Make your own rustic container

During a garden visit a few years ago, I admired some alpine troughs. The rustic containers, which looked like stone, were actually handmade hypertufa that anyone could make, or so the gardener said.

He didn't know me. I have little skill--okay, none--in the building department.
When I protested, this gardener assured me making hypertufa was as easy as playing in the dirt.

That, I'm good at.

I've since discovered I'm pretty good at making hypertufa pots, too. And if I can do it, trust me, anyone can.

Hypertufa containers are simple, cheap and high on charm. Made from portland cement (pure, not pre-mixed cement), peat moss and vermiculite, they're popular in England. There, the mix is traditionally shaped into rectangular alpine troughs 60 to 90 centi-metres long, but hypertufa can be fashioned into a dizzying number of sizes and shapes, from small, classic garden pots and shallow containers to alpine troughs to large, flaring bowls.

Making a hypertufa container--from making the form until it's ready to plant--takes about three weeks. The most time-consuming part (other than shopping and gathering supplies) is forming the container itself. That takes about an hour. From there, it's just a matter of letting the hypertufa cure before filling it with plants.

If you're making the containers in winter, you'll need a well-ventilated area like a basement or garage that can take a little mess and a little bit of barnyard smell as the pots cure. These pots are attractive enough to give away (if you can part with them) and so easy to construct that you can let kids get in on the action.

What you'll need:

• wheelbarrow for mixing (or another large container) and rubber gloves
• heavy plastic (garbage bags opened up are fine)
• a mould (myriad possibilities, such as old pots, Styrofoam coolers and their lids; we used an old dishwashing basin)
• sheet of plywood or other flat surface for a temporary base
• peat moss, vermiculite, portland cement and fibremesh (optional)
• several short lengths of wooden dowel or some sticks
• wire brush and carpenter's file
• dust mask (optional, but useful if you have dust allergies)