1. Find an empty fish box. If you don't live near a fishing port, ask at your local fishmonger or supermarket

2. Roughen the outside of the box and round off the corners with a wire brush. Carefully make a few 1 cm. holes in the bottom if there are none there already.

3. Brush off any loose particles, then coat the surface with a suitable colour of masonry paint.

4. Place a few crocks over the holes and fill the trough with a gritty soil mix; 3/4 John Innes No.2 and 1/4 grit would be fine. Add a carefully chosen rock or two.

5. Plant the trough with small and fairly slow growing alpines from your local Garden Centre or Nurseryman. Stand the trough on a pair of bricks and top-dress the surface with gravel.

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