Rock Gardens – A Beautiful Way To Enhance Your Garden

One of the most economical ways to enhance the landscape surrounding your home is to build a rock garden. Rock gardens are most often associated with the British Isles, where the climate is rarely accommodating to delicate plants. You don’t find very many plants in a rock garden, and the ones you do find are usually very hardy. The arrangement of the rocks in your garden, when properly complemented by attractive plants with coordinating colors, can add to the beauty of the home and provide a low-maintenance landscape feature that should not interfere with your lawn-mowing practices; rather, it will reduce the amount of space that requires mowing. 

When you decide to start a rock garden the first thing you will need to do is inspect the area where your garden will be. Remove any spindly grass varieties as well as any diseased plants and trees and any other plants you don’t want there. Make sure you also get the roots, or else later on your rock garden may be invaded by unwanted ferns or perennials. 

Assuming you are going to add some plants to your garden, be sure to test the pH level of your soil. It is best to wait until a full growing season has passed before you add any plants to your rock garden. Doing this will give you time to remove any weeds, root and all, that may make an appearance as well as allowing the soil to settle. It is also desirable to mix in such soil enhancements as mulch, compost, and other compounds. If the plants you wish to add require soils with alkali, take some limestone or crushed oyster shells and mix it into the soil. 

When you are done improving the soil, you can start to place the rocks. For aesthetic reason, don’t space your rocks evenly, or use rocks that are the same shape or size. Variety is key when choosing rocks for your rock garden, just as it is when choosing plants for a conventional garden.

If you want to have a lot of plants in your rock garden, then you will have to space the rocks further apart to give the plants room. On the other hand, if you are only going to use a few plants, leave less space between the rocks, but leave space for the plants to grow. The more natural you make the design look the more attractive it will be. 

When placing the rocks in a garden that is sloped, it is best to start at the low parts of slopes and work up. Slope the top part of your rocks so that the water from the sprinklers as well as rainwater will run to the bottom of the slope. Additionally, try to keep outcroppings from overshadowing rocks and plants below.

You are trying to give a sense of stability to your rock garden. The widest part of the rock should act as a base. You can also set a larger rock on top of smaller rocks and then fill in the cracks with soil.
When working with a flat section of ground, place your rocks starting on the inside and moving toward the outer edges of your garden. If you are planning a circular garden, or a rock garden in some other shape that is surrounded by other landscape features, this can be tricky. Therefore, you should draw a map and mark on the map where you would like to place each stone. This way, you will be sure of placing each rock in the proper place. It may be necessary, on a flat site, to build up small mounds of dirt in different places to give the rock garden an interesting appearance.

Make sure the soil has settled and everything is in place before you add any plants to the garden. Early spring or early autumn are the best times to do any planting, including planting in rock gardens. Make sure you choose plants that are suited for rugged terrain and adapted to your climate. Then, plant them in the spaces you have designated. The end result should be a beautiful garden that requires little upkeep.