The device of rockeries, their features and styles, work plan and technology for their implementation. Rockery is a decorative garden composition consisting of stones and plants. It has a lot in common with a rock garden, but differs from it in the technology of creating and selecting plants. How to make rockeries will be discussed in this article.
Features of rockery in the country
One of the oldest examples of landscape design is called a flower garden broken between stones, shrubs, dwarf trees. If it is located on a hill or a bulk slope, it is called a rock garden. On the territory with a flat relief - rockeries.
Compared to an alpine slide, its creation requires less costs in terms of finance and time. Under the rock garden, it is necessary to make a special drainage, lay a lot of stones, individual and large samples of which are not cheap. In addition, a special selection of plants corresponding to the alpine flora is needed here. Whereas in the manufacture of rockeries, only a correctly drawn up scheme is required, much less stones and an arbitrary choice of decorative plantings. The absence of the need for drainage greatly simplifies the work at its preparatory stage.
Planting is the main advantage of rockeries. The presence of alpine flowers and shrubs, unlike the rock garden, is not at all necessary here. In rockeries, you can use those types of plantings that are closest to the owners of the garden.
To create a beautiful flower-stone garden, you need to take into account many factors and existing rules. But first of all, it is necessary to choose a certain style for rockeries that is in harmony with the design of the personal plot as much as possible.
There are few of them: European, English and Japanese. Any of these styles has only its inherent features, which can be easily identified by amateurs and professionals who are "in the subject." The main difference between these directions is the ratio of "living" and "monumental" material in a stone garden. So, in the first style of plants and stones 50/50. The English version provides only 30% of stones, the Japanese version - 70%. However, these figures are approximate enough. But for a certain project, quite specific ratios are chosen that differ in terms of indicators from the standard by 10-20%.
European rockery in landscape design looks natural for the conditions where it is equipped. The style should give people the impression that the composition has a natural origin. Plants for her can be very different, ranging from ordinary flowers and ending with ground cover representatives of the flora.
English rockery provides for the use of conifers and wormwood in its design. In Great Britain, evergreen compositions are extremely popular - they are so bright and unpretentious in care.
Japanese rockery is distinguished by an abundance of stones. Their predominance sets the "storyline" of the entire composition. The negligible number of plants in such a stone garden creates only the appearance of life, which stubbornly makes its way through the block of eternity. This is a deep meaning, which is enclosed in a special philosophy inherent in the Land of the Rising Sun.
In terms of plant selection, rockeries are divided into static or variable species. The first ones constantly retain their primordiality. Plants for these compositions are selected that lend themselves to shearing. These are slow-growing shrubs of conifers or dwarf vegetation. The second option implies a changing design. Plants here are selected differently and so that, replenishing the composition, not to violate its artistic meaning.
Planning a rockery
Before starting work, you need to choose a place for a garden composition, determine its dimensions, and then draw up a rockery diagram, displaying it on paper. It can be flat or located on a hill. The composition will look more advantageous on the natural relief of the area with its slopes and drops. However, a lot here also depends on the idea of the author of the project.
The ideal option for creating a picturesque threshold of stones and vegetation would be the presence of a hill on the site. However, here, in order to obtain the real beauty of a stone garden, you will have to carefully select every mineral, every flower. What was conceived should be indicated on the diagram.
If the composition will be viewed from all sides, it is better to plant tall plants in its middle. At the back, they can be positioned if it is possible to view the rockery from any one point.
It is recommended to leave enough space between the planted areas of the ensemble for plant development, especially if it occurs quickly. At the same time, it is important to know what size the seedlings can be as a result of their growth.
When planning the creation of rockeries, it is recommended to pay attention to the following points:
- It should not be located near the house, since the appearance of the composition can be spoiled by the fall of precipitation from the roof in the form of snow, streams of water in the spring. A relaxation patch in the back of the garden is the best option for a rockery.
- The area where the composition is located should be well lit by the sun. In this case, the problem with the choice of most plants will disappear, since many of them love light.
- It is not recommended to set up a stone garden near a large tree. Neighboring it will negatively affect the entire composition due to the visual effect that makes it much smaller.
- A garden of stones near the fence is also not a place. Such a background will ruin any combination of rockery elements.
Rockery device technology in the country
For an absolute beginner who is experiencing difficulties in the field of gardening, there is good advice: do not create problems for yourself and build the simplest miniature rockery using a minimum of materials. To do this, it is enough to beautifully lay a dozen stones, and then plant, for example, crocuses or a Carpathian bell between them. But if such a garden is no longer interesting, you can try your hand at making a rockery with props and terraces, an artificial reservoir and a babbling cascade with your own hands. Such compositions, which are called "ravines", "mountain streams" and others, are in fact groups of the main 2 types - terraced and flat rockery.
Flat rockery
Its device should begin with the formation of the base. The outlines of the future landscape composition must be marked on the ground with the help of pegs and a cord. Ideal symmetry is not needed for rockeries, the natural style will suit him better.
When the site is marked, the sod should be removed from it. The top layer of soil about 20 cm thick should be cut off with a shovel. Then weeds must be removed from the soil. The resulting depression must be used for the drainage device. To do this, the bottom of the excavation should be covered with crushed stone, small pieces of concrete or brick. If this is not done, the water will stagnate, which will subsequently lead to leaching of the soil and the death of plants.
If a rocky garden is supposed to be located on a hill, drainage can be omitted. Water will still leave the surface of the soil immediately after a downpour. If shrews have settled on the site, when creating drainage, it is worth covering the base with a steel mesh and pouring a five-centimeter layer of sand on top.
Now it's time to prepare the ground. The composition of the fertile backfill depends on the type of plants planned for planting. It will be correct if it includes layer-by-layer forest soil, garden compost, loam and black peat. The freshly poured soil should settle. If you water it daily, it will take at least half a month to shrink.
After preparing the base, you can smoothly move on to the layout of the stones of the amazing garden. They are the most important element of the composition, therefore it is important not to allow the development of vegetation to such an extent that it completely covers the boulders, visually displacing them from the general picture.
For flat rockeries, huge stones and very small stones of dull colors are suitable. Rough and embossed boulders will give the stone flower garden maximum naturalness. But if it will be located by the stream, smooth specimens, polished over time, will be required.
To give some completeness to the stone composition, the cobblestones should be placed in one layer. At the same time, it is undesirable to combine angular and rounded stones together. Ideally, single-layer masonry can be made of sandstone, white limestone, dense tuff, or granite.
In some cases, the entire garden can be set up against the backdrop of just one stone with an outstanding texture. Then all other elements of rockery will only emphasize the enchanting beauty of the "soloist".
To prevent boulders from “crawling” and settling, it is recommended that each be laid on a gravel-sand mixture, half buried in the ground. Do not forget about the necessary place for plants, it should be left between the boulders. But in any case, the rockery in the country should not resemble a quarry, consisting of a pile of cobblestones.
After laying the stones, you can start planting the plants. They will need 10-15 types. These can be herbaceous perennials with beautiful flowering, conifers with an unusual crown shape, or miniature deciduous bushes with flowers that do not disappear until frost.
Coniferous rockery can be decorated with a low-growing juniper, dwarf pine, spruce or spherical thuja. Coniferous plants are planted in early spring or autumn.
Of the types of deciduous shrubs in stone, roses and cotoneaster, azaleas, box trees and spireas look good.
Ground cover perennials perfectly level the boundaries of a rocky garden, making a smooth transition to the common territory. These include cloves, thyme, periwinkle, rejuvenated and many others.
When choosing plantings for rockeries, you need to take into account the peculiarities of its location. In the case when the composition is required to be arranged in the form of a stream that cascades into a small pond, it is better to place the moisture-loving vegetation along the reservoir, and the rest between the stones.
Terraced rockery
It is almost indistinguishable from an alpine slide. The only caveat is that for the device of a rockery with terraces, a natural terrain is enough, and to create a rock garden, an artificial embankment is required to imitate a mountain landscape.
When creating terraced rockeries on a natural slope, stones of the same type should be used. They need to be placed on a slope, providing space for plants between the boulders.
Rockery terraces are a system of retaining walls that differ in length and shape.
The focusing points on such rockeries should be placed evenly over the terraces. For example, when planting a bush at the edge of the lower platform, the same bush should be planted on the other side. However, when performing these procedures, it is worth making sure that the upper plants are not covered by those that are planted below.
How to make rockery - watch the video:
When creating a stepped rockery, you will always have the opportunity to play with chiaroscuro and textures. But this composition is already quite difficult to define as a flower bed with stones. Here it already serves as a full-fledged architectural element.
