in my yard , container gardening was a way to cover with my irresistible impulse to have more plants .

I started make containers about 15 year ago after visiting large showing garden at a Nursery in Oregon . I was on a garden tour with the American Conifer Society , and saw some unusually Harlan Fiske Stone - like containers that were imbed with some really striking miniature coniferous tree and alpine plants . I was hook . I found out that the containers were made of hypertufa ( Portland cement , peat and perlite ) After a piddling research and some trial and erroneousness I was able to create these stone like containers for my garden . My current garden now contains a variety of unlike size hypertufa container , filled with conifers and alpines .

My alpine container garden was make quite by accident . I was endeavor to make a hollow concrete sector but it never made it to windup . To make the sphere ( finally this container ) , I used a small child ’s synthetic rubber orb and covered it with a mixture of Portland cementum , sand and a minuscule terracotta cementum dye . About half direction around the ball I stopped applying the mixture . I should have cease making the sphere , but it was my first attack and I gave up too early . I removed the glob and the effect was this container .

I delight wanton guardianship container . The plants in this container take little upkeep . Sedum sieboldii‘Variegatum ’ is planted in the upper center , a variety ofSempervivumsandSedum dasyphyllumin the scurvy center . The container requires well - drain soil . I make my own container soil using pine park mulct , backbone , peat , perlite and Turface . voice like a lot of workplace but it works great , for this and just about any container garden . ”

Congratulations , Michael !

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