What is rock garden and rockery?
Recently, rock gardens have become more and more popular in landscape design. And how could it be otherwise, because such compositions are as close as possible to natural conditions. Moreover, they look very beautiful. What is a rock garden and what can it be made of?
Characteristic features of the rock garden
The rock garden is an artificially created large-scale structure of stones of various sizes with plants of alpine origin growing on it, which gave the name to the composition. Ideally, the relief of the rock garden should repeat the mountain, consist of massive stones and have several levels, among which vegetation is planted.
However, the popularity of such a design element has long gone beyond those latitudes where the Alpines actually grow. Since such plants require special climatic conditions, today instead of them, other species are often used that are already adapted to local growing conditions. Among them are compact conifers, bulbous flowers and even dwarf trees.
You can also make a rock garden in small areas - in this case, its scale is more modest, and it is called alpine slide... If the stones are not arranged in tiers and if you plant among them not Alpines, but other representatives capable of dwelling in rocky terrain, this will already be a rockery.
What stones can I use?
The rocky rock for the rock garden is selected based on the local landscape so that the composition looks as natural as possible. It is better to use stones with the same structure and appearance, especially large ones.
Most often, a rock garden is built from such stones:
- sandstone;
- granite;
- slate;
- limestone.
How to choose plants?
When choosing vegetation for a rock garden, you should combine colors correctly. It is good if the plants have something in common with stones, such as yellowish sandstone and yellow arboreal spurge. Contrasting colors also work well.
In addition, it is important to consider the height of the plants and the planting location so that they can be seen among the large boulders and they do not cover each other.
How to make a rock garden?
The ideal solution for creating a rock garden is the presence of a slope on the site. Otherwise, it is made artificially. To do this, lay out the first layer of large stones and fill the space inside with soil.
Before laying, cover the ground with newspapers or plastic wrap to suppress the growth of grass under the stones.
A second layer of boulders is placed on the poured soil and plants are planted between them. At the end, smaller stones are added and, at the end, the plantings are covered with mulch from small pebbles.