Creating a harmonious rocky composition is often very difficult for gardeners. However, the desire to have such an interesting element of landscape design usually overcomes the uncertainty of the result. At the very beginning, let’s decide what kind of rocky garden is more close to you in spirit, corresponds to your climatic, soil conditions and personal opportunities.
Stones in the garden
“Rock garden”, “hill”, “rocky hill”, “Alpine hill”, “rocky garden” – all these terms of landscape architecture imply compositions in which plants are freely combined with stones. Stones in them represent constancy, immobility, immutability. At any time of the year they emphasize the changeable beauty of plants.
The term “rock garden” is usually used to refer to compositions of stones with plants-climbers associated with their origin with the Alpine belt of mountains. Most often, such compositions are created in Botanical gardens, where they mimic the mountains. It is more accurate and expressive to designate them with the term “rockery” – spectacular groups of plants of different origin on the background of stones.
Rockeries are diverse in size, device, assortment of plants presented in them. The following types of rockeries are known.
Rockery-rocky hill
The basis of the slide is laid any debris accumulated on the site, soil from under the Foundation, etc. the height of the slide should be small (maximum 2 m), as otherwise it is difficult to care for plants. On the surface of the hill laid fertile soil. On high slides, occupying a significant area, you can use large stones, on small-small, do not violate the proportions. Obliquely dig stones on the surface of the flowerbed, creating an imitation of a rock outcrop. They will create a miniature landscape and provide shade to plants and cool roots.
You can use rounded stones (pebbles) of different sizes and colors, and between them small, suitable for rock garden plants. During the construction of the hill, further difficulties were laid in its maintenance. Son, son, son sonchus, aegopodium podagraria, elytrigia, etc. Rhizomes permeate the entire soil, go under the stones, where they become inaccessible to the gardener. Perennial weeds-the problem of such slides. In addition, the slopes of the hill dry up quickly, and the plants planted here require constant watering.
Rockeries — terraces
In this case, the task of the gardener-skillfully create steps terraces, from narrow (for example, stairs, where the width of the steps is 25-30 cm) to wide (up to 2 m). Steps are built on a slope or near a stone fence, on the edge of the site. The depth of the steps should be at least 25 cm.. The steps consist of the Lower drainage layer (crushed stone, expanded clay, etc.) and the upper-of fertile soil. They have a retaining wall. Every step is a flower garden.
Especially interesting on the terraces look plants with hanging shoots (Lathyrus African species, Jaskolka, chistets, etc.). In a small layer of soil, which quickly dries up, promising drought-resistant plants such as cloves, Corolla, stemless thorn, Liatris, small Hemerocallis, sagebrush, low leaves, forming a dense cushion of sunflowers.
Retaining and dry rocky wall
Sax, in which small plants are planted, growing well in a limited amount of soil (saxifrage, Sedum, Oenothera, Campanula rupestris, Sempervivum, etc.). Dry wall spread without the use of lime solution, filling the gaps between the stones with garden soil or planting mixture, where various plants are planted.
There are 2 types of dry rocky walls: bilateral-from two rows of stones, between which the soil is poured; retaining and, which is arranged around a flower bed or as the Foundation of the terrace. It is better to order a double-Sided wall to a professional Mason, but a retaining wall is quite capable of building any gardener. For masonry use limestone or Sandstone, it is much easier to work with designed for dry wall slabs of artificial stone.
Rockery on the plane
The advantage of such a flower garden is that the gardener sees it as if from above, completely embracing all its beauty with his eyes. This type of rockeries fit well into the flat landscape, differ in natural beauty. Flower beds with boulders remind of the Northern regions, where boulders are the remnants of the ice age, determining the emotional mood of the landscape.
An important advantage of this rockery is the relative ease of construction and maintenance, as well as the fact that it provides a more comfortable existence of plants. Here they are less prone to drying and freezing.
Under the rockery allocate the sunniest, prominent, ceremonial section of the garden. Most often, its area does not exceed 10-15 m², as this is enough to reflect the variety of shapes and colors of both plants and stones, to give the flower garden effect without great expense. Previously, it is necessary in accordance with your taste and capabilities to draw a plan of the rockery and mark on it the location of stones and planting plants.
The selected area is well leveled, cleaned of perennial weeds. On places where stones will be laid out, stack the film perforated in several places for a water drain. On this film (it prevents growth of weeds under stones) stack stones.
Interesting areas covered with the so-called inert layer (gravel, pebbles, sand, etc.). This layer is laid on the film too, otherwise it will be difficult to defeat the weeds. Between the stones, but so as not to close them, plants are planted. Special attention should be paid to plants with the original form of the Bush, stably decorative (preferably evergreen), low, not able to form thickets.
In such flower beds look great Bergenia, Viola cornuta, Little Lanterns, Iris pumila, Pulmonaria saccharata, Aster alpinus, Geranium sanguineum, Geum coccineum, Oenothera missouriensis.
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