Garden Buildings, Garden Tools and Equipment > Alpine Houses

Why, wherefore and whatever!

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NightHawk:
Wow, sorry to hear about that atrocious weather there Toby.  :o  Glad you got back okay.

I think as far as the law goes in Britain, you are not allowed to pick any plants in the wild.  You are only allowed to collect seeds, and only then if you are licenced to do so.

Someone may correct me if I'm wrong.  ;)

As regards the other Alpine plant queries you have, I don't know enough about those to answer with any authority.  Maybe when Eric (Palustris) is up to it he will be able to come in and give you some better advice.  :)

Laurie.

P.S. Are you going to start up the 'Garden Funnies' for us again?

Palustris:
Sorry to hear the weather was not good.
I will answer your plant queries as part of the ongoing ' essay'. But for the moment check out the American Rock Garden Society. they have a very good seed list. Also Rocky mountain Plants (used to be called, may have changed recently) and a chap called Ron Ratsco, for both American and elsewhere plants and seeds.

bossgard:
Eric: There is a North American Rock Garden Society http://www.nargs.org/seed/exchange.html that looks like it will be a great source for us in the US. Will await your ongoing ?essay?. Many thanks.
- Toby

Palustris:
Structures.

The needs of the plants in a way decide the type of structure. All they really need is a roof over their heads. Since they need good light, the roof needs to be transparent. Glass is the traditional material, but polycarbonate sheeting is gaining popularity.

Since these plants often grow in very windy conditions then ventilation is the next consideration. Either it should have a lot of opening windows (or lights as they are sometimes called) or have no sides at all. This has the effect of creating a wind tunnel. Even the slightest air movement is funnelled through a sideless structure. There is a safety consideration in that wind can cause tremendous damage if it can get into a structure, but not get out.

The wind also brings in with it the water which we are trying to avoid, so the sides really need to extend to just above the height of the plants.

It cannot be stressed enough that ventilation is the be all and end all of an Alpine plant house.

There are few worries about cold so the sides can  be left permanent;y open.

The material from which the house is constructed needs to be strong enough to support the glass/polycarbonate, but not so thick that it creates shadows. It also needs to be easily cleanable. I think that aluminum is better for an alpine house than the more traditional red cedar.

Another consideration is siting. Obviously it needs to be placed in full sun. The ridge should run North/South or as close as possible. This ensures equal amounts of light on both sides of the house.

As far as I know no one sells a dedicated glass house for growing alpines. The nearest thing is an Access Frame. These are like a small glasshouse, say a metre long by two metres wide and a metre and a half tall. All the sides can be opened to allow in air. These are ideal for the smaller garden where only a few plants are intended to be grown.



Otherwise, altering an ordinary aluminum glass house is the answer. It is really rather easy. Buy some extra roof openings and do not put in the top panes of glass. To prevent the ingress of birds and cats the empty spaces can be covered in bird netting.



Final word. Daft as it seems having said all that about light, there are times when some shading is needed. There are various ways of doing this, from shade netting to polystyrene sheets. Even with open sides and extra roof vents, it can get extremely hot in there. Shade netting over the top keeps the glass cooler so the house stays cooler. Polystyrene sheeting placed a short distance above the plants keeps them cool. Another method is to use wooden slats which can be placed across the roof, a little like venetian blinds.

Next is furnishing the interior.

NightHawk:
That's a brilliant and very detailed explanation Eric.  I'm learning a lot from this.  8)

Good photos to accompany your text as well.

Looking forward to hearing about the furnishings next.  :)

Keep up the great work.

Laurie.

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