By arranging a spectacular rock garden with your own hands, you will transform a boring local area. The combination of natural stones, flowers and ornamental plants will make the usual country look bright and unique. Building a rock garden is a creative and exciting process. An interesting rocky landscape can be created even on a flat area. The main thing is that the plants take root and all the elements of the decorative composition are in harmony with each other.
Choosing a place for a rock garden
A composition of stones and plants can be created in almost any area of the site that is free from trees and shrubs, since large green spaces are not used in the design:
- do not place the rockery near the house; during a thaw, the composition can be damaged by layers of melting snow or ice blocks falling from the roof;
- it doesn’t matter if the rocky garden is located next to a fence; the landscape can be improved with climbing plants or a wall of bushes;
- It is desirable that the rock garden opens from anywhere in the garden and harmonizes with the landscape; spectacular flower beds are arranged near decorative ponds, streams, fountains;
- On a large area, a rocky garden is located near the recreation area.
Natural relief differences can be skillfully played out, but even on completely flat ground, a flower garden will be spectacular and charming if you put a piece of your soul into its creation Special attention pay attention to the choice of plants. If part of the site is located in the shade, use plants that do not need much sunlight.
We install stones and plant plants
The instructions for constructing a rock garden instruct you to create a plan for the future flower garden and mark out the territory of the site. Preparing the site for planting:
- We remove the turf (10-15 cm) to ensure sanitization of the area.
- We uproot weeds and roots.
- We cover the soil with geotextiles to reduce the growth of weeds;
- We fill it with fine gravel or brick chips and create an original mosaic background. Pour sand on top and compact it (see do-it-yourself rockery step-by-step photo).
DIY rockery. Photo
Plants for rock gardens are planted among natural stones and boulders. Spectacular stones of various sizes, but of the same type, are selected and installed in specially dug recesses. Fixed with crushed stone and soil. The center of the composition is made of large boulders and the most beautiful natural stones. To create a rock garden with your own hands, plants up to half a meter high are used, which will take root well on the site. They are selected so that the garden retains its beauty from spring until late autumn. First, large plants are planted, flowers and herbs are added to them. Ground cover is sown at the very end. After planting the plants, decorative crushed stone and small pebbles are laid out on the site.
Photos of rockeries with your own hands
Rockery styles
In global landscape design, there are various style solutions for creating rockeries:
Japanese style is characterized by an abundance of stones combined with a small number of bright flowers and ornamental plants. A popular stone is granite. This style reveals the beauty of wild stone. The exotic landscape is calming. It is extremely important to create a harmonious composition. Potted plants, Buddhist sculptures, tea tables, and cages with songbirds are appropriate here. Backlight is used. The designer must have refined taste and a sense of style. The Japanese garden gives you a sense of relaxation and you can meditate here.
English style- these are coniferous evergreens loved by conservative Britons that will delight you and your descendants. Cereals, decorative wormwood, flowers, and deciduous plants are used. The result is a classic English landscape.
European style. Plants adapted to the weather conditions of the middle zone are used here. Unpretentious wild flowers replace each other. Flowering perennials and small shrubs with bright foliage are planted. Create such a rock garden with your own hands at the dacha. You don't have to painstakingly worry about caring for your rocky garden.
Alpine slide- These are bulbous and coniferous plants that live in the mountainous regions of France, Switzerland, and Italy. Artificial waterfalls and springs are used as decorative elements.
There are other, no less interesting styles of rockeries. But the principle of creation is the same for everyone.
Types of rockeries:
You can create temporary rock garden with your own hands. It is easy to install on a flat area or on a slight slope. In the middle zone, seedlings of low shrubs take root well. When developing a planting scheme, take into account the size of an adult bush with a lush crown. While the plants are small, make temporary fill and place small stones. When the shrub grows, remove old stones and place large, dramatic boulders.
For device stable flower garden Large stones and boulders are needed. Small beautiful pebbles that can be grouped effectively will come in handy. Plants are planted in areas separated by stones. This will allow you to restrain uncontrolled growth and not destroy the created composition. It is easy to care for conifers, barberry, cinquefoil, and spirea.
It is better to arrange a changeable rockery on small area. The basis of the composition will be large, spectacular plants. Every year you can plant new flowers and ornamental grasses.
Mistakes when building a rock garden
A rocky garden will not look impressive and harmonious:
- if a bad place is chosen for its installation, for example, near a fence that you forgot to decorate with climbing plants;
- if the design uses elements that do not combine with each other and the surrounding landscape, the miniature garden will be lost in a large area;
- if boulders and stones are scattered chaotically throughout the area.
- create a central composition;
- figure out where to place each of the large boulders, how to group small pebbles so that the overall picture is pleasing to the eye;
- You should not build artificial borders.
Plants used in rock gardens:
- miniature conifers: dwarf cypress, low-growing juniper, spherical thuja, dwarf spruce and pine trees;
- low-growing shrub: cinquefoil, spirea, honeysuckle, barberry, mahonia, cotoneaster;
- unpretentious perennial flowers and ornamental grasses;
- bulbous and primroses: primroses, snowdrops, daffodils, tulips, muscari, cyclamens, irises;
- various grains;
- saxifrage, sedum, arabis, young, phlox, stone rose, decorative onion, moss.
A little more about stones
Natural stones for rockeries should be aesthetically attractive. They decorate the composition. For a classic rock garden, choose one breed. But a landscape where two or three types of stones are used, harmonizing in color and shape, will not lose out. Large boulders are fixed into the ground by a third or even half. When caring for plants, you will rely on them. After all the giants are successfully placed, small stones are laid out and pebbles, gravel, and crushed stone are filled in. Don't overdo it with stones, leave room for plants to grow freely.
Rockery care
How to care for a rock garden so that the lovingly created landscape retains its beauty? A rocky garden is not a flower bed. Plants that are resistant to the local climate and do not require daily care are selected for it. But from time to time the garden needs to be watered with a hose with a sprayer or using a watering can and fertilized occasionally. The soil is topped up every few years. It is better to cover the plants for the winter. Remove dried flowers and stems. If the plantings become too dense, the plants need to be thinned out. Photos of rockeries
DIY rockery. Video
The stone garden is very popular among summer residents. Almost every homestead owner wants to create a rock garden on their territory. To competently create such a flower garden, you should study the types and design features of rockeries in landscape design.
What it is?
The history of this flower garden began about 15 years ago. Then, in all publications that were related to landscape design and architecture, they began to draw a clear line between a rock garden and a rock garden. Today, many experts combine the two terms, calling this creation a rocky garden. This decision equates the two directions to rock gardens that emphasize the Japanese style.
In fact, this is not so: a rock garden is a decorative composition that contains stones and miniature plants. A rock garden is a hill made of stones where creeping types of plants grow. The rock garden requires special drainage systems, which are of significant importance in the entire structure. A rock garden differs from a rock garden in its drainage system.
The difference is that the vegetation used in rockeries is unpretentious in care. Landscape design uses flowers that are easy to care for. Even a novice gardener can create an original flower garden, since arranging a flower bed does not require any special skills. For this reason, rock gardens are popular among summer residents and gardeners.
Types and styles
Before arranging a rock garden, you need to decide on the type of future composition. There are several conventional names for this flower garden:
- Landscape. Such a flower bed is arranged in the garden, based on the design of the entire site. The composition acts as a design component of the entire landscape space. With its help you can combine all the elements into a single picture.
- Terraced. This flower garden is used in areas with slopes. This system combines walls made of stones of different shapes and heights.
- Rocks and cliff. This rock garden can act as a separate composition or be a component of a complex landscape design. The design of places for vegetation is carried out in the process of creating a flower bed.
- Mountain valley. This is a flower garden in which there are stones sunk into the soil. There should be paths between the boulders, dividing the territory into several zones.
- Mountain slope. The creation of such a rock garden is carried out on the slopes. Outwardly, it looks like a mountain scree with rock fragments and creeping vegetation.
There are several styles in which you can decorate your stone garden.
Japanese
You will immediately recognize this design due to the many stones with moderation of bright colors and decorative vegetation. Granite is most often used in such interiors. Japanese style can show beauty wild stones, the exotic setting promotes tranquility. When creating a flower garden, harmony should be observed. Plants in pots, Buddhist statues, small tables and cages with singing birds will fit into the decor. Lighting can be installed.
English
IN english style There are evergreen conifers that create a pleasant environment. You can add cereals, decorative wormwood, various flowers and deciduous vegetation to the flower garden.
European
In European design it is necessary to use plants that can adapt to the climatic conditions of the middle zone. The pattern changes due to wild flowers, smoothly replacing each other. You can plant perennial varieties, miniature shrubs with colorful leaves, or other plants of your choice.
Alpine slide
This direction represents bulbous and coniferous plant varieties growing in the mountains of Italy, Switzerland and France. As a decorative component, you can arrange artificial water features in your garden.
You can arrange a rock garden in different styles that harmoniously fit into the overall picture of the chosen landscape design style. There are temporary flower beds that are suitable for areas where flat terrain or a slight slope prevails. For the middle zones, low shrubs are relevant, which take root without problems in these climatic conditions. If you have artistic knowledge and skills, you can create an original design by diluting your country cottage area exclusive garden.
When choosing a planting scheme, consider the parameters of an adult plant and its crown. While the plants are small, use temporary fill and small stones. When the bush grows, it will be necessary to replace the old elements with large boulders. The rockery should look beautiful, the design should take into account the size of the bush.
A rock garden can be located near the house. Decorate the composition with mountain plants, among which lavender, moss, and fern will grow. Thanks to the discreet colors, you can emphasize the style of the chalet or any of the rustic trends. Decorative design can consist of natural elements (for example, driftwood, logs, boulders) with natural shapes.
photos
Location
Once the design has been determined, you will need to select the location of the stone garden. The selected site must have all the conditions for arranging a rock garden. You need to create a project of the territory, study the area of the site, the features of its landscape, and soil. For example, pompous stone piles cannot be placed in a small area: they will look unnatural. In large areas, small rockeries can get lost, so the choice of the size of the future flower garden should be approached with all responsibility.
When choosing a location, preference should be given to ravines, terraces and other uneven surfaces. You can use your imagination to play with such areas and turn unattractive areas into an original creation of nature. If you are planning to make a rock garden at your dacha, it is important to take into account the fact that not every site may have a ravine, pond or terrace. There is no need to be upset, since a stone flower garden is successfully located on any type of terrain.
Consider the lighting of the selected area. If possible, choose the sunny side: not every plant can grow in the shade. The flowerbed should be located in such a way that the rockery is in a prominent place and delights others with its composition. Beginning gardeners are recommended to carry out their work in small areas. To arrange a large area, it is better to turn to professionals (not every beginner is able to cope with a large amount of work on their own). Avoid placing rockeries along the fence and near buildings. If this option cannot be ruled out, fill the area with climbing plants.
A little about stones
The choice of stones should be based on simple tips:
- all stone components should have an interesting shape. You can choose porous stones, cobblestones with attractive cracks, or moss-covered boulders. Black sea stones are suitable for creating a rock garden;
- The color scheme depends on the taste preferences of the creator. If you have good artistic taste, you can easily combine a rocky garden according to shades;
- For beginners who are afraid of making a mistake, you can use solid stones of one type. To dilute the composition, you can experiment with sizes and shapes;
- Flower beds with two large stones in the center have the best look. The remaining representatives must be the same size. Choose stones whose length is 30-40 cm;
- if you decide to plant a flower garden on a slope, the stones should be laid from bottom to top. Each tier is laid out sequentially. Initially, you should install large stones that will act as a support. To make the structure reliable, you can dig boulders up to drainage base. Some gardeners use cement mortar for fixation;
- Any stones are suitable for construction work: crushed stone, granite, fragments of bricks. Tuff (a rock of boulders created from volcanic ash and other debris) is popular. When choosing stones, choose durable varieties that can withstand the sun's rays and time.
Plant selection
Once you have decided on the stone base, you can begin to choose the vegetation. Plants divided into 4 categories take part in creating a flower garden:
Coniferous flower garden
Usually mini-trees are planted in such a rock garden. A stone garden will look attractive if it contains thuja, juniper, and dwarf spruces. You can equip an original flower garden in pine design.
Shrubs
Suitable vegetation includes honeysuckle, cinquefoil and various varieties of cotoneaster. Planted plants should be compact in size, since they have a secondary role.
Perennials
A combination of bulbous and herbaceous plants. Annual varieties are not popular, since such flowers need to be planted every year.
Groundbloods
These representatives include phlox or cat's paw. When choosing plants for your rock garden, remember that you cannot plant variegated and bright flowers. The composition should be based on stones; representatives of the plant world only complement the ensemble of such a garden.
If you choose conifers, you should follow several rules:
- plants should be low;
- choose varieties that are characterized by slow growth;
- trees must be shaped;
- if you don’t know whether a given variety can take root on your site, use planting together with a tub.
Once you have decided on a place for the plants in the flower garden, you can begin choosing flowers. You will need to achieve consistent flowering. When one type of flower stops blooming, others must take its place. You can use different varieties of plants based on the climate of your region. Many gardeners know such names as: rhododendrons. These perennial plants are often used when arranging Japanese rockeries. Only in rock gardens can you find plants that cannot be found in natural conditions.
Basic requirements for vegetation:
- Low-growing varieties of plants that reach a height of no more than 50 cm during the flowering period should be planted in rockeries.
- Give preference to varieties that are characterized by massive flowering and an attractive crown.
- Decorative varieties of plants that do not lose their attractiveness during growth and maturation look good in a stone garden.
- Pay attention to plants with stable forms: such varieties will not require frequent replanting and division.
To create a stone garden, you can use different varieties of tulips, wild violets, and hyacinths. Follow the order of planting: plants with well-developed roots should be planted first. Next, you can plant ground-blooded representatives. Such vegetation performs decorative and applied functions. It is responsible for strengthening the top layer of soil, thereby preventing erosion of the surface. If there are no slopes on your site, you can plant moisture-loving plants (for example, primrose, astilbe). For a flat rock garden, you should select cereal crops: they will give the composition a little carelessness.
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Landing rules
When the stones, seeds and seedlings have been selected, you can begin to create a rock garden with your own hands. At the time of starting work, you must decide on the style of the future composition and choose the location of the stone garden. Step by step guide for creating a rock garden is as follows:
- no project can do without a diagram. Before starting work, it is necessary to draw drawings on which all the components of the stone garden should be displayed;
- construction should be carried out in late autumn or spring. Mark the perimeter of the future flower garden on your site;
- remove 20 cm of soil and remove weed roots from the top layer;
- then you will need to cover the selected area with non-woven material;
- lay a drainage layer. It should contain crushed stone, pebbles and bricks. Compact this layer with sand. The final thickness of the drainage should be 20 cm. If you do not create a drainage layer, vegetation that does not tolerate moisture will die;
- in this condition the site should remain for about 2 months. This time will be enough for shrinkage;
- after 2 months you can continue arranging the flower garden. You will need to install large boulders on sand that has already reached sufficient density;
- Don't go overboard with the number of stones. When creating a rock garden, remember that each stone should play its role in the garden;
- the remaining space must be filled with substrate, into which the plants will then be planted;
- When choosing a substrate, remember that in rock gardens the main role is given to stones. For this reason, it is not recommended to choose fertile formulations. The only quality you should pay attention to when choosing a mixture is air and moisture permeability;
- Check the stones for stability and make adjustments if necessary. If the boulders sway, you can secure them with cement;
- When watering the substrate, care should be taken to ensure that it does not erode. Otherwise, you will need to redo everything again;
- When the mixture settles, you can begin planting vegetation. The planting order depends on what arrangement of the composition you come up with;
- First you need to plant coniferous shrubs. They are deepened into the soil through a circle cut in the film;
- at the next stage you can plant shrubs and flowers;
- when you finish working with the vegetation, the film must be sprinkled with soil again;
- at the final stage you need to add small stones and fill for decoration.
This instruction will help you set up your own stone garden at your dacha and avoid the mistakes that beginners often make. Follow the above rules to correctly create a rock garden that will decorate your summer cottage.
Care
For rockeries, you should select plants that are resistant to the climate of your region. It is necessary to choose varieties that do not require daily care. Despite the unpretentiousness of a stone garden, it needs to be moistened periodically with water from a hose and a sprayer and fertilizing added. Soil is added once every few years. For the winter, cover the vegetation and remove dried components. If your rockery has grown overgrown, it should be thinned out.
Before you start building a rock garden, you need to understand and imagine what it is all about. A rock garden is a small-sized stone garden that is a link between an “alpine hill” and a “Japanese garden.” The name itself - “rockery” is translated from English as “rock” (“rock”). What is a rockery, read.
A gardener who decides to decorate his plot with a rock garden can make his wildest and most original fantasies come true. A rockery is not just a rocky garden, but also the highlight of the entire garden plot, which can decorate not only a summer cottage, but also a country mansion, revealing the beauty of stone and plants in full glory.
Instructions on how to make a rockery
When creating a rock garden, a gardener can be completely guided only by his own preferences and desires, but the basis for a successful garden on rocks is a number of rules that are also followed by experienced landscape designers. They are:
- Choosing a location. In order to create a rock garden, you need to not only scatter stones around the circumference and flavor them with plants, but also pay attention to the place where it will be located. A plane with tubercles and mounds of natural origin is considered especially successful for creating a rocky garden. Surface irregularities will serve as the basis for creating decorative compositions.
An artificial cascading or multi-level relief is created on a flat surface, or a composition is created on a flat space.
- With an eye on the sun. According to landscape designers, a sunny site should be chosen for a rock garden. This choice will expand the variety of plant species from which you can assemble a beautiful flower garden.
- Harmony in everything. The flower garden on the stones should fit organically into the overall picture of the garden. It should be diversified with cascading slopes, retaining walls, decorative waterfalls and other water elements.
- We hide the “awkwardness”. To ensure that fences and supporting walls are not visible to the eye, it is necessary to plant shrubs and climbing plants along their edges. They will save and ennoble the composition.
- Close to home. The compositions should not be placed in the vicinity of the cottage or country house, because during the thaw period the rock garden can be damaged or completely destroyed.
- Using a garden cord, you need to indicate the dimensions of the rockery.
- The area is cleared of turf, removing a layer of 15-20 centimeters.
- Remove remaining weed roots.
- The bottom of the “pit” is covered with geotextiles.
The material does not allow weeds to break through.
- A drainage system is being created that will save the rock garden from excess water collection. To do this, it will be necessary to create a drainage layer in the pit. Expanded clay, crushed stone or red brick can be used as drainage material.
- Afterwards, the drainage is covered with a five-centimeter layer of coarse sand.
- Cover with soil.
- They construct the base of the composition from the largest boulders and stones. Stones should be placed so that they look impressive from any point.
- Place the stones in small holes dug according to the size of the boulder.
- The stones are fixed with crushed stone and a layer of soil.
Compact to prevent air pockets from forming.
Rockery device
It doesn’t matter at all what style the rockery will be made in, its design will remain virtually unchanged. According to landscape designers, there are three main styles for creating a flower garden on stones:
- Japanese style is a composition that is replete with a variety of stone blocks, with minimal inclusion of a rocky garden of plants in the overall image;
- The English style is a composition in which the planting of evergreen coniferous plants is taken as the basis. The British give preference to durable coniferous plants, because such a composition will please the eye for more than one or two years;
- European style is a stone composition that best suits the natural conditions of the middle climate zone.
The differences between these three styles lie in the ratio of stone and the number of plants planted.
The area that will be chosen to create a rocky garden can be absolutely anything:
- Flat ground;
- Multi-level rock garden;
- Rockery-slide;
- Rock garden with water elements of artificial and natural origin.
Planting plan for rock gardens
When “building” a rock garden with your own hands, you must follow a pre-prepared plan, on which the entire composition of the flower garden on the stones will be displayed. On the plan, you should carefully consider not only the location of boulders and small stones, but also decide on the choice of plants and their position. Creeping plants are best placed on slopes and along the edges of walls, but vertically growing plants with a chic root system will look perfect in the background or near large boulders. As for small bright flowers, the front part of the rockery is reserved for them. With the help of flowers you can not only decorate, but also disfigure a rocky garden.
Plants for rock gardens
When choosing a plant for a rock garden, you should pay attention not only to evergreen coniferous shrubs, which will be a chic decoration for any site during cold weather and summer heat, but also to decorative multi-colored annual plants.
The face of a rockery is a harmonious interaction between stone and plant. The main advantage of a flower garden can be considered the freedom to choose the type of plants. The main thing is that they become part of the composition. Read how to care for weigela here:.
All plants should be combined:
- By color;
- According to the form;
- To size;
Excellent on rocky soil Saxifragas, sedums, juveniles and groundbloods will feel themselves. It is necessary to choose plants based on the location of the rockery. If it is located in the shade of fences or a house, then the plants should be appropriate; if it is built in a space with an abundance of sunlight, then light-loving plants will be suitable. For example, spring snowdrops and crocuses.
If the rockery is located at a short distance from the house, then coniferous plants can be used. The essential oil released by the needles will have a beneficial effect on the well-being of guests and the owners of the site themselves.
Flowers for rock garden
Plants for a rock garden should fill the “bare” space and serve as a connecting role for individual areas. For rockeries, red perennial flowers are often used, decorative “fleshy” ones that look harmonious on the stones, as well as bright small flowers.
Conifers for rock gardens
If we are talking about coniferous plants that are used to create rockeries, then it is necessary to mention junipers and, of course, thujas of various types and varieties.
The ideal option for decorating a rock garden would be low-growing conifers.
Rockery stones
Main decorative element rockery compositions are considered stones. A rocky garden with stones made of the same material will look most harmonious. But if the emphasis in the composition is on the water element, then the “edging” should be made of a different type of stone. Drastic differences in color and texture are not recommended.
Video
How to make a rock garden yourself, watch the video tips below:
The process of building a flower garden on stones is a creative one, so in no case should you rush. Because if there is a desire to replace the basic elements, then you will have to almost completely redraw the entire rock garden. It’s better to measure seven times and choose what will actually please the soul and the eye. Read on and how to care for it.
When creating something extraordinary in landscape design, it is difficult to stop still. Even those summer residents who already seem to have everything on their property: the lawn is sown, the hedge is planted, and the mixborder in front of the house is laid out, they want something creative. Among simple ideas, with which you can quickly transform your garden - make a rock garden with your own hands. At the dacha there is such an island of greenery, framed natural stone, will enliven the design of the site.
Rockery or rock garden - differences and features
People consciously began to surround themselves with rock gardens many centuries ago. One of the most ancient examples in landscape architecture is a flower garden, laid out among stones, small trees and shrubs. If such an element of garden design was placed on an artificially created slope or small hill, then it was called a rock garden. On a flat area, without hills, a rock garden.
If we compare a rock garden with an alpine hill, then, of course, creating the latter requires a lot of effort, time and money from summer residents. Under the alpine hill you need to lay a special, deep drainage, install a lot of stones (large specimens of which cost a decent amount) and carefully select the plants. Whereas to build a rock garden with your own hands, which remains decorative throughout the year, you only need a correctly drawn up plan and choice of material (the placement of small pebbles for backfilling and large boulders is of fundamental importance). Drainage as such is not required, and two to three times less stone is needed.
But the most important advantage of rockeries is the plants. It is not necessary to cultivate alpine ones in it, as in an alpine hill. In rock gardens, it is allowed to actively use common species that garden owners would like to see on their site.
Do-it-yourself rock garden at the dacha - step-by-step instructions
To create a small rocky flower garden - rockery, absolutely any area with flat but heterogeneous soil is suitable (small hills and drops are an ideal basis for creating a decorative composition). It is better if it is an open, well-lit area.
Flat rockeries can be used to wonderfully decorate such complex areas of the garden as the blind areas of buildings or the borders of garden areas. Rock gardens are often used to strengthen the corners of walkways, create cozy seating areas, or decorate the entrance to a house. The main thing is that the flower garden itself matches the overall style of the garden and is in harmony with the surrounding environment.
If you are a beginner and are experiencing some difficulties with gardening, don’t complicate your life and build a simple mini rockery from conifers. It's very easy to do. It is enough to lay several small stones in a picturesque form and plant between them, for example, Carpathian bell, Alpine aster and crocuses. But if you are a sophisticated gardener and compositions “a la a beautiful rockery with three pebbles” will no longer surprise you, then go ahead and build complex, terraced rockeries with retaining stone walls, with living cascades and ponds on your site.
In landscape design there are different types rockery But all the so-called “walls”, “mountain streams” and “ravines” are varieties of two main types: terraced and flat rockeries.
How to make a flat rockery in the garden
10 sq. m. is quite enough to reflect all the variety of forms and beauty of plants, and to form a spectacular rock garden without special expenses.
Where to begin?
Of course, with the right foundation. To do this, you need to mark the outline of the future rocky flower garden on the site using rope and pegs. You should not make the rockery too symmetrical. It is better to decorate it in a “natural” style.
Having decided on the general design touches, you can begin to remove the turf - the top layer of soil. The turf is cut with a bayonet shovel to a depth of approximately 20 cm. After that, weeds are removed from the soil and, if necessary, the soil is treated with herbicides. In the resulting depression, drainage is made for the rock garden - the bottom of the hole is filled with crushed stone, broken brick or crushed concrete.
You can do without drainage if the rock garden is located on a hill. In this case, water will leave the soil immediately after rainfall. If not, then form the base of the rock garden from gravel, crushed stone or construction waste - constant stagnation of water can lead to soil washout, subsidence of the flower bed and death of plants.
Your garden plot chosen by shrews and moles? Then, at the stage of drainage formation, cover the base with a fine-mesh metal mesh and cover it with a layer of coarse river sand (about 5 cm).
It's time to fill up the soil. Its composition depends, first of all, on the rockery plants that you plan to plant. It is optimal if the fertile (but not too fertile, otherwise the rockery will grow very quickly) soil includes: a layer of meadow (forest soil), which can always be replaced with black soil, garden compost, a layer of black alder peat and a layer of loam.
Ideally, the freshly poured soil should be allowed to settle. This, with daily watering, will take at least 2 weeks.
Stones for flat rock garden
The main element of a rock garden is stone. It is important not to allow the plants, as they grow over time, to completely cover the stones and visually displace them from the composition.
To build a flat rock garden, you will need both huge boulders and small stones of soft, modest tones for backfill. To make the flower garden as natural as possible, it is better to give preference to embossed, rough boulders. But if, for example, you are arranging a rockery on the bank of a stream, then you cannot do without smooth, polished specimens.
In order for the composition to be integral and complete, the stones must be laid in one layer, trying not to combine angular-shaped types with roundish boulders. Fragments of dense tuffs, granites, limestones and, of course, sandstones are most suitable for single-layer masonry.
Sometimes the entire rock garden can be built against the backdrop of one single large textured stone. In this case, the remaining stones and plants only emphasize the impressive beauty of the soloist, nothing more.
The worst thing is if the stones “crawl” or settle. This will not happen if, when laying stones, a “cushion” of gravel and sand is placed under each of them. You need to bury the stones halfway into the ground, at a shallow angle, leaving space for planting. To prevent air pockets from forming between the soil and the stones, crushed stone must also be added under the base of the boulders and compacted well. Small stones, for strength, are sometimes held together with a special solution.
Remember! A rockery should not consist of a chaotic pile of cobblestones and resemble a quarry.
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Plants for flat rock gardens
For a small rock garden, 10-15 different types of coniferous, deciduous and ground cover plants will be enough. Beautifully flowering herbaceous perennials, bulbous plants, ferns and cereals are also widely used in rock gardens.
As green dominants in a rock garden, it is better to choose conifers with an original crown shape or compact deciduous shrubs that decorate flowers or fruits before frost.
Low-growing junipers, spherical thujas, as well as dwarf mountain pines and nesting spruces are well suited for constructing a coniferous rockery. The best time to plant conifers is autumn or early spring.
Among deciduous and beautifully flowering shrubs, spireas, boxwoods, barberries, cotoneasters, azaleas and roses look appropriate in a rock garden.
Ground cover perennials will smooth out the boundaries of a flat rocky area, creating a smooth transition to the garden area: young, thyme, quarry, sedum, tenacious, creeping speedwell, carnation, carnation, hare cabbage, cat's foot, periwinkle and many others.
When planting perennials between stones, leave a little free space near them - over time, the plants will grow and cover the voids. Until this happens, you can decorate the bare areas with crushed stone or colored decorative fill.
There are no special restrictions on plants. It’s just that when choosing species you need, first of all, to start from the place where you plan to set up a rock garden. If the composition is designed in the form of a small stream that cascades into a small pond, then moisture-loving species can be planted along the waterbed, and the remaining drought-resistant plants can be placed in dry areas between the stones.
Plan of a flat rock garden on the site:
- Dicentra
- catchment area
- Leathery adonis
- The finest feather grass
- Yarrow hybrid
- Immortelle golden
- Coleus
- Speedwell of Austria
- Sansiveria
- Common heather
- Calamus cereal
- Eschsolzia California
- Forget-me-not
- Begonia always blooming
- Yarrow tomentosa
- Verbena tender
- Gatsania hybrid
- Heather red
- Alpine carnation
- Dicentra hybrid
- Immortelle bractae
- Dark bell
- Veronica oak
Tip: It is recommended to plant bulbous plants in a rocky garden in special baskets (20 flowers can be placed in one). Scillas, tulips, crocuses, muscari, scillas and colchicums tend to “crawl” and quickly grow into the soil.
How to make a terraced (volumetric) rock garden
Does your site have a natural slope? Then it won’t cost you anything to turn it into a spectacular decoration of your backyard by organizing a rock garden on it.
A terraced rock garden has much in common with an alpine slide. But rock gardens are usually located on natural terrain (plane or terrace), without additional mounds of soil. Whereas rock gardens are an artificial imitation of a mountain landscape.
When constructing a terraced rock garden, it is recommended to use only roughly processed rock stones of the same type. The stone foundation is laid on a hilly slope, leaving gaps between the boulders for plants. A system of retaining stone walls of different shapes, heights and lengths - these are the “terraces” of the rock garden.
It is recommended to place accent points on a terraced rock garden evenly along all planes. For example, if you plant a beautiful flowering bush from the edge of the lower terrace, be sure to plant a similar one on the other side. But at the same time, make sure that the plants planted below do not cover the plant elements on the upper planes.
By organizing a rockery in the garden, parts of which are located at different heights, you have the opportunity to experiment with textures, volumes and light and shade. Such a composition can no longer be called just a flower bed with mountain stones; it is already perceived as an architectural element.
The area of the rock garden in the diagram is 35 sq.m. Height of the terraces: lower – 60 cm, upper – 30 cm.
- Thuja occidentalis
- Mountain pine
- Red cedar
- Felt cleaver
- Adonis spring
- Duchesnea indica
- Dianthus grass
- alpine aster
- Heyherella
- Lavender angustifolia
- Hybrid young
- Gentian seven-partite
Among the popular species, rockeries of the “cliff” and “gorge” types are also often found in the garden. And landscape designers often include small ponds and streams in more complex designs.
Rockery - photos of beautiful design schemes
Any gardener can create a rock garden with his own hands. The main thing in this matter is the lack of haste, hard work and a little imagination. But before you start decorating a garden composition, you should find out what difficulties may arise when decorating a flower bed. It is necessary to determine the preferred types of plants and stones, adhere to the chosen style, which will look organically in the local area.
What is a rocky garden like?
A rockery is a garden composition consisting of vegetation and stones. On a personal plot or dacha, such a flower bed will become the main attraction of landscape design. The combination of low-growing plants and rough cobblestones increases the number of its adherents year after year. And this is no coincidence. With the right approach, maintaining a rocky garden will not cause much trouble, and the aesthetic appearance improves with each new flowering season.
Rockery is a popular element of landscape design
This composition is often confused with an alpine slide. However, there are a number of differences between them.
A rock garden involves a small hill, in some places covered with stones and planted with plants that can be found in the real European Alps. For rockeries there are no strict rules in the design and selection of plants. The formation of an embankment is not a prerequisite. It can be installed on a flat surface or on a slope in the form of a cascade.
Unlike alpine slides, which are located under the scorching rays of the sun, the described type of flower garden can be in the shade. In this case, you should choose plants that do well in dark areas of the local area.
The flower beds familiar to Soviet people lack naturalness. A garden arrangement made of stones should look as natural as possible. It’s as if nature itself created this rocky oasis.
Styles
In order for the composition to look harmonious and natural, you should adhere to a certain style, each of which has its own characteristics. There are three styles of rock gardens.
European
The most common is the European rockery. The main component in it is vegetation. Most often, flowers and shrubs native to Central and Western Europe predominate.
To decorate a European rock garden, plants that grow in central Europe are used.
The main task is the brightness of colors and ensuring flowering throughout the season. Some inflorescences replace others. At the beginning of spring, snowdrops bloom in the garden composition; after a while they give way to tulips, and so on. Shrubs with different shades of leaves go well together. A small number of evergreen junipers may be present.
Stones play a secondary role; they balance the riot of colors and emphasize the beauty of flowers and shrubs. The Alpine slide can be equated to one of the subspecies of the European style.
English
For the English style, plants are also the main decoration. It is dominated by perennial conifers: a combination of various types of junipers, low-growing thujas, dwarf spruce, cypress, and mountain pine.
Evergreen plantings go well with cereals and perennials such as thyme or saxifrage. The resulting composition resembles a miniature forest.
Rockery in the English style has a restrained color scheme
An English style composition does not require much care. IN winter period Most plantings will need to be covered to protect them from frost. In other seasons, only periodic watering will be required. If desired, you can plant a small number of flowers that will not stand out too much when the inflorescences appear.
When creating a composition, it should be taken into account that in 3-4 years all the bushes will grow greatly. It is necessary to leave room for their development. Moss-covered stones are the perfect addition to a British oasis.
Japanese
In Japanese rock gardens, stones play a dominant role. Much attention should be paid to their size, shape and location in the garden. Green spaces emphasize the beauty and serenity of inanimate nature. Such compositions promote peace, inner harmony and relaxation, which is why they are often created next to a place for yoga or other eastern directions.
Japanese stone gardens are famous all over the world
To create a Japanese style, you should choose large cobblestones irregular shape. Pebbles are poured between the main elements. Flowering plants are unacceptable for this design. Here it is possible to use only green low-growing plants that enliven the rocky garden. Every detail of landscape design has its place. Shrubs must be trimmed. There is no room for chaotic growth here.
Preparatory stage in arranging the composition
Don’t thoughtlessly scatter stones and plant any plants you like between them. Creating a stone garden is a slow process that requires some planning. Choosing a location, preparing the soil, selecting stones, flowers and shrubs are important preparatory steps that must be done before starting work.
Selecting a location
The choice of place to place the composition should be approached with all responsibility. It is necessary to determine in advance the size of the future composition. It is optimal if it is a sunny place in the garden. But such a rocky garden will also look good in the shade. You should not organize it close to your home. After a snowy winter, as the snow melts, there is a risk of flooding, ground subsidence and, as a result, damage to plants and general appearance.
An area with dense soil is suitable for rockeries.
A rocky flower garden should look harmonious against the background of the entire landscape design. It is a key element of the exterior. You can view it from all angles. The optimal solution would be to locate it away from trees and tall bushes that would block the view of the future object for aesthetic pleasure.
To arrange a flower bed with stones, you must first of all have a desire to create. Good sunny weather will contribute to the right mood. The optimal time of year is late spring. During this period, the ground is no longer frozen. At the beginning of work, you will have to remove a layer of soil to create drainage, so it is good when the soil is no longer very wet. The process of initial design and laying of stones is not fast, it can take from several days to a couple of weeks. It all depends on how creative you are. There is absolutely no need to rush into this event.
Planting should begin after placing the cobblestones. Most shrubs and flowers can be planted throughout the warm period. But some types of plantings have time restrictions. For example, tulip bulbs need to be planted in the fall before frost.
Schemes of ready-made solutions
The choice of plants and their arrangement in the composition depends on the topography of the soil and the desired style of the future rocky garden. The site may have a flat surface, a small embankment or a slope. Any of these options will be acceptable.
The rock garden diagram will help you navigate the choice of plants
When creating your own scheme, you need to decide on the compositional center. These can be tall shrubs or dwarf coniferous trees. The remaining plantings are placed around the main two or three plants.
The layout of the rock garden and its components is drawn to scale or schematically
Having studied samples of ready-made solutions and determined for yourself the most interesting options, you can start planning and drawing your own flower bed. In this case, it is important to take into account the size of plants in adulthood, the combination of color of leaves and inflorescences.
You should not try to place everything that the owner of the local area dreams of. It is recommended to use about 1 m² of land for each group of plants. It is advisable to choose shrubs with a moderate root system, since many different specimens will be planted in a relatively small area.
It is necessary to ensure the correct proximity of plants in the rock garden
Depending on where you plan to arrange the flower garden, preference is given to shade-loving or sun-resistant plantings.
Which plants to choose
With the help of plants, you can create the appearance of a large slope or emphasize a perfectly flat surface. By placing thujas and dwarf trees on top, the slope seems sharper. It is recommended to follow the 30/70 rule - no more than 30% of plants can be tall. The rest, 70%, should consist of ground cover or low-growing plantings.
Conifers in rockeries are often given the main roles
The basis of most types of rockeries are conifers. First of all, these are junipers, especially creeping species, and dwarf trees. Not a single English one landscape composition can't do without this plant.
The universal cotoneaster tolerates haircuts well for modeling purposes.
Horizontal cotoneaster feels great on rocky surfaces. In spring it pleases the eye with its white flowers, and in autumn it is covered with red fruits.
Dwarf spirea is often used for rockeries
Dwarf spirea goes well with most plants. The flowering period occurs at the end of spring and beginning of summer. However, the value of the shrub lies not in the inflorescences, but in the leaves, which change color from early spring to late autumn.
Bright barberry berries will decorate a rock garden in autumn
Barberry is also distinguished by its unusual leaf color. Its homeland is the western part of Russia, so the bush is used to create a European style.
Winter-hardy rock aurinia is on the list of the best plants for rock gardens
In spring, Aurinia rocky will delight you with its bright yellow flowers. An absolutely unpretentious plant that tolerates drought well.
In the wild, alpine carnation grows in the northeast of Italy and in the heights of the Alpine mountains
Alpine carnations will decorate with their blooms a composition in a European or English style.
Saxifraga is loved for its bright and long-lasting flowering
Saxifraga is one of the varieties of ground cover that takes root well on rocky surfaces. During the flowering period, the plant is covered with small flowers.
One of the most decorative flowers for rockeries is awl-shaped phlox.
Phlox subulate grows very quickly and blooms profusely from mid-summer until the onset of the first frost. The root system is underdeveloped, so growth does not require much soil. The plant is one of the favorite plantings of landscape designers who design rockeries.
In addition to the above plantings, Iberis, aubrieta cultivated, Caucasian rhizome, edelweiss, thyme and other low-growing perennials and ground covers look harmonious.
Video: plants for a rocky garden
Selection of stones
Selecting stones is no less important a task than selecting plants. The most interesting are the boulders that received their shape thanks to nature and winds.
The right choice of stones is half the success in creating a rock garden
A stone garden does not require ideal forms. Natural chips and irregularities emphasize the beauty and naturalness of the composition. When using different types of boulders, you should adhere to the rule of unity - use only hard rocks or exclusively soft ones:
- hard - basalt, granite, gneiss, slate, basaltic lava, porphyry and others;
- soft - sandstone, gray wacke, shell rock, limestone, travertine, calcareous tuff, dolomite, etc.
How to make a rock garden with your own hands - step-by-step instructions
To create such a flower bed, it is not necessary to resort to the services of designers. The process of arranging a rock garden is slow, but incredibly exciting. To create a beautiful landscape design, you must complete the following steps:
- Determine the location and its size, select plants, boulders and smaller stones.
- Remove the top layer of soil - about 20 cm. Lay geotextiles in the resulting depression. This must be done to avoid weed problems in the future.
All weeds should be carefully removed from the soil for rock gardens.
- Cover the area of the future rocky composition with gravel or crushed bricks - we create a drainage system. If you are using a sloped area, you can skip this step.
- The next layer is sand or immediately fill it with soil.
- Next comes the time of laying the stones. The largest boulders are installed first. In order to create the appearance of cobblestones appearing in this place naturally, half or one third of them are buried. You need to make sure that the stones fit tightly in place. This process may seem boring to some, but there is no need to rush. It is necessary to study each element of the rock and determine the most spectacular side that will look at the front of the composition.
The base for laying the boulder must be dense
- The stage of planting plants is the most interesting. They deal with large species first. You shouldn't bury them right away. As with stones, you need to twist the tree or bush and determine the advantageous side. After this comes the turn of low-growing shrubs and flowers. The remaining empty spaces can be planted with ground cover.
Plants in rock gardens are planted in groups or separated by stones
- The final touch will be a scattering of decorative crushed stone or fine gravel in unused areas.
Options for arranging a rocky composition
Arranging your own personal plot is an exciting activity. Before you start creating a rock garden, you need to decide on the look and style, choose a suitable location, select plants and stones.
Coniferous
Conifers are one of the most grateful plants. They do not require constant care, grow well and delight others with their beauty all year round. Evergreens go well with stones.
The best addition for rockery from conifers - heather, cuckoo clover, young
The recommended location is a well-lit, sunny area. Mandatory plants are different kinds fragrant junipers. There are also cypress, thuja, and dwarf pines; the voids are filled with ground covers.
It should be remembered that many of the above plants will increase in size several times in 4–5 years. And there should be room for this. Various shades of conifers - green, golden, blue - will allow you to create an original English design.
Flat
A flat rock garden is characterized by the appearance of rock outcropping onto a flat surface. An undeniable advantage is the ability to use plants with an intensive root system. In addition, a larger number of plantings can be placed per unit area.
The flat rock garden blends harmoniously into the surrounding landscape
During rainfalls and when snow melts, the soil is not washed away. Large stones will add volume to a flat surface. To ensure stability, they must be buried in the ground. The selection of plants depends on the chosen style of composition. If it is necessary to emphasize a flat topography, preference should be given to low-growing plants. To create a large format, dwarf trees and tall shrubs of different shapes and colors are suitable.
With a pond
If there is a natural reservoir on the site, you can create an amazing landscape using cobblestones and greenery. You can make an artificial mountain stream yourself. Moisture-loving plants are planted near water. Boulders will emphasize the effect of naturalness.
A rocky garden near a pond looks good with both artificial and natural water sources
A rock garden on a hill, which can be made from earth dug up during the process of creating a reservoir, looks most advantageous next to water. At the same time, the dimensions of the pond and rocky garden should look organically with each other.
Such a composition may require a large amount of rock. The composition will look very impressive in Japanese style, where stones play a primary role.
Small
When creating a miniature rock garden, all design elements must be of the appropriate size. In this option there is no place for large cobblestones. When choosing flowering plants, it is better if they have small inflorescences. As for the style, it can be absolutely anything - European, English or Japanese.
Succulents are perfect for small rock garden areas.
A small composition from a combination of plants and stones can be made even on the terrace. An old box is used as a base. Parts of the rock and various types of plants called young, which are popularly called stone flowers, look great together.
Features of care
The frequency of watering depends on the type of plants used - moisture-loving or drought-resistant. Most common rockery shrubs and flowers can survive 7-10 days without water.
When watering rockeries, you should focus on the requirements of the plants.
At the same time, in the first year after planting, you should be more attentive to soil moisture, since green plantings must take root well. As necessary, branches and shoots that interfere with the planned landscape design are pruned.
If there are a large number of plants that love water, it is necessary to provide an automatic watering system. It is installed before planting.
Sheltering plants is carried out before the onset of cold weather
In winter, heat-loving species, which include thujas and some other conifers, should be wrapped in burlap or similar material. Low-growing plantings can be sprinkled with dry leaves. Decorative mulch will protect the roots from frost. Already mature cypress and other shrubs, whose homeland is the southern regions, can withstand mild frosts without additional protection.
In early spring, plantings wake up from winter hibernation. The first buds will let you know that the plants have survived the winter well and are ready to delight their owners with a riot of colors. To speed up the growth process, it is recommended to add fertilizer during the first spring watering.
Photo gallery: ideas for arranging a rock garden
The European landscape will provide a riot of colors. The atmosphere of wild nature is created by cobblestones and boulders
Today rock gardens can be found in most modern landscape designs. Depending on the general style of the plot, you can choose one of three design styles. You can create such a composition with your own hands. The creative process captivates most amateurs, as a result of which owners rarely stop at one rocky garden.