Rockery – a small rocky garden, is becoming increasingly popular as a landscaping element among the owners of small country cottages, as the owners of substantial houses and residences. Name «rockery» has an English origin, the root word «rock» translates as «rock». The most interesting form of the flower garden is naturally able to combine the beauty of stone and plants. Rockery with their hands – the perfect opportunity to put on the site the wildest imagination to create a wondrous garden of stones that will become the highlight of the landscape, emphasizing the individuality of its owner.
The contents
What styles are there?
Rockery in the garden looks like a rock garden: the composition of both elements are formed from rocks and plants. The distinguishing feature between them is the relief arrangement and the choice of plants for composition. Rock gardens are placed on the natural slopes of the site and to create compositions exclusively limited selection of Alpine plants.
As land for the creation of the rockery will suit absolutely any terrain, including fully flat ground
The choice of plants for rockeries extensive: in creating the composition can be used as evergreen conifers, as flowering annuals.
No matter what style will be completed flower on stones, the scheme of planting of rockeries will be approximately similar
Landscape designers there are three main styles of rockeries: English, Japanese, and European. The difference between them is mainly based on the ratio of the number of stones, and planted plants.
English style involves the composition the use of durable conifers. Evergreen perennials are loved by the British because they allow you to create a landscape decoration that are ready to serve not one decade
European style provides for the establishment of stone songs for content and composition as close as possible to the natural conditions of Central
In Japanese style, the emphasis is on the rocks: slides abound with granite boulders, occasionally decorated with bright touches of various plants
The key to success is selection of the correct places
Not every heap of stones, decorated with randomly planted plants, can be called a rockery. Thinking about the question: how to make a rockery with their hands, first you need to correctly choose the place for the future composition.
Very well, if the terrain is not uniform and there are small hills and drops. Rough surface provides an ideal framework to create decorative types of composition and the implementation of interesting ideas. Even a small mound can be transformed into dry rocky scree, a system of ledges of the mountain valley, or a picturesque cascade.
On a flat surface and you can create artificial changes in terrain, or create a «plain» stone sculptures.
Hilly area convenient to create a variety of variations «mountain» rockeries
Points to consider when choosing a place under a rockery at the dacha:
- Preference should be given to Sunny areas that will expand the choice for light-loving plants to create a gorgeous flower bed.
- Rockery to blend in with the terrain, uniting in a single picture with other elements: decorative «mountain» a Creek, elevation changes, retaining walls, an artificial pond.
- To decorate the buildings or fence, often spoiling the background compositions, climbing plants or shrubs.
- It is undesirable to place a flower garden close to the house, as the spring snow melting can lead to the destruction of the composition.
Prudent arrangement of rockeries
To facilitate the implementation of the idea of creating the rockery with their hands will help a rough plan of future composition. Then, using the cord should be marked in the selected area dimensions of the area under the flower garden. With the entire surface of the pad removed a layer of sod to a depth of 15-25cm are selected from the soil the roots of the weeds. The bottom of the dug pit being coated with a geotextile, which prevents the growth of weeds.
Device rockeries can not do without such an important stage, as the arrangement of the drainage, which you can use gravel or brick red
The drainage system will allow you to save the flower garden on the stones from the accumulation of water. To do this, the bottom of the dug pit is covered with a layer of the selected drainage material, then filled with a 5 cm layer of coarse sand and then covered by layer of soil.
Some gardeners as drainage used construction waste, but this «neighborhood» may adversely planted plants.
In the base composition of stacked stones with an attractive surface the largest sizes. Deciding how to make a rockery so it effectively looked from any area of the site, should choose the most original side of the stone and roll it outward from the flower garden.
Stones should be placed in small pits corresponding to their size. Under the base of the boulders slipped soil and splinters, which are then thoroughly compacted with the fact, so as not to leave air pockets. To check how well «sitting» stone, if you stand on it and try a little rock.
Stacking stones, you should adhere to the principle of naturalness: some small stones original group, and large boulders set apart by filling the void with plants. In this case each stone should be given a thoughtful place
To create songs in the same style it is advisable to choose stones of different sizes but of the same material. Small stones can be fastened with a special adhesive or mortar.
What plants are better to use in songs?
Well-chosen plants, along with rocks represent the face of rockery. The main advantage of rockeries is the ability to use to decorate the flower garden of any plants that are organically fit into the established landscape.
Decorating the composition is spectacular blooms and complementing each other, the plants do flower in the ornate stones throughout the year
With the first rays of spring sun after the snow Wake up snowdrops and crocuses, painting flower garden bright touches of various shades. To replace them, dwarf tulips, Muscari and primroses, delighting the eye with colorful blooms. With the onset of heat the ball of beauty in the flower garden are starting to rule the annuals that look impressive on the background of lush green pillows of podvorotnya: cerastium, sunflower, cat’s foot, Ajuga, Phlox styloid…
Very comfortable, surrounded by stones feel povorotnyi, saxifrage, young, Sedum.
Rockery of conifers in front of the house is not only a spectacular decoration of the site landscape. The essential oil secreted by the needles, beneficial to the health of the hosts and guests of the site.
Decoration compositions of small size plants will be super-dwarfs: evergreen junipers, miniature arborvitae, pyramidal cypresses, the beautiful spruce
Plants it is desirable to combine color, shape and size in order not to compromise the integrity of the flower garden. The soil around the plants you can decorate as little gravel, and river pebbles or ordinary rubble.
