Rocky gardens usually imitate the natural landscape of a mountain slope. Sometimes these are man-made retaining walls or steps made of wild stone, densely overgrown with vegetation. The designer’s special skill is to make such man-made structures seem abandoned, becoming a natural part of the mountain landscape.

In landscape design, rocky gardens are often combined with an artificial stream or waterfall, as in a Japanese garden.

Another problem often solved with a rock garden is the problem complex solution space. The need to create a cozy, secluded corner in a small area of ​​the site, to divide the garden into separate zones or to hide some unattractive objects, prompts the designer to create a rocky garden. To do this, you can use natural uneven terrain or create them artificially using a retaining wall, for example.

A rocky garden can be created even in the most unsuitable area for cultivation. The slope of a ravine or a ditch, which spoils the garden with its unsightly appearance, can become the basis for a rock garden. It’s not difficult to make, but in order for such a garden to last for a long time, you need to know some simple rules for creating an alpine garden.

The types of rocky gardens may be different, but they are united by the main idea: on mountain slopes, in rock crevices, in the most infertile soil, plants settle, striking in their variety of shapes and the amazing beauty of their flowers. The beauty of stones and beauty flora are harmoniously combined in the creations of nature and human hands.

Types of rocky gardens

Or rock garden- This is the most common type of rock garden. This popular element of landscape design is a slope or an artificially created hill with stones between which grow herbaceous plants and shrubs. The main element of such corners is stone, and plants only complement and frame the blocks, emphasizing their color and texture.

Initially, low-growing trees were used to create rock gardens. perennials alpine meadows, the most different types bulbous plants. Nowadays, flower growers grow a wide variety of plants and flowers on the alpine hills, guided only by their taste and sense of beauty.

Creating a rock garden is a complex and rather lengthy task, but unlike flower beds sown with annuals, this type of garden functions for decades and gets better over the years.

Differs from alpine slide because it is usually flat rocky garden. In rock gardens, plants are planted in large quantities, decorative effect here based on the beauty of the stones. The space between the stones in the rock garden is filled with gravel with a layer of 5-10 cm, shading the stones. For example, dark stones are set off by light-colored gravel. Light limestone is combined with multi-colored river pebbles. Under the pebbles there is a fertile layer to nourish the roots of plants.

A rock garden can be architectural, for example, stone steps made of large flat stones framed by low creeping mountain plants.

If the natural relief of the site is a slope with outcrops of rock, then a complex terraced rock garden is created, combining into a single whole all natural objects, brought stones and planted plants. Plants in the compositions are selected that do not require special care.

Retaining wall made of natural stone - one of the most common elements of rock gardens. Usually it serves as a support for the terrace. Unpretentious rock plants are planted in the cracks between stones or in specially created earthen “pockets”. Retaining wall is used for vertical gardening, to divide the garden into separate zones. A rock wall is almost always part of a terraced garden or rock garden.

Terraced slope- This is a more complex type. It is a system of horizontal terraces reinforced with retaining walls different heights. As a rule, such a garden includes all the elements of rock gardens. There are retaining walls, an imitation of an alpine mountain slope, and steps made of stones.

A terraced garden is created in areas located on the slopes of ravines, on the banks of rivers, and on slopes. The choice of plants and planting combinations in such a garden is very diverse. One of possible options- combination of planted on terraces dwarf trees and shrubs and herbaceous climbing plants. Low-growing rhododendrons, heathers, and ericas are often used.

Miniature rocky garden is a new invention in garden design. This innovation has become widespread where garden plot small, and also in some cases when this type of rock garden is created for a short time. Sometimes the base for a mini-garden is one oddly shaped stone with a natural depression. Sometimes an old trough, basket, or specially created depression in the soil is used. Such fancy structures are also made in portable containers, which allows them to be placed on the terrace of a house, for example.

The originality of such a rocky garden lies in the fact that, despite its small size, its composition completely replicates the appearance of a real large rock garden or rock garden. The plants for such a rocky miniature garden are selected to be super-dwarf and mosses and lichens are used. Small stones are also selected; a large piece of limestone with cracks and depressions, imitating real rock, looks especially interesting.

Creating any type of rock garden requires compliance with certain rules: choosing a suitable site for the garden, selecting the right stones and laying them correctly. The beauty and durability of a rock garden depends on this. Selecting and planting plants for a rock garden or terrace garden is an equally important task. A wrong decision can ruin the best idea.

The concept " rock garden" first appeared more than 150 years ago. First alpine coaster began to build for the cultivation of new, exotic for those times, plants. They began to study them, learn how to grow them, cultivate them, and carry out breeding work. A certain fashion trend - creating a rock garden.

The most wonderful idea for such a landscape structure is the use of perennial, slow-growing plants. In addition, a diverse number of species can be grown in a small area. Mini rock gardens are created in any area:

• in garden plots,
• local areas,
• in parks,
• and even on loggias and balconies.

Over the years it has developed the main rule for creating an alpine slide- and determine the place of their cultivation. And, as the practice of recent decades has shown, the creation of a rock garden (or any other slide) involves unlimited possibilities for creativity, because its construction, the forms created, methods of constructing and stacking stones, finding compositional solutions, and the visual content of the exhibition are simply endless. That's why they are attractive.

A simple hill type slide

Sometimes, having built a hill with stones on our site, we loudly declare that we have created a slide or even a rock garden. Often without knowing what, exactly, the difference is. And the difference, as they say, is significant. This is what has happened in the last couple of decades: everyone is building “slides” on the plots, although most often it is just a “hill with stones” - a primitive imitation of a miniature landscape.

On hill-type slides As a rule, there are no rare, exotic, collectible plant species in plantings, but with sufficient taste and the author's imagination, they sometimes become real small garden masterpieces. And amateur gardeners call them alpine , or rocky hills , And rock garden , And rock garden or rocky garden . For such structures a remarkable precise definition was born - "people's hill" . Indeed, in practice, it is most often just a hill made of earth, on which several stones are placed and various, most often unpretentious, plants are planted. In most cases, this structure resembles a flower bed with stones, and rarely does such a “slide” become a decoration of the garden and a logical part of the landscape.

A “hill” type slide easily fits into almost any garden and even a city square or park, combined with , . Its value lies in the successful combination of plants in habit (height) and color scheme.

Most often, they are planted with varietal material that is well adapted to local soil and climatic conditions. If the designer managed to select and combine plants, fit them and stones into the space, and create a positive impression of the composition, then his task is completed.

Often in our gardens, beds lined with stones or assorted boulders are called "rocky gardens" ... You can understand these gardeners when the main attention on the site is paid to vegetables and berry crops, but I want to get involved in the cultivation of ground cover and mountain meadow species.

Advice:
The main task of the rock garden- it should look natural, like a natural landscape. It is divided into certain zones: if on one side the yellow color scheme predominates, then on the other you can place non-flowering ground cover plants, and you get a green background. And the stones should fit organically into the space, separating these zones. This ensures the convenience and ease of caring for the rocky hill.

What is a real “rock garden”?

A rock garden is a landscape composition created from high-mountain plant species and small stones. High in the mountains, there are no large plants. Usually all the plants there are from 10 to 15 cm tall. In man-made alpine slides, plants dominate the compositions, but the stones should be small so as not to interfere with the perception of plants.

The first “rock gardens” appeared in the middle of the 19th century in England. These were the initial attempts to grow medicinal plants brought from the Alps (hence the name - rock garden - a collection of alpine plants). But in the 20th century, the utilitarian role of the rock garden faded into the background, but the function of the rock garden as a decorative element of the garden became more important until our time.

Creating a real rock garden is difficult, because making a composition from discreet miniature plants and successfully combining them with small stones is not easy. It requires experience and the ability to select the right conditions for growing a certain range of plants.

Examples of “rock garden” can always be seen in nature. Climbing high into the mountains, notice how plants grow on rocks, near rocks, in crevices, on screes. It is important to try to create something similar in your garden as accurately and correctly as possible. And here it is important not to overdo it with either stones or plants.

What is a “rocky garden”? This is a collection of perennial herbaceous (mainly) plants and stones on a flat surface, or a composition of stones and plants inscribed in the landscape. As a rule, the stones in such a garden are large and clearly stand out. This is the type of modern flower garden we most often have in our gardens.

Another, special type of landscape compositions includes "rockery". Its difference is that here both stones and plants play equal roles. Although still stones in these compositions should occupy a dominant position. And the plants selected are xerophytic (those species that can get by with a minimum of moisture and nutrients).

Mountain objects in landscape design

In our ornamental gardens most often a certain flower garden using stone. As a rule, a stone on a “hill” goes well with paved paths and a pond (if there is one). But the three main components - plants, stones and paths - must be harmoniously combined, and decorative elements in the composition should create a great overall holistic impression. When placing such a composition, you can always easily fit it in a shady place, or in wet or dry places, by choosing the right assortment of plant species.

To date, many books, brochures, and articles in magazines have been published about what kind of rock gardens you can create in your garden. Rocky gardens or slides are often made in landscape style like an imitation of the mountains natural formations, in the design of which only high-mountain species are used.

Advice:You can arrange a slide on your site in different ways.

• One of the options - classic alpine slide(if you build a hill or create an alpine lawn).
• Another idea - rocky hill. Place it near a building (house), fitting it into the landscape of the local area (we’ll create an architectural rock garden) or even using the wall of the house or the side supports of the stairs.
• If you have a large area, you can create landscape rock garden or arrange terraced slope.

Most often, slides are created as a kind of landscape structure, guided by their ideas about the mountainous terrain and their own artistic tastes. Or the slides are created thematically, for collection, for growing whimsical plants, taking into account the most acceptable conditions specifically for such plants.

You don't always have to "fill in the hill." You can create a “log” or “ravine” by strengthening the walls with stones and planting certain types of plants. If you have a sufficient variety of stones at your disposal and have experience working with them, give complete freedom to your design ideas.

You can build rocks or a cliff, or build multi-level terraces, dry masonry retaining walls. Use natural landscape features such as a rock gorge or mountainside, or create them yourself. Place stones and corresponding structures near the object various plants. The result is complex landscape compositions, but visually they give the feeling of natural cenoses.

It is important to achieve the naturalness of man-made “slides” or “rock gardens”.

• In an area with elevation changes, if you have artistic taste, you can try to create your own landscape rocky garden, which will look, for example, like a “mountain valley” or “alpine lawn.”
• On You can create a stone terrace (wall) of dry masonry, and plant drought-resistant (xerophytic) plant species in the cracks.

It is important to remember that any rock garden or rocky hill looks good in harmony with ponds. Interesting idea- decorate your site with a “swamp”. In this case, the range of plants in the garden will be more diverse due to decorative aquatic species.

When creating your own slide or “rock garden”, it is important not to overdo it with stones so that the slide does not turn into a simple heap or a pile of stones, with plants stuck in disarray. Do not get carried away with excessive decoration in the form of “dwarfs”, “plaster fly agarics”, etc., which greatly aggravates the general bad taste of such a structure as a whole.

Photos of examples and ideas of various slides in the garden

Man always loses to Nature in creating gardens, because... can only imitate her in his work.

Fashion also exists in landscape design. More recently, the presence of an alpine slide in a country garden was considered mandatory. It was not always taken into account whether the alpine slide suited the style of the garden. Those whose rock garden looks like a foreign element experience great disappointment. Such a garden looks unbalanced, and therefore uncomfortable.

Design rules require that the eye have somewhere to rest. An alpine slide should become such an object.

Where did the fashion for rock gardens come from in Russian gardens? Interest in alpine slides most likely arose as a new in an unusual way creating a kind of flower beds using stone.

In the XV-XVI centuries. The rulers of European states sent various expeditions around the world in large numbers. Different goals were pursued on these sometimes difficult journeys. But, with almost every expedition, botanists or biologists were sent to study overseas flora and fauna. They tried to deliver strange plants to Europe alive. Some of them were of interest as food products, while others were used to decorate the gardens of nobles. Thanks to such expeditions, various collections of plants were created, including those growing in mountainous areas. Scientists tried to replicate the maintenance conditions for mountain plants that were similar to the natural conditions of the habitats from which they were brought. For each group of plants, the composition of soil mixtures and their location in the garden were selected, and mountain landscapes were recreated in miniature. The combination of plants and stone looked very impressive. Such garden compositions are called “alpine slides” after the names of the most popular mountains in Europe.

In the XVIII-XIX centuries. England, by virtue of its historical development, natural and political conditions, created her own style in landscape design, which was later called landscape design. These gardens differed from the elaborately geometric court gardens of France, Italy, Germany, and the Czech Republic by the picturesque groups of trees and shrubs freely placed in clearings and lawns, and various types of reservoirs. Highly valued and still valued landscape designers, capable of preserving existing vegetation and incorporating young groups of plants in such a way that the “youth” do not look alien. Such gardens often contain representatives of natural flora, natural-shaped ponds, winding paths, and compositions using natural stone.

We must not forget that rock gardens have been known in Japan and China for more than three thousand years. Such gardens were worn more philosophical meaning. They were created to encourage people to admire and contemplate the beauty of objects created by nature itself. For Europeans, such gardens seemed exotic.

Modern alpine slides are the whole variety of rocky gardens. Creating an alpine slide is akin to creativity based on knowledge of the subject.

A site with complex terrain is a real find for a designer. Natural differences in heights allow you to create a unique appearance of this object. To do this, you just need to emphasize the natural beauty of the area and organize space for a comfortable life.

The variety of alpine slides can be as great as the number of their creators. Someone will want to have in their garden a corner of the meadow familiar from childhood, overgrown with herbs and flowers growing around boulder stones. Someone will reproduce fragments of alpine meadows, mountain streams, scree on rocks seen during their travels. Someone liked a photo of a mountainous area in a magazine. Plant collectors are a different story...

When choosing a place to install an alpine slide, the specialists of our design studio always take into account that the slide should fit harmoniously into the surrounding landscape and be clearly visible. If these conditions are not met, it is better to abandon the rock garden.

All rock gardens can be divided into several types: rock garden or rock garden on a plane, rocky hill, retaining wall, rock garden (rock garden) - terrace.

There is a slight difference between a rock garden and a rock garden. To create a rock garden, most of the area is allocated for planting, and a smaller part is occupied by stones. When creating a rock garden, the opposite is true - most of the area is allocated to place the stone, and a smaller part is occupied by plants.

A raised alpine slide adds volume to a flat garden.

On a flat area, it makes sense to create an alpine slide if its size is no less than 1.5 m x 2.5 m. Often the area of ​​a rock garden can be up to several hundred meters. The height of the alpine slide varies from 1 m to 3 m. When choosing the size of the rock garden, you need to correlate it with the size of the site.

The slide looks beautiful framed by the lawn away from the bright flower beds. In the lawn you can place large stones with beautiful texture, surrounded by low plants. The decorative value of the rock garden is enhanced by the presence of coniferous plants.

An interesting composition of several slides located in different parts of the garden. Such a composition should look natural, natural.

The beauty of the hill is emphasized by picturesque shrub-wood monochromatic decorative groups planted for the background. When choosing a planting site and an assortment of plants for the background, you need to take into account that when trees grow, they can completely shade the entire hill, and powerful roots can damage it and suppress it alpine plants.

Alpine slides created on the slopes look even more interesting. Most often, terracing work is carried out on such slopes in order to create platforms with a width of 30 cm to 200 cm. In terms of design, all terraces must be compatible with each other. For ease of maintenance of such a slide, it is good to include stylized stone steps. Slides built on the eastern, south-eastern, south-western slope are best suited for plants. On the southern slope it is hot and dry in summer. Drought-resistant plants, the range of which is small, are suitable for this slope.

Retaining walls can separate rock garden terraces from each other or emphasize differences in elevation on the site. Before erecting a retaining wall, a foundation of about 40 cm must be made under it.

Interesting limestone tuff and travertine. Alpine plants can be planted in the cavities of these stones, as well as mini-rock gardens can be created.

The most important building element for creating alpine gardens is natural stone. It must be remembered that the stones must be homogeneous. I recommend choosing rocks whose surface has been treated by wind and precipitation. To build a rock garden, limestone, granite, slate, sandstone, tuff, etc. are used. It is advisable to select stones weighing 20 kg or heavier. The larger the slide, the more large stones you need. They are the ones who create the mountain flavor.

Suitable stones can be found at the bottom and along the banks of streams and rivers. Forest boulders covered with mosses and lichens are very valuable.

After the type of alpine slide has been chosen, its area, location in the garden, the type of stone has been selected, and the range of plants has been determined, you need to draw up a diagram of the future slide.

The construction of the slide begins with determining its contours. After removing the turf by 15 cm, it is necessary to make a drainage base from any non-rotting materials. Small stones, crushed stone, broken and whole bricks, gravel, etc. can be used as drainage. I consider it an unacceptable mistake to lay stumps and other plant debris as the basis of an alpine hill. Sooner or later, plant debris will rot, and sinkholes and rock garden collapses will appear. After which, it is possible that remodeling the slide will cost more than its original construction.

The relief of the hill is created using an earth-sand mixture. The stones are laid on the hill from bottom to top. Large stones are placed first on the drainage so that no more than half of the stones extend above the surface of the ground. Earth is poured between nearby stones.

How to check the safety of stone laying? After properly constructing an alpine slide, you can stand on any laid stone without worrying that it will swing under you.

The last layer of the hill consists of a nutritious earthen mixture consisting of 2 parts garden soil, 2 parts leaf humus, 2 parts peat, 1 part coarse river sand. The thickness of this layer depends on what root system and soil moisture requirements for plants that will be planted on the hill.

Some types of plants require less fertile soil. If there are a minority of such plants, the “pockets” created for their growth are filled with soil suitable for them.

Special “pockets” can also be created in retaining walls. Plants planted in such “pockets” greatly enliven the monotony of the stonework.

The alpine hill is decorated with reservoirs created at its foot, streams running down from rocky heights, cascades, dry riverbeds and grottoes are appropriate.

The construction of the slide has been completed. But plants can only be planted after the hill has settled. After construction, the slide must be watered using sprinkler heads. Usually the slide settles to ¼ of its original height. As soil settles, soil is added. If the slide was built in the spring, it is better to plant in the fall.

It's time to plant the plants. Before this, all the weeds are pulled out. Plants are planted in spring, in April, or autumn, in the first half of September. Container plants can be planted throughout the summer. Planting begins from the top of the hill. First to be planted large plants. They, as a rule, are the centers of compositions located around large stones. Required condition for planting - moist soil. After planting, the plants are watered for several days, alternating watering with light loosening of the soil.

When planting plants, the environmental conditions of their growth are taken into account - the requirements for light and soil moisture. Typically, drought-resistant species that tolerate direct sunlight in summer and frost in winter are planted on the upper tiers. Moisture-loving plants are planted on the lower tiers. There is no need to get carried away with a large number of plant species.

The classic assortment of rock gardens includes low-growing, creeping, ground cover perennials and subshrubs, such as: sedum (sedum), carnation grass, thyme, edelweiss, soddy saxifrage, crowded bellflower, whorled coreopsis, catnip, tar, armeria, Caucasian rhizome, cuff, cypress spurge, Carpathian bellflower, large-flowered blackcap, coined sunflower, liatris spica, spurge multicolor, cereals, young, white sedum, subulate phlox, geranium, geranium, soapwort, onions, poppies, goldenrod, rock alyssum, cinquefoil. Among the green plants of the rocky hill, plants with silvery foliage stand out in the sun, such as felt grass, Schmidt's wormwood "Nana", and gray fescue. Our wild plants, which are suitable for their habit, look good in alpine hills.

Ground cover plants are very beautiful. Their quiet thickets have a calming effect. The flowering of many of them is very bright. They are an excellent backdrop for bulbous plants.

You can prolong flowering on an alpine hill with the help of annual flowers. The following are perfect for this: eschscholzia, verbena, small-flowered viola, ageratum, purslane, annual phlox, alyssum, iberis.

I can recommend plants for northern slopes, for shaded areas: Japanese astilbe, bergenia, brunnera, columbine, kupena, lungwort, hosta, liverwort.

Looks very good in rock gardens different kinds mountain pines, Cossack juniper, horizontal junipers, thujas of various forms, barberries, Japanese chaenomeles, cinquefoil, low-growing forms of spirea, creeping dwarf willow.

After the plants take root, the ground is covered with a layer of pebbles or decorative crushed stone.

Don't forget about subsequent plant care. In summer, during drought, you need to additionally water the hill. In the fall, remove any foliage that has fallen onto the rock garden. For the winter, cover plants that are sensitive to frost with heat-insulating material. In early spring remove the cover from the plants, dust the soil around the plants earth mixture. And, of course, immediately after flowering, cut off untidy inflorescences.

I talked about the classic alpine coaster. In addition to the classics, avant-garde alpine coasters are now being created. So many people, so many tastes.

Not every owner of a plot of land or country house loves to tinker with plants and garden. However, every owner wants beauty and comfort on his land. Those who do not have the time or desire to tinker in the ground can be advised to arrange a rock garden with their own hands. Creating a rocky flower garden on level ground plot of land can only be compared with 3D effects in the world of landscape design. However, it is worth remembering that not every pile of stones can be called a rock garden, so let’s try to figure out how to make a rock garden with your own hands in the country. For clarity, it is better to use step by step photo.

Types of rockeries

Depending on the plants that grow in rockeries, they are divided into three conventional types:

Advice. If there is not enough space on your site to create a full-fledged rock garden, you can build a so-called “mobile rock garden.” It is arranged inside a log, from which all the wood is removed in advance, forming a kind of container.

Planning a rock garden

Planning a rock garden includes several preparatory stages.

One of the most important aspects is a competent choice of location for a rock garden. You should not place your rockery thoughtlessly. Your stone garden should blend harmoniously with the natural topography of your site. Changes in height, combination with an artificial pond or natural stream should be natural.

Try to avoid placing the rockery near fences or buildings, as this will disrupt the overall natural background of your rockery. But if buildings cannot be completely excluded, try draping them with bushes or vines.

First of all, you need to choose a place for the rock garden and determine its design

The beauty of a rock garden is determined not by the number of stones scattered around the site, but by their harmonious combination. Each stone should have its own place. Try to choose stones of the same material, differing only in size.

When laying stones, try to emphasize the characteristic and aesthetically advantageous side of each of them. You can fasten the stones together with a solution or special glue.

Choose stones that are suitable in size and color

Advice. Avoid large accumulations of sharp-angled stones, as this can create feelings of discomfort and anxiety.

If the soil in the place where you plan to build your rockery is loose, then you definitely need to compact it with gravel. This will prevent large stones from sinking and provide good drainage for your plants.

Selection and installation of stones

When creating a rock garden, maximum attention is paid to large stones, because they are the basis of the future garden. Choose stones that have a natural aesthetic appeal.

The rockery should have one largest stone, which will become the center of the composition

Tips from landscape designers:

Site preparation

Before placing a rock garden, the site needs some preparation. Step-by-step instruction:

Plant selection

Plants that are optimally suited for planting in rock gardens can be roughly divided into 4 types:

Step by step procedure

So, when the site for the garden has been selected and prepared, the plan of the rock garden has been drawn and marked, it is necessary to proceed directly to the construction of the garden.

Installation of stones for the future rock garden

The largest stones, which form the heart of the composition, are laid first on the prepared concrete areas. For emphasis, as a rule, one large stone is selected, which is placed on the most spectacular side, and several smaller boulders or layers. You may need proper equipment to move large stones.

Attention. Check the stability of the stones. They don't have to "play". To check how securely the stone stands, you can try swinging it with your feet.

The next step is to fill the gaps between the stones with soil. You should not fill the rockery with too fertile soil, otherwise the plants will grow very quickly and look excessively blooming. While your goal is to make the rockery as close to its natural appearance as possible.

Therefore, it will be better to mix ordinary garden soil with a small amount of sand.

Planting

The third stage is planting plants. The first to land conifers, forming the plant basis of any rock garden. In addition, they give a lively appearance to rockeries at any time of the year, when other plants are fading. Decorative dwarf shrubs are planted after them. They should complement the conifers. Barberries and Chinese lilacs are good choices. You can add color by planting rhodendrons. Then you need to plant perennials and bulbous plants, and balance the composition with the help of ground-blooded plants.

After all the stones and plants have taken their individual places, you need to start decorating the rockery with small pebbles. There are also rules here.

First you need to lay the bottom layer of medium gravel. It will serve as a kind of pillow for forming a decorative layer, and will also add naturalness and hide traces of the non-natural origin of your composition.

The gaps between the stones are filled with soil

A layer is placed on top decorative covering. It is enough to disperse fine gravel over the entire area, but you can use stones of different shades to create fancy patterns. It is better to lay smooth sea stones in one layer over the entire surface. A layer of ground-blooded plants will beautifully emerge between them.

Advice. It must be remembered that a scattering of pebbles throughout the area between vegetation and boulders is an indispensable condition for a well-arranged rock garden. The main rule is what smaller plant, the smaller the stones around it should be.

Look at the photos of already landscaped rockeries, maybe this will inspire you original design your garden.

Rockery care

The big advantage of rock gardens is that they require virtually no maintenance. It all depends on what plants you have chosen for your rock garden. If these are moisture-loving plants, then in the summer they need to be watered using a spray hose so as not to wash away small pebbles. In addition, it is necessary to remove wilted flowers and seeds. It is better not to leave seeds, because this is fraught with self-sowing in places you did not plan. Which will ruin a carefully planned composition. When plants grow rapidly, they can be thinned out. Also, if you have chosen frost-resistant plant species for your rock garden, you need to cover the flowers for the winter. Rockery plants usually do not need feeding, with rare exceptions. You can add soil every few years.

Watering rock garden

As you can see, creating a rock garden at your dacha or private home is a fairly simple task, and almost everyone can do it. With minimal care, this corner of your garden will always please the eye and will certainly become your favorite place in the country. Each year you can make changes to your rock garden by adding or removing certain types of plants. Surely this rocky garden, built with your own hands, will become your place of pride. And the photos and videos in our article will help you improve it in the best possible way. After all, if desired, anyone can become a landscape designer.

Do-it-yourself coniferous rockery: video

Rock garden on a personal plot: photo

When you start doing landscape design, you can’t stop at just one design technique. It would seem that the lawn is sown, hedge There is also a mixborder made right next to the facade. But the soul still strives to search for something new and creative. One of the simplest and most effective ways to transform a garden is to make a rockery with your own hands. Let's look at it step by step: what a rockery is, what types there are, how to make a rockery yourself. After reading the article, you will receive working diagrams that will allow you to organize a beautiful green corner with stones at your dacha.

Rockery and rock garden: what's the difference

Our ancestors began creating a garden of stones many centuries ago. If a flower garden was located on a small hill or artificially created slope, it was called a rock garden. The construction of a rock garden involved placing flowers and stones on an absolutely flat, flat area.

Rock garden and rock garden are not the same thing

This is an important, but far from the only difference. The construction of rock gardens and rockeries differs in monetary and time costs. As a rule, creating an alpine slide will require more investment. Firstly, you lay a special drainage, and secondly, you will need a lot of large stones - individual specimens cost a decent amount. To build a rock garden at your dacha with your own hands, you just need to make the right plan and choose the appropriate material. In most cases, you can do without drainage; 2-3 times less stone will be required.

However, the most important advantage of rockeries is the plants used. You do not need to cultivate alpine species, as is the case with a rock garden. It is allowed to use almost all types that the owners would like to see on the site.

Unlike classic flower beds, rockeries look more natural. The name comes from English. rock - rock.

Types of rockeries

There are several classifications of rockeries, which we will introduce you to:

• Slide. It has a certain resemblance to a rock garden: numerous plants, sheer ledges and sharp cliffs.
• Flat version. It is located on a perfectly flat area and occupies a fairly large area. IN summer time plants suffer much less from heat, and are practically not afraid of frost.
• Wall. Basically, such rockeries are used for zoning the yard. Made in the form of a support or stone wall.

Rockery type: wall

Also, a do-it-yourself rock garden in the country may differ in location. For sunny areas, heat-loving plants are selected - for example, gentianas or bells. If you are planning to make a flower garden in a shaded area, it is recommended to plant shade-preferring plants there. For example, astilbe or heuchera.

Varieties of styles

We have dealt with the concept of rockery; you already know what it is. We suggest going to species diversity flower beds and consider each style in detail. This information will help you understand what stylistic design best suited for your dacha.

Japan

A characteristic feature of Japanese style is minimalism. The number of plants is very small, often limited to 2-3 species. The central place is occupied by round stones. Creating a rock garden with your own hands in Japanese style suitable for those who would like to have tea parties in the garden, aimed at rest and relaxation after work.

England

English style is the complete opposite of Japanese. If in the first case rounded pebbles predominate, then in the second case preference is given to sharp stones resembling rock fragments. The English rockery is assembled from coniferous trees, which makes it look like a cliff in a pine forest.

Rockery in English style

Germany

The Germans are considered the most accurate and punctual nation in the world. This is how the German rock garden turned out with its own hands. Step-by-step photos demonstrate accuracy and rigor. Much more functional than stone gardens in a different style. Stones are often replaced with weighty stone structures that play decorative and practical roles.

Italy

Italian style is the embodiment of smoothness and lightness. Light, round shapes predominate, most colors are bright and delicate. If the territory allows, the owners of rockeries in Italian style Small sculptures and wrought iron furniture are often installed.

Europe

How to describe European style in just one word? It's diverse. The stone composition incorporates a variety of flowering plants. They replace each other from early spring to late autumn.

If you are interested in how to make a rock garden with your own hands, you will get the answer right now. Creating a stone garden is not particularly difficult. You just need to know a few nuances that will help you create a delightful composition.

The rockery should be in harmony with overall design garden

And we will start by choosing a place for the future rock garden. It is noteworthy that it can be placed almost anywhere. Ideally, on a flat area with nearby hills and ravines. They will help you realize your original design idea.

• Since most of our common plants are light-loving, choose a sunny place. A slight shadow is also allowed.
• Make sure that water does not accumulate in this place, especially if the winter was snowy. The roots will begin to rot quickly.
• Tall trees are also not welcome. They will not be able to fit into the overall picture of the stone structure.
• It is not recommended to place a rockery made of conifers close to the house or other buildings. It is near them that snow most often accumulates. During the melting process, it will simply destroy the rock garden.

Simple rockery

Do not start construction until the area has been fenced off. For example, using a rope or tape. Think about how you would like to arrange the stones and plant the plants on a regular piece of paper. Then prepare your tools:

• A shovel.
• A net or film that will protect your plants from pests (moles) and weeds.
• Scoop – makes it easier to plant greens.
• Grooming rake.
• Watering can.
• A sprayer and pruning shears will also not be superfluous.

The materials you will need are sand, gravel or stones, and cement. Naturally, suitable plants, peat and soil.

Rockery along the path

Work order

In short, all work on arranging a rock garden is carried out in the following sequence:

• Installation of drainage (if necessary).
• Creating a slope.
• Laying out stone.
• Planting plants.

To create drainage from the prepared area of ​​soil, you need to remove the top layer of soil to a depth of 15-20 cm. Then remove the weeds along with the rhizomes. Some gardeners are faced with problems such as moles and shrews, which regularly eat up plants. The base of the rockery is covered with a fine-mesh metal mesh - and not a single rodent will get through!

Then at the bottom of the pit it is necessary to lay geotextiles that allow water to pass through. However, it does not rot under the influence of moisture. The resulting depression is filled with crushed stone, sand or broken bricks and compacted. Your task is to make an embankment with an elevation of 50 centimeters and a slope to the southwest, southeast.

Remember that the main enemy of rockeries is not even rodents or bad weather, but moisture. Its excess not only leads to the death of plants, but also disrupts the stone composition. This is why special attention should be paid to the soil and drainage system.

After laying the drainage, we begin preparing a special nutrient mixture for the plants. It consists of 4 components:

• Land for the garden - 3 parts.
• Peat – 1 part.
• Sand – 2 parts.
• Fine crushed stone – 1 part.

Stages of creating a rock garden (video)

Selection of stones and their placement

Any step-by-step instruction claims that the main accent of the rock garden was and remains stones. In most cases, they are matched to the color of the building or landscape. The main criteria: natural appearance, the ability to pass not only air, but also water. Most often, landscape designers use stones such as tuff, granite, limestone and sandstone.

Stone selection

Usage natural stone, rich in shapes and shades, opens up truly limitless space for imagination. At the same time, there are several nuances that should be taken into account when arranging stones:

• In a dry rock garden, angular stones are quite acceptable. If you plan to arrange a stone garden along with a small pond, you should give preference to round boulders.
• The size and shape of the stones should be different. They are selected based on the total area of ​​the rockery. For example, if the area is large, small pebbles will look awkward. And vice versa.
• Use one, maximum two types of stones. Make sure they match the color of the landscape.

We can conclude that laying a rock garden with your own hands, a photo of which you will find in this section, is a creative, incredibly exciting process.

It is better to choose stones of the same type

How to make a rockery (video)

Our guide would be incomplete without detailed recommendations and videos on how to properly create a rock garden. In fact, everything is very simple and clear:

• The basis of the composition will be the largest stones with an attractive side. To achieve greater stability, they dig a little into the ground.
• If space allows, you can use the stone in its already processed form. For example, put a bench or a fountain.
• After placement, plants are planted in the settled soil. It is recommended to plant large and bushy specimens first, and then move on to small and ground covers.
• The final stage is filling the empty spaces with small stones and small pebbles.

How to care

This is the last section of the article where you get real recommendations and practical advice about how to care for rock gardens.

• A stone garden requires minimal maintenance. Its complexity always depends on the plants that were chosen for planting.
• Plants that love watering will not be able to limit themselves to just rain. Watering from a hose will also not work - you will flood the entire structure. Carefully water from a watering can or use a hose, but with a special nozzle.
• Some species are very afraid of frost. Therefore, they will need to be insulated for the winter. In autumn, seeds, dry twigs and fallen leaves are removed.

Rockery care

conclusions

Having learned the details and plans for arranging a rock garden, you begin to understand that making it yourself is an elementary task. Purchase expensive materials no need to mess around with stone garden there is no need for weeks either. All you need is imagination and your desire.