It is impossible to imagine landscape design individual or suburban area without scenic spots, designed for garden decoration and so eye pleasing their masters. «The highlight», can instantly transform the appearance of the garden landscape is an exotic visitor to our area, originally from the Mediterranean, the Alpine garden, created in the form of islet of wild nature of the Alps, built of stone rock with bright patches of lush vegetation. Suggest you figure out how to arranged this design.
The contents
Types and schemes of the device of the rock garden
Armed with patience and imagination, you can easily create a rock garden with his own hands. Let’s look at how to properly plan and lay down the Alpine slide without the involvement of specialized professionals. Please note that the main component in the construction of the rock garden is a group of stones of various sizes, «gray silence» which diluted plant species characteristic of the Alpine area of the conifers, coating and kamnelomku plants. Creating a rock garden in the country or outside the property, you form a mountainous piece of nature, very natural, therefore, stones, and plants should be placed randomly, in a natural way.
Rock garden is a striking garden decoration, standing out against the background of green grass
Depending, on what basis are selected and placed stones, rock gardens are of such types:
- Rock steep Alpine hill with dominant large boulders at the base surrounded by stones of medium and small size, placed closer to the top.
- Or mountain scree slope — rock garden with one side of the marker stones are closer to the top, and a scattering of small stone at the base.
- Mountain valley — horizontal arrangement of the rock garden with boulders, medium and small stones, arranged in a free way.
- Terraced slope — rock garden of this type arranged on a gentle slope in the form of small steps, supported by large stone blocks.
- Forest ravine — this rock garden is located in the recess, similar to a seashell, decorated the massive moss-covered boulders.
- Rocky wall is the rock garden, formed mainly of stone, flat shape, folded in the form of a low curb.
- Separately want to highlight the latest fashion — rock garden «Czech rolling pin«. About it we wrote a separate article — you can read here.
Sometimes Alpine slide called the rockery. In fact, rockery rock garden is different from the selection of stones in its Foundation are not only rocks, but river boulders or rounded large pebbles.
The original design of the fence can be a rock garden in a rocky wall, made of layered stone
The choice of location for accommodation
Picking a place to create a rock garden on your land, you need to consider that you create an accent designed to brighten your garden, so you want to place Alpine slide in open space, that it was a plot with a good view from all sides. As a rule, the Alpine slide break in the center or on the edge of their turf. Orient the rock garden is best on a South or South-West so it will be well lit by the sun and get a sufficient amount of heat.
Alpine hill in the middle of a green lawn will become the dominant element in the landscape design of your site
The terraced Alpine garden harmoniously fit into the natural topography of the garden
When laying the Alpine slide is necessary to avoid areas adjacent to buildings and in the shadows of massive trees, however, shrubs or trees may be present in the background, at some distance, to create a backdrop for a spectacular perception of the rock garden. Well, when the rock garden inscribed into the existing landscape of the land plot, located on a gentle slope or in a ravine, is inscribed in natural differences in elevation — lowlands and hills of the area.
Aim for the trees and bushes behind the rock garden was a solid color. Motley the background will distract from the whole perception of the Alpine slide as the accent element in the landscape of the area.
The stairs leading up the slope, can be nicely complemented by an Alpine slide, imitating a rocky landscape
The starting point for the creation of rocky hills can serve as a diagram of the rock garden, drawn to scale, where you pre-plan the arrangement of rocks and planting of plants. If the rock garden is to be placed in the bottom of the garden, you need to consider walkways and paths leading to it.
Bench, lost in the depths of the garden, surrounded by wild nature native of the Alps can be the perfect place for secluded relaxation
Looks spectacular when the Alpine slide crosses a rocky twisty trail or a dry stream of small stones, and a nearby bench or grotto with a bench where you can admire the result of his landscape art.
Looks great rock garden in tandem with a small pond, overgrown with reeds and water lilies
Looks very harmonious rock garden with a pond, especially if it’s a little marshy pond with a typical moisture-loving plants, planted along the shore. Interesting solution to the design of the pond can become fit overall tree or shrub of coniferous breeds on a tiny «patch» land adjacent to the water. This technique will visually expand the boundaries of the area.
Rock garden, created from huge stone blocks in combination with a small waterfall, really brighten up your garden
A striking accent, Alpine hills, combined with water, can become a small waterfall, cascading faux rocks or stone walls.
Step-by-step development of rock garden
Preparatory works at the laying of the
Using the pre-created plan of the rock garden, start a tab with a marking selected sites — determine the diameter of the roller coaster, the height and location accent stones of large size. The height of the hill is calculated on the basis of the diameter of its base is 1 m base equal to 10-20 cm in height. The height of the rock garden is optimally in the range of 0.5-1.5 meters.
Draw a diagram of the Alpine slide, identifying its dimensions and the location of the main elements of the composition
Shape the slopes of the Alpine slide so that one of them was more gentle and focused on the South
Many wonder how to make a rock garden resistant to natural processes of destruction under the influence of wind, groundwater, and precipitation? It is best to construct a rock garden in the fall and carefully prepare the ground for him. Soil preparation prior to the creation of the Alpine hills, is the site clearance and removal of topsoil to a depth of 20-30 cm.
Before laying the rock garden form a drainage layer to divert water
This penetration is necessary for the device of drainage — drainage of water from the rock garden, which it is filled with gravel, expanded clay, crushed brick or construction debris to a height of 10 cm is sprinkled over the Top 5-cm layer of coarse sand, then a 15-centimeter layer of soil, which, subsequently, stacked stones, and planted plants.
When building a terraced rock garden at the base of each tier is laid of large stone
In the preparation of the site for the rock garden, pay special attention to weeding to get rid of perennial weeds type of Wheatgrass, which germinate can destroy the mound from the inside. It is desirable to further process the land for laying the rock garden herbicides.
The main composition of stones
A composition of stones start with laying large blocks at the base of the Alpine slide
Arrangement of stones — the Foundation of any rock garden. It is important to choose for the whole roller coaster stones of the same kind but of different sizes — some very large boulders, stones of medium and small dimensions. Provide flat stones, they will serve as a kind stages for movement in the care of an Alpine slide. You start laying the stones you need from the bottom up — from large to small, grouping and distributing them. Erroneous stacking of stones naturally with the observance of the equal distances between them. Stones for the rock garden should be placed randomly, close to the natural mountainous landscape.
When building the rockery stones you need to bury in the soil
During the laying of the Alpine hills, rocks zaglubljajutsja 1/2 or 1/3 of its height, and then optionally backfilled soil, which is composed of equal parts of loam, peat, humus and sand. Once the sinus between the stones sprinkled with, the earth is rammed and watered by the spray jet, so the soil is not washed out. Planting is not recommended immediately after the layout of a composition of stones — hill you need to give time, about 2-3 weeks to get it established and have slipped a bit. Best of all, if the hill will survive the winter, and in spring we start planting.
Another point — when you form the composition of the stones, periodically move away from the hill at the distance of 3-5 meters to appreciate its harmony and integrity.
Selection and planting of plants
Wintered, in the spring rock garden ready for planting. Usually, these are plants characteristic of high altitudes of the Alps. Initially planted shrubs, then herbaceous plants, and at the end — groundcover «Alpines». Plants for the rock garden should be chosen so that the hill looked impressive at any time of the year, delighting the eye primroses bloom in spring, colorful foliage ground cover plants and evergreen conifers.
For planting plants in the ground between stones dug hole, the bottom of which is strengthened with gravel, and then placed the plant. After landing, the ground around and multimedia compacted fine gravel.
Proper placement of the plants will promote their growth and enhance the aesthetic sound of the Alpine slide
The center of the composition of the rock garden of ephedra can be a dwarf weeping tree
It is important to know that quite undemanding option of landscape design could be the Alpine garden of conifers, when stone composition is diluted evergreen shrubs and trees.
How to choose a suitable stone?
While choosing the stone for the rock garden you need to pay attention to its size, shape, and surface features. Given that the rock garden simulates a mountain landscape, where the stones polished by rain and winds are irregular, but the natural form for the Alpine slide is not desirable to use a rounded stone or river-borne rubble with sharp edges.
A good choice for a rock garden is limestone or Sandstone. Suitable dolomite — sedimentary rock, shale with layered structure, basalt, travertine, calcareous tufa, light gneiss. Especially valuable specimens for the rock garden will be a forest boulder, overgrown with moss and lichen.
For the formation of the Alpine slide, you should choose stones of various sizes — from huge boulders to small gravel
A great choice for the Alpine slide will serve as the Sandstone — layered stone light beige
The options for the device rock garden:
- Quartz white-green fragmental rock, fragments flattened, ranging in size from 20 to 60 inches, is extracted in Orenburg;
- Milky quartz — a stone with an uneven rough surface from 30 to 70 cm, is mined in the Urals;
- Serpentinite stone with silver or green color, size 25-45 cm, produced in the Caucasus, 15 RUB/kg;
- Elbrus — stone gray or beige size 20-90 cm, 11 RUB/kg;
- «Petrified wood» of quartzite oblong yellow-beige color with veins, 20-50 cm, 16 RUB/kg;
- Jasper green and red, size 20-60 cm, 12 RUB/kg;
- Serpentine green — stone size of 20-80 cm, and 19 rubles/kg;
- Quartz «Rainbow» — stone yellow-brown in color, size 10-70 cm, 11 RUB/kg;
- Sandstone — a stone of arbitrary rounded shape of sand or gray, with a size of 30-90 cm.
If to create a rock garden to use limestone, the soil, pour between the stones, will have an alkaline reaction, is not suitable for some plants, so the soil will have to acidify.
Plants for planting in rock gardens
Shade-tolerant Alpine plants that are planted on the Northern slope of the rock garden:
- Astilba — flowers in July, has small pink flowers are collected in pyramidal inflorescences.
- Saxifrage is a perennial plant of the family saxifrage with bright green fleshy leaves and purple buds.
- Periwinkle — the owner of a shiny dark-green foliage and blue 5-petal flowers.
- Ajuga — groundcover, fast growing under the sun.
- Fern — looks great at the foot of the Alpine slide.
- Primrose spring primrose.
- Stahis is an unpretentious plant with bluish fuzzy leaves.
- Hosts — grow in rosettes of leaves of various colours — white, blue, gold veined.
Effective solution for rock garden, stone hedge — colorful flower cover
Periwinkle and carnation, the traditional inhabitants of the Alpine hills
Light-loving Alpine plants that are planted on the southern slope of the Alpine slide:
- Adonis is a perennial plant with bright flowers.
- Atsena — doesn’t lose leaves in winter and flowers after flowering take the form of a needle red balls.
- Decorative bow — large sheets in combination with a long vertical shafts with spherical color.
- Iris is a perennial bulbous plant with flowers similar to an Orchid.
- Lavender — evergreen shrub with small purple.
- The young — small outlet fleshy leaves of a light green color.
The combination of cover plants with saxifrage and primrose plant creates a harmonious composition of Alpine garden
Versatile plants for the Alpine slide:
- Arabis is a perennial groundcover, blooms in may and late fall.
- Bell — has a rich color from July to October.
- Krokus — bulbotuberiferous plants, primrose.
- Muscari — bulbous plant resembling the hyacinth.
- The saponaria grows in calcareous rocks, Alpine perennial.
- Sedum (stonecrop) — rosettes of succulent leaves with lemon color.
- Scylla — the Pimpernel with the blue buds.
- Violet — flowering plant, flowering almost the whole warm season.
- Phlox — a carpet plant with small pink.
An interesting move in making rocky trails is a combination of wooden steps and rock garden of ephedra
Evergreens, harmoniously and naturally complement the ensemble of the rock Alpine garden:
- Spruce and canadian;
- Pine mountain;
- There are Cossack juniper, rocky or ordinary.
Shrubs, forming an intermediate layer between the small trees and ground cover crops in rock gardens:
- Almonds;
- Broom Russian;
- English;
- Barberry red;
- Euonymus;
- Heather;
- Cotoneaster horizontal;
- Cinquefoil.
The forest boulders, covered with lichen, is located on the waterfront — the original idea for the design of the rock garden
Care of a rock garden involves weeding, removing dead flowers and watering liquid. Fertilize Alpine slide of phosphate and potassium fertilizers, but not often — only to prepare for the winter. To protect from frost in winter, plants cover the shavings, fir spruce branches or burlap. When the snow falls — always maintain the snow cover on the hill to help the plants to survive the winter.
An example video of the rock garden with his own hands
