If you want to create an easy-care rock garden, perennials are a good choice when it comes to planting. However, not all species are suitable for this type of garden. Our article gives you practical tips for designing the rock garden and provides ideas for suitable perennials.
What is a rock garden anyway?
A rock garden is the combination of stones and plants in the garden. Sloping terrain, walls and embankments offer optimal conditions. Furthermore, the location should be sunny - also because the plants that grow in a rock garden mainly come from mountains.
In short, a location on the southern, eastern or western side as well as on a slope is ideal. The intensity of the sunlight is right there and the drainage, which is also essential, works best.
Plan a rock garden
- Before planting the perennials, any weeds must be carefully removed. In particular, you must consistently combat root weeds such as nettles, groundweed, couch grass or morning glories.
- Waterlogging must be avoided at all costs. Add a drainage layer of coarse gravel to the selected area for your rock garden.
- A mixture of sand, gravel and earth forms the perfect substrate.
- Use stones found in the area. It is advisable to use uniform stone material in order to achieve a harmonious overall appearance. Larger boulders are very attractive: you can lean taller perennials decoratively against them.
- Speaking of perennials: Of course, you have to choose plants that can cope with strong sun and drought or even crave it. It's also nice when the perennials provide a blaze of color until autumn.
These perennials are suitable for a rock garden
The following is a list of perennials that are perfect for rock gardens:
- Houseleek (various forms, insensitive to drought, colorful)
- Garden silverwort (charming carpet-like mats, blooms in May and June, feathery seed heads after flowering)
- Autumn saxifrage (brownish-glossy leaves all year round, white veil of flowers in autumn, good for shady, dry locations, such as in the entrance area)
- Sedums (robust and easy to care for, intense red foliage possible, flowers in white, pink or crimson)
- Soapwort (blooms from July until well into autumn, light pink, clove-like flowers)
- Carpet myrtle aster (tolerates drought, blooms white in September and October)
- White stonecrop (ground cover, very thick leaves - green in summer, copper-red in autumn)
- Thyme (various leaf varieties in white, green or gray)
