Rock gardens are modeled on nature and flora in the high mountains. Plants from almost all mountains in the world can be used for this purpose, some of which are quite uncomplicated to care for, but others are also very demanding. However, the conditions necessary for the successful care of mountain plants can be easily achieved with a little skill and the right soil preparation.
How do I create a rock garden?
To create a rock garden, choose a sunny location, prepare the soil, install drainage and use the right rock garden soil. Place suitable stones and plant the garden with suitable cushion plants, clump plants and rubble colonizers.
Where do rock garden plants grow best?
High mountain plants have to adapt to extremely adverse living conditions. In order to protect themselves from the harsh winds at high altitudes, most plants have become dwarfed or, like the silverwort (Dryas octopetala), have developed into carpets that lie flat on the ground or rock. Other species, such as the Swiss Man's Shield (Androsace helvetica), nestle in narrow rock crevices and form dense cushions in a small space.
Which place in the garden is suitable for creating a rock garden?
Most rock garden plants feel very comfortable in a sunny southeast, south or southwest location, provided there is shading during midday (e.g. B. by cleverly positioning large stones or trees). Locations under larger trees or other woody plants, on the other hand, are unsuitable because they lack the necessary sunlight and the plants, which are very sensitive to moisture and wetness, cannot dry out quickly enough after a rainstorm. But be careful: There are some rock garden plants that thrive especially in the shade. Many ferns belong to this category.
What should the rock garden look like?
There are incredibly diverse ways to create a rock garden. In order to create the necessary gradient, embankments (e.g. from the excavation of a garden pond or artificial stream) can be carried out and designed accordingly or dry stone walls can be built. A small trough garden, on the other hand, can even be set up where there is actually no space for a garden: for example on the balcony or terrace.
Ideas for different rock gardens
A natural rock garden is modeled on the high mountain landscape and looks as if you had placed a piece of the mountains in your own garden. A combination of a stream or pond with a rock garden is also very nice to look at. The opposite of this natural is the architectural rock garden, whereby the builder moves away from the natural model of a rocky landscape. Instead, in terms of design, the rock garden is more in the form of a sculpture or something similar. This effect is achieved by using exposed concrete slabs or fragments thereof, roof tiles, bas alt columns, etc. Also very interesting to look at is the so-called sunken garden, in which the planting takes place between one or more dry stone walls.
Which types of stone are suitable for the rock garden?
In the rock garden, limestone rocks such as Jurassic limestone, mussel limestone, nodular stones or limestone tuff as well as typical silicate rocks such as granite, slate or lava rock are mainly used. However, you cannot plant the different types of rock as you wish, because the majority of rock plants are specialized in one of the two rock groups. Lime-escaping plants such as the prickly nut or the Adonis rose, planted in limestone, would inevitably die.
How to build your own rock garden
Before you can start stacking the stones and planting, you must first prepare the intended planting site. This includes not only pulling out existing weeds - especially root weeds such as thistles, morning glories, couch grass and groundweed - but also digging them out. These weeds develop long roots from which they grow again and again and can quickly take over. Once the planting site has finally been prepared, dig out the subsoil and install drainage. Laying drainage pipes is particularly important in heavy clay soils to prevent waterlogging - rock garden plants are used to dry substrates and would quickly die if they were waterlogged.
Here you will find instructions for building your own rock garden substrate:
- the bottom layer is a layer of gravel or gravel
- Inside is the drainage pipe (12.00€ on Amazon) (e.g. a Drain-Flex pipe with a diameter of 65 to 80 mm)
- on top of that there is a layer of topsoil
- and the last layer of rock garden soil
- Use these to finally arrange the stones
- Stepping stones make later maintenance work easier
When installing the stones, make sure that they sit securely, i.e. H. no stone should wobble. If necessary, add some earth or grit under the stone on the wobbly edges.
Choosing the right rock garden soil
Rock garden soil should above all have good drainage properties. Compost soil with its high nutrient content is unsuitable because the rock garden plants are used to poor soils and therefore only need small amounts of nutrients.
Suitable plants for the rock garden
The rock garden plants suitable for our Central European climate come from the high mountain regions of the northern and southern hemispheres, excluding Australia and Antarctica. The climates are surprisingly similar: they are characterized by strong winds as well as long winters and short summers.
Cushion plants
To protect themselves from strong winds and excessive cold, cushion plants forego the longitudinal growth of their shoots so that their leaves lie directly on top of each other. Examples of suitable species are:
- Stemless catchfly (Silene acaulis)
- Pair-leaved saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia)
- Stonewort (Alyssum)
- Man's Shield (Androsace)
- Carnations (Armeria)
- Noble Rue (Artemisia)
- Andean cushion (Azorella trifurcata)
Oyster plants
Most perennials and almost all grasses have a clumpy growth habit, i.e. H. The new shoots that form year after year follow the older shoots in a circle or in one direction. They form dense bushes. Species suitable for the rock garden include grasses such as
- Fox red sedge (Carex buchananii)
- Mountain sedge (Carex montana)
- Blue fescue (Festuca cinerea)
- Bearskin grass (Festuca gauteri)
Rubbish colonizer
Rubbly colonizers, whose long shoots run through the rock rubble, are suitable for planting dry stone walls and the gaps between the stone slabs of paths and stairs. Typical representatives of this group are:
- Dalmatian cranesbill (Geranium dalmaticum)
- Bluebells (Campanula, various species)
- Silverroot (Dryas octopetala)
Tip
If you want to cultivate mountain plants that are difficult to care for, you can build an alpine greenhouse. Plants can grow here that are only partially hardy in our latitudes. These include, for example, plants from the New Zealand Alps.