Where bolts, eye-hooks, etc. are to be set through or imbedded
in the concrete of the trough, they must be set in position when
the trough is being made, in a similar way to the drainage holes.
GARDEN PROTECTION
The alpine sink garden in the Town Garden of the British
Broadcasting Corporation has a glass protection for inclement
weather such as very cold wind, frost and London "smog" and
expert Roy Hay advocates similar protection for new growths
and all but the most hardy of plants.
A really excellent weather-guard can be made quite easily
from light wood and "Windolite". The latter is a transparent
light-weight, unbreakable material that can usefully be substituted for glass and is handled without difficulty by the amateur.
Glass is, perhaps, preferable, but involves more difficulty in construction and is so easily broken. Fig. 21 illustrates the idea
which can, of course, be adapted to suit individual ideas. The
top can be either of a tented or a lean-to design, or a round garden
cover can be made on a foundation of hoops of suitable size. In
any case the "roof" section should be sufficiently aslant so that
snow or rain runs off freely.
Normally, the cover should not be made to fit the edge of the
garden but to overhang it slightly and permit fresh air to circulate
from below into the garden.
A protective "Windolite" weather-guard similar to that described above can be readily made to a modified design to fit
any window-box, where it can be retained in position by a simple
arrangement of stiff wire struts.
A more elaborate development of this idea is the construction
of a permanent "window glasshouse", which can be most useful
for flat dwellers or those without any other garden facilities,
especially if they wish to raise some of the really choice plants.
The shape of such a glasshouse can be that of a box-like structure
with a lean-to roof. It should be of reasonably rigid and strong
construction to withstand normal hazards, and synthetic or unbreakable glass is to be preferred. A glasshouse of this type is
excellent for fitting outside a window of the sash type, where it
can be arranged so that one has only to lift the window to attend
to the garden. Other types of window involve a little more difficulty. In one instance where the window is of a hinged type, an
enthusiast has fitted his "glasshouse" outside the fixed half of the
window, removing part of the window-pane and replacing it with
a removable glass panel which is held in position with turn-buttons.
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