Rocky Garden. Creation Of A Rock Garden

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

How to create a beautiful decorative object on your site

In the November issue of the magazine, there was a short article about the creation of the simplest alpine slide - without unnecessary costs, without great loss of time and special efforts. Today we will talk about creating a rocky garden according to all the laws of landscape design.

So, if you have at your disposal a sufficient number of successful natural stones, as well as a desire to change something in your summer cottage, then you can use boulders to create a small corner of nature by building a comfortable place in the garden, an amazing natural rocky garden.

The Rocky Garden is an original modern garden design technique that simulates a mountainous boulder field after ancient glaciers - a modern interpretation of an alpine slide. The best place for a rocky garden is an area with full sunlight, although it can be created in the shade and in a wet or dry place.

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If there are no stones on your site, then this is not a problem - in the Leningrad region, on the sides of many fields and along the roads, you can find a lot of boulders of various shapes and sizes. Farmers, clearing the fields, took them to the side of the road so as not to spoil the expensive equipment. Collected stones can be brought to the site and set up a "natural" mountainous garden. It can also be a rocky slide if there is a natural slope.

To create a rocky garden, you can use inconveniences on the site: slopes, ruins of old structures, foundations, bulk cellars, use retaining walls, terraces. You can artificially build a slide near a residential building or create a separate hill, embankment or rampart from all kinds of solid, strong, drained trash. For the construction of an embankment, a hill, unnecessary pieces of trees, branches, stones, metal cans, etc. can be used. For good drainage, gravel or sand is poured on top. Above is the earth with a layer of at least 25-30 cm.

The stones holding the shaft are arranged to have a dual function. Located along the embankment (hill, rampart), they keep the soil from shedding from the inclined surface and ensure the drainage of water, which is necessary for plants. The shaft must be sufficiently damp, but not wet. It is best to use stones of the same size. It is desirable that the embankments be no higher than 60 cm. Their foundations should be reinforced with stones that create a contour and prevent the soil from falling apart.

Place smaller stones between the larger stones. They will help retain water and avoid soil erosion. The slope of the sides of the embankment, hill, rampart should be no more than 2.5 cm for every 30 cm. This slope of the slopes better restrains water from plants. At the same time, they bask in the sun.

The advantage of a slide, a hill, a shaft is not height, as is often believed, but naturalness, proportionality and thoughtful composition. At any time of the year, rocky gardens should look spectacular not only due to the plants, but also due to the beautifully laid stones. The garden looks natural if the stones are evenly spaced. Lay the elongated stones first, create a structure from suitable boulders. Place additional smaller stones evenly between them. Do not forget to securely reinforce the stones at the foot of the structure.

Avoid placing stones with sharp corners up. Hide them in the soil in the way you see it in nature. Lay them so that only part of them protrudes from the ground. Tilt stones that protrude from the slope slightly back. They will hold back water by accumulating it in the soil.

For the favorable development of future mountain plants, it will be necessary to create special planting places or use existing holes, crevices, terraces. A well-drained land set between stones and exposed to sunlight is ready to welcome alpine inhabitants. Some of them nestle comfortably in the gloom of the stones, where their roots receive the accumulated moisture.

Here are the plants that are widely used all over the world for rocky gardens: edelweiss, saxifrage, miniature auricular primroses, pulsatilla (dream-grass), aquilegia, arabis, armeria, obrieta, corydalis (corialis), iberis, cinquefoil (potentilla), Carpathian bells, carnation (dianthus), gravilat (geum), gypsophila, soapwort, scabiosa, anaphalis, sedum, creeping willows, cushion drabs.

Bulbous crops are also appropriate here - crocuses, fritillaria, undersized irises, daffodils, tulips.

The design flaws of the rocky garden are made up for by a few coniferous bushes that symbolize the tops of the mountains. These plants are evergreen and complement the structure of the garden throughout the year. Rocky gardens with a background of juniper or pine are good. The secret to the success of a rocky garden lies not only in the successful selection, location and stability of stones, but also in the correct selection of plants. The rocky garden involves the planting of plants typical of mountainous regions. But other plants were also listed above, resembling mountain plants in appearance. Growing among stones on sparse soil, they imitate a picture of mountains. The plants planted among the stones are adapted to the harsh conditions. They usually appear as small bunches, rugs, groups of exquisite flowers and leaves. Their height and individual beauty provide a color change.

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Between the boulders, creeping conifers, undersized showy rhododendrons, heathers and eriks, junipers, thuja, plants that can be formed in a spherical, horizontal or weeping form can be placed. Dwarf varieties of barberries, spirits, cotoneaster, magonia, etc. are widely used.

In the vicinity of woody plants, curtains of undersized ground cover plants look great: gentian, saxifrage, edelweiss, rejuvenated, scyllas, chionodox, crocuses, styloid phlox, thyme, yaskolka, sedum. Mosses, especially evergreens, varying in color and texture, are desirable plants in rocky gardens. They look great near rocks and around the edges of compositions.

In shady places among mosses, you can place shade-tolerant ferns, kupen, and clefthoof. Ground cover plants with dense roots and shoots hold the soil well on steep slopes. All plants in rocky gardens are planted in isolation from each other - in independent groups. But at the same time, they are all part of a single composition. Alpine plants need moderate moisture in the soil, but they are resistant to extreme conditions during drought. The soil should be low to moderately nutritious. In rich and waterlogged soil, plants rot or lose their natural forms - compactness, pubescence, color. Properly prepared soil for most stony garden plants contains one third of sand or fine gravel, one third of peat or leaf compost, and one third of clay soil. Most mountain plants prefer a slightly acidic and slightly alkaline reaction.

Usually, there is no such soil in finished form on the site. It should be corrected or specially prepared to suit the specifics of the garden. Gravel soil usually does not need improvement. In rocky gardens, the best stones are porous, such as layered limestone, sandstone, especially clayey, calcareous dolomite and tuff. They create comfortable moisture and air permeable conditions for alpine plants, as they absorb moisture, retain plant roots and create an imitation of rocks. They are warm. Plants are comfortable around them. They grow well here. Stones such as marble, basalt and granite look decorative, but they are inconvenient for plants, since the decorativeness of marble disappears over time, and they are all heavy and cold. The soil around them quickly acidifies.

Planting plants in rocky gardens is best with seedlings or young seedlings. It is necessary to carefully spread and spread the roots in the planting place. Make sure there are no air pockets in the soil. It is worth checking if there is enough soil on the slope. Sometimes the roots of plants are wrapped in moss before planting and placed in a gap, and then all the free space is filled with earth. In the upper part of the slide, plants falling down look spectacular. These cascades, falling down the slope, form a beautiful waterfall of flowers and leaves in the foreground. But in any case, avoid too tight landings.

You can sow seeds by mixing them with soil, which fills the crevices. The roots of developing plants will penetrate deep into the crevices. Some flowers in the composition reproduce by self-seeding. Since most plants in rocky gardens are small and slow growing, they are susceptible to weed attack. Regular hand weeding is required. In winter, in the absence of snow, plants can suffer from frost. It is advisable to cover them with any branches to contain snow, attaching the shelters to the ground. Plants can suffer not only from frost. Dampness during thaws in winter or in rainy weather in summer, if the water does not drain, but stagnates on the surface, poses a great danger to them.

In early spring, you should carefully remove the shelter, remove dry leaves. On bushes it is necessary to cut off the broken branches and growing in the center of the bush. At the same time, you can add fresh soil to the bases of the plants. The same must be done if bald spots appear in the center of individual curtains or in groups of plants. This will help them recover and regain their original beautiful appearance.

A well-built rocky flower garden can serve as the main decorative object of the site. It is appropriate for a lawn, a well-groomed path, a pond and is an element of a prestigious garden.