How to make a rock garden at your dacha with your own hands. Do-it-yourself rock garden - a spectacular stone garden in the middle of the lawn. Final stage of work

Rock garden - have you heard of this? This is the rock garden that has captivated more than one country house owner. The original composition of plants and stones is beautiful and immediately attracts attention with its unusual appearance. Rockeries are often made independently. This means you don't have to hire a private landscaper. Thanks to our website and detailed instructions, you can organize a rock garden at your dacha with your own hands.

Looking at the flower beds and flower beds, you immediately understand that they were built artificially. Rockeries look more natural.

The word itself comes from the English “rock”, that is, rock.

Rock garden or rock garden - what's the difference?

There are many compositions made of stones. Sometimes gardeners confuse rock gardens with rock gardens. Plants for rock gardens are diverse, while for rock gardens only mountain representatives of the flora are taken and a drainage base is created.

The main difference is that the rock garden is located on an artificially created slope, as well as on a hill. An absolutely flat area without hills will be a rock garden.

An alpine slide requires more time and effort, as well as financial investments for arrangement. You will need a lot more stones, and choosing plants is a hassle. Created rock garden with your own hands at the dacha:

1. Remains decorative throughout the year.
2. It only requires a well-designed plan and the right selection of materials.
3. Does not require drainage.

However, the key advantage of rockeries is the fact that it is not at all necessary to cultivate alpine plants. You can safely use any species that you would like to see on your site.

Rockery with large stones

Varieties of rockeries

Looking at photos of flower beds, you probably noticed that the structure of a rock garden can be different. Several classifications will be discussed below. Read the information - and you will begin to understand rockeries as well as landscape designers.

By shape

• Slide. The most classic rock garden. An elevation in the form of a slide is assembled from stones, and plants are planted on it. The more types, the better. The small structure with stone ledges looks very presentable.
• Flat. Horizontal rockeries occupy a considerable area and are located on a flat surface. The design protects the flora from the summer heat and severe frosts.
• Wall. Structures resembling a wall or supports are built from stones. Mainly used for zoning the yard.

Types of rockeries: slide, flat, wall

By location

• In direct sunlight. Sun-loving plants are being planted. For example, bells and grasses, gentianas, sedums.
• In a shaded place. Planting of brunners, heucheras, and hostas is provided, as they like to be in the shade.

Rockery location: in sunny and shady places

By style

• Japanese. A Japanese-style rockery in all photos looks like an area with a small number of plants. In the foreground are round stones. It’s nice to hold tea ceremonies next to such a structure and enjoy the beauty of nature. Therefore, rock gardens in oriental style are built for relaxation and relaxation in the garden.
• English. Did you see sharp stones in the photo that looked more like rock fragments? Before you are rockeries decorated in english style. The easiest way to arrange such a rockery is from conifers, wormwood and cereals. A striking resemblance to the cliffs in some coniferous forest.
• German. His characteristics: accuracy, rigor, solid functionality. A pile of stones can be replaced with 2-3 stone structures that perform a practical function.
• Italian. Offers a fluid aesthetic, with rounded lines and subtle shades of color. If space allows, you can install a small sculpture or forged furniture.
• European. Characterized by naturalness and diversity. The emphasis is on planting flowering plants that will replace each other throughout the season.
• Alpine. Any video on the topic will tell you that the alpine style is that same slide, consisting of a pile of stones and creeping representatives of the flora.

Rockery styles

Description of rock garden (video)

Planning a rock garden: how designers do it

Any landscape designer will tell you how to make a rock garden with your own hands. But if you ask: “Where should I start?”, the answer will be simple and quite expected - with preparation. Step-by-step preparation instructions are already waiting for you.

• We choose a place. Rockeries should not be placed thoughtlessly. Ideally, a stone garden should be combined with the natural topography of the garden or site. Any changes in height should be smooth and harmonious, combined with a nearby artificial reservoir and natural streams.
• We build away from fences. Indeed, the further the rockery with conifers is from buildings and fences, the better. Of course, this option is not always possible. You can try to simply drape the flowers for the rock garden with shrubs or luxurious vines.
• We compact the soil with gravel. This is especially true for situations where the ground is quite loose. A simple design technique will help you prevent large stones from subsiding and provide good drainage for plants.

Rockery layout

How to select and install stones

The photo shows that each pebble literally lies in a special place reserved specifically for it. Let's figure out how to lay out stones correctly if you don't have a video with recommendations and couldn't find good diagrams.

• First of all, we pay attention to large stones. Because they will become the basis of your garden. Choose pebbles that have a natural appeal.
• We take 2-3 large stones as a base. They are quite enough to create a mini rockery or a medium-sized composition.
• Do the stones have different shades? This is more of a plus than a minus. The only point is that there is less gray granite. He will simply get lost among the abundance of greenery.
• Before installing large stones, the soil underneath them is concreted. We have already talked about this, but we will repeat it again. Otherwise, the boulders will simply fall through the ground.

Site preparation

In the place where you plan to place the rock garden, it is necessary to remove the top layer of soil. This way you can prevent the rampant growth of weeds that disrupt the overall harmony.

The largest boulders are placed in the selected location and deepened by about 1/3. The rest of the site is laid out with a drainage layer. Mulch is poured on top into which the plants will be planted.

Before creating a rock garden, you need to prepare the soil

What plants to choose for rock gardens

You have already received detailed information about what a rock garden is like, what it is, how it differs from an alpine slide. It's time to find out which representatives of the flora are best suited for planting.

1. Dwarf varieties coniferous plants. Both in the photo and in reality, the coniferous rockery looks impeccable. It is preferable to use juniper, thuja and dwarf spruce.
2. Low growing shrubs. These include cotoneaster and honeysuckle.
3. Perennial. An incredibly simple scheme will help add variety to the rock garden. Feel free to combine geranium and primrose, daffodils with tulips, hyacinths with crocuses.
4. Ground covers. They will help give the flower garden natural, luxurious moss. These include classic moss and cat's paw.

Conifers in rock gardens

Procedure step by step

You have already chosen a site, carefully prepared it, and drawn out a plan for the rock garden. You can start setting up.

Step 1

When large stones are laid, the spaces between them are filled with earth. It is not necessary to use fertile soil. The flora will grow quickly and there will be too many flowers. But you have a completely different goal - to bring the rockery as close as possible to its natural appearance. We advise you to take soil from a regular garden and mix it thoroughly with sand.

Step 2

The second stage is planting plants. We take conifers as a basis. Thanks to them, the rock garden will look “alive” at any time of the year. Next we plant dwarf shrubs. You can take Chinese lilac or rhododendrons will help add brightness. Ground cover helps complete the composition, but after shrubs it is better to plant perennials and bulbous plants.

Choosing plants for rock gardens

Step 3

The step-by-step guide includes the third stage. This is decorating the area with small pebbles. You will also have to follow certain rules.

First of all, gravel of medium formation is laid. It acts as a pillow that will help form a decorative layer. The composition takes on a more natural look.

You can simply scatter gravel over the entire area or create fancy patterns by adding stones of various shades. A layer of ground cover plants will begin to push through between them.

Video of the step-by-step arrangement of a rock garden

We invite you to look at the photos of ready-made rockeries. Perhaps they will inspire you to create a truly original garden design.

How to care for rockery

The advantage of rockeries is that they require almost no serious care. Much depends on which specific representatives of the flora were chosen to create the rock garden. Moisture-loving plants need regular, fairly abundant watering. However, it is best to do this with a hose with a sprayer so as not to wash away small pebbles.

We try to remove seeds and wilted leaves. Otherwise, next year there will be significantly more plants, and they will begin to grow in the most unexpected places. The appearance and perception of the composition will deteriorate significantly.

When rapid growth occurs, we thin out the flora. We cover and insulate heat-loving varieties with the onset of cold weather. As for feeding, in most cases you can do without it. Once every 2-3 years, new soil is added - that’s the whole trick.

conclusions

You were able to see that creating a stone garden with your own hands is a fairly simple task that almost anyone can do. Even with minimal care, the rock garden will delight you with an attractive appearance and will make your garden plot original and unusual. Knowing how to make a rock garden, everyone can feel like a landscape designer and do everything possible to improve their dacha.

From time immemorial there have been a great many types of different flower beds. These can be various flower beds among stones and trees. A rock garden is a flower garden that is located on a small artificial hill at a certain angle. If the composition of stones is located on a flat area where there are no elevations, it is called a rockery.

When comparing a rock garden with an alpine slide, you can see the advantages of the first. To ordinary people creating an alpine slide may seem quite difficult and expensive. To do this, it is necessary to prepare drainage, select and distribute stones on the hill. At the same time, to create a rock garden with your own hands, you will only need to be careful when choosing the material and drawing up a plan for the flower garden.

One of the main positive traits rockeries are a wide variety of plants that owners would like to plant on their site. As a rule, in an alpine hill, more attention is paid to stones, and the plants there are not as diverse as in rockeries.

The rock garden has a simpler structure compared to the alpine slide

If you take the use of stone and crushed stone even further, you can create a gravel garden or matching flower beds. Today this is a very modern and quite common way of decorating the area around the house. We will also consider this option.

Rockery styles

There are many ways to create rock gardens in the world. Let's look at some of them. Japanese style is calming, without an abundance of bright colors. It combines a small amount of bright flowers with decorative plantings. The style also implies an abundance of stones, the most popular of which is granite. Potted plants are most often used, and a variety of sculptures are allowed. All this is illuminated, creating a certain atmosphere. To create such harmony, you need to have refined taste and a sense of style.

Rock garden and dry stream complement each other

The English style is colorful landscapes with an abundance of evergreen vegetation. There are coniferous plants here that will definitely charge you with a good mood all year round, you will also be pleased with a variety of flowers, cereals and foliage plants.

In the European style we will meet unpretentious plants adapted to the weather conditions of central Russia. Flowers from wildlife, which will germinate themselves each new season. Small shrubs that stand out for their unusual foliage are also planted. This option is optimal, and you can easily create it with your own hands, anywhere, and this method of design will not require much care.

Rock garden goes well with a pond

Where should I start?

First of all, it is recommended to find the location of the rockery. There are some suggestions for its placement: first of all, it is important to combine it with other decorative elements of your site, various flower beds, fountains, and so on:

1. Also, do not place the rockery too close to the house. At the beginning of spring, snow accumulated on the roof can cause damage to the composition if it falls.
2. There is no need to worry about the background being damaged by a fence or other buildings; the problem is easily solved with the help of climbing plants that can give a wonderful background to the composition.
3. When creating a rock garden, you do not need to worry about placing it in a bright place or in a dark place; plants can be selected for specific conditions before planting. However, if you already know exactly the types of plants that will certainly be in your rock garden, you will need to act in accordance with their requests.

The simplest and original composition of stone and pots

Distributing and installing stones, planting plants

Let's look at a step-by-step diagram and photo of creating a rock garden yourself. To organize a composition of stones, you first need to prepare a site. This process should begin by removing the top layer of soil, this is done in order to destroy weeds. The removal depth can vary from 10 to 15 cm. It is also necessary to remove all weed roots from the area and cover it with geotextiles, which will not allow new weeds to germinate.

Geotextiles will protect the stone flower garden from unnecessary weeds

At the next stage of creating a rock garden, it is necessary to fill the entire area with gravel or brick chips to prevent the accumulation of moisture in the flower garden. After this, you should sprinkle the flower garden with sand, compacting it thoroughly.

In some cases, you may not need to use drainage: usually you can do without it if the rockery is located on some hill. In this case, water after showers and thunderstorms will immediately leave the soil at a slope.

After all the above steps, you can begin arranging the stones. You should choose them that are smooth, large and pleasant to look at. Stones of different sizes will look good. It would also be nice if they were all the same breed, although this is not necessary. Before installing them, it is necessary to make depressions in the soil in which the stones will be securely fixed. After installation, the perimeter of the stones should be sprinkled with sand and compacted as well.

When the stones are beautifully laid, you can begin the main action - planting plants. When creating a flower garden, you can choose any plants that you like. Plants no more than half a meter in height that can bloom all year round are welcome.

The very last step is laying out decorative crushed stone. If this process is carried out before finishing work with the plants, the crushed stone can get in the way and get trampled into the sand.

Flat rock garden and plants in it

Small shrubs and conifers will decorate the rockery

When creating a medium-sized rockery, you should use 8-16 different plants. These can be all kinds of coniferous and deciduous plants. Lovers of stone gardens often use ferns, cereals, and bulbous plants.

When creating a rock garden, it is worth considering a variety of coniferous plants and original shrubs, which will decorate the area with their fruits and flowers before the onset of cold weather. When arranging a coniferous rockery, you can use various low-growing plants, for example, dwarf pines, decorative thujas, and junipers. The most favorable conditions for planting coniferous plants in rockeries occur in autumn or early spring.

If we consider shrubs and deciduous plants, azaleas, barberries, and boxwoods are suitable for rockeries. A variety of perennials will help create a smooth transition to the garden from a rocky area. When planting plants, you should leave a little space between them; at first it can be decorated with crushed stone or fill, and after some time the perennials will grow, hiding the bare spots.

Gravel gardens and their benefits

A gravel garden can be arranged on an area unsuitable for a flower garden.

If we compare gravel gardens with the generally accepted design of a site, then the former have much more advantages:

• With the help of gravel, you can improve any piece of land;
• you can choose for yourself what size the composition will be, how much area it will occupy;
• a gravel garden requires minimal costs for its design;
• care is as simple as possible;
• ease of creation, thanks to simple technology, will allow you to create a wonderful gravel garden with your own hands without putting much effort.

A gravel composition can be placed in absolutely any place in the yard, even where planting plants is impossible! This could be an area with too little or too much sun, or even a wasteland. If you choose the right special plants, you can use them to decorate a small area in front of the main entrance, separating it from the main area, for example, with a dry or real stream.

A guide to making a gravel garden easy, quick and inexpensive.

Preparing the site

To begin with, you should select and mark the desired area, and then border the boundaries of the area with rope. Then you need to remove a small layer of soil, about 20 centimeters, selecting the roots of the weeds. After this, you need to moisten the soil in the resulting pit and wait 11 days, then remove all newly formed plant roots.

To prevent excess moisture for plants growing on the site, soil drainage is usually undertaken. First, the area is dug up with the addition of 2-3 tablespoons of baking powder in the form of brick chips, sand, expanded clay sand. Then the soil must be compacted and the area covered with dense geotextiles. Density can vary from 100g/m to 140g/m.

Gravel area with flower bed and hammock

Working with gravel

Of course, it will be much more convenient if, before directly filling with gravel, you arrange all the decorative elements: pots and plants, evaluate the resulting composition, and only then start filling. Well-washed gravel is very rarely light in color, therefore, to solve design problems, it is worth using crushed stone, chips of stones or bricks, sea and river pebbles and other colored materials ranging in size from 2 to 25 mm. For 10-17 square meters it is worth calculating the consumption of approximately a ton of filler.

Planting green garden inhabitants

When planting plants, allow for their growth

Planting begins with shrubs in places determined in advance by the plan. When the planted bushes begin to gain growth, the planting of perennial plants begins, which will serve as a background. After this, bulbous plants are used. It is worth planting several copies of them, placing them closer to each other, since these plants alone do not look so impressive and are damaged by gusts of wind and rain.

Elements of a gravel garden along a path

In the place determined for planting, the gravel is removed and an incision is made in the geotextile, it is better if it is cross-shaped. By tucking the resulting petals, we get a hole in which it is very convenient to dig a hole. Its size should be taken into account according to the shape of the roots of the plant being planted. Having straightened the roots, the seedling is covered with a 4-5 centimeter layer of soil. Having moistened the roots, they are pressed tightly with earth, then the removed gravel is returned to its place and the planted plant is watered abundantly.

The last step will be planting plant seeds. These are usually biennial or annual plants. The first ones are planted in early spring, as soon as the soil is ready, and secondly, at the beginning of summer, which will give confidence in the further germination of biennial plants.

What should you look for when choosing plants for a gravel garden?

Holly-leaved mahonia is one of the plant options for landscape design

When selecting different crops for planting, one must take into account their resistance to drought and decorative qualities. When choosing, you should pay attention to the development cycle of perennial plants to understand how necessary further care will be.

An excellent example for planting would be the holly mahonia plant. It combines a wonderful contrast of colors, attracting everyone's attention with its fruits, which are sour in taste. There are plants called “hosta”. With the help of their unusually wide leaves they will decorate your area. At the same time, the plant does not require special care, without replanting it is enough for a long time. A variety of ferns and irises will also not require much time from you to take care of themselves. Plants with silvery leaves look great in combination with gravel. Among them are chistets, lavender, cloves, and so on.

Colorful fragment of gravel garden

How should you care for rock gardens?

Instructions for caring for rock gardens are quite simple. As you know, a stone garden is very different from a flower bed. The plants chosen for it tolerate the local climate well and do not require daily care. Of course, after some time, the stone bed will need abundant watering from a hose or watering can and rare fertilizing. The need for soil will arise only after a few years. To provide plants with favorable conditions in late autumn and winter, it is better to cover them. It is also necessary to constantly remove dried parts of plants: stems, flowers, leaves. Thinning may be necessary if the plantings grow and become too dense.

A rockery is a landscape composition that imitates rocky or rocky terrain, created using stones and mountain plants. The stones can be different: large to create memorable accents and small to fill the surface.

A rock garden allows you to turn a site into a piece of paradise, a real mountain valley. You can do it yourself. To do this, you don’t need to be a professional; it’s enough to successfully combine stones and plants in one composition.

What styles of rockeries are there?

There are several styles in which you can create a rock garden on your site, among which it is worth highlighting the most popular:

1. Japanese. Rockeries made in this style are one of the most popular and fashionable. There is always a place for lighting, decorative pieces of furniture and potted plants. It is set up in gardens used for meditation and relaxation. The design of such a composition is calming and allows you to relax after a hard day at work. To create such a rock garden, you can use various sculptures made in the Buddhist style, a small table for tea drinking and decorative bird cages.
2. Alpine. An alpine hill is the most common rock garden, which is distinguished only by the use of certain types of plants in its creation, namely those that grow in the alpine regions of France, Italy, and Switzerland. When creating an alpine composition, most of it is allocated to conifers and bulbous plants;
3. European. This style has similarities with the alpine, but here, in addition to alpine plants, decorative flowering plants are also used, which replace each other throughout the season;
4. German. This style is more strict and precise in contrast to the previous one. In some cases, when creating such a rock garden, stones are replaced with large stone structures that can serve both decorative and practical functions;
5. English. A rockery made in this style is distinguished by greater landscape beauty. To create it, conifers and cereals are often used;
6. Italian. An Italian-style rockery has a special aesthetics. Here you can find various sculptures, rounded shapes, smooth lines and forged furniture. All this makes the composition even more elegant.

How to choose a place for a future rock garden?

Creating a rock garden in the garden begins with choosing a suitable location so that the composition fits harmoniously into the overall exterior of the site. To do this, you first need to carefully study its relief. It’s great if there are natural differences in height. In the absence of such, the hill can be created by yourself using large boulders, under which gravel must be poured. This will compact the soil and prevent the boulders from settling over time.

The place where the rockery will be placed should not be near outbuildings or fences.

Areas near an artificial pond or stream are best suited for it. If you have no choice, you can decorate an unsightly wall with beautiful climbing plants. It should also be noted that the place for the rock garden should be sunny. Then you can avoid problems when choosing suitable plants.

There is no rush to create a rock garden. Therefore, before you start laying out stones and planting plants, it is recommended to photograph the selected place where you plan to place the future composition and sketch it on paper rough sketch. And only after this it will be possible to begin selecting plants and stones.

Plants and stones for rock gardens

Plants for rock gardens can be very diverse, the main thing is to maintain the style. The finished composition must fit harmoniously into the design of the surrounding space, as well as into the landscape design of the site. This is the only way the rockery will not become something separate, but will be a complementary element.

Thus, too tall species can distract attention from the overall picture, and if you plan to plant a tree that will eventually reach significant heights, it is important not to forget to control its growth. To stop vertical growth, you can trim the top of the head, then development will go wider.

Still, it should be remembered that small trees and low-growing shrubs with spreading branches are best suited for rockeries. When choosing flowering plant species, you need to remember that the colors of their buds should be in harmony with each other and not create a tasteless variegation.

You need to choose taking into account the duration of their flowering, the color of the flowers and the shape of the fruits and leaves. It is recommended to use the following kinds:

• conifers;
• deciduous;
• herbaceous perennial shrubs;
• bulbous.

It is equally important to choose the right one for the future composition. So, in one rock garden you should use stones of only one type. It is desirable that they be large and have coarse fragments.

Perfectly suited for this

• granite,
• shell rock,
• limestone,
• sandstone.

You can also use artificial stones, which are purchased in specialized stores or made at home.

What tools and materials will be required?

To create a rock garden and subsequently care for it, you will need the following tools:

• a shovel for removing the top layer of earth (turf), adding sand and fertile clay between the stones;
• garden scoop for planting greenery;
• small rippers and rakes for caring for planted plants;
• watering can for watering green spaces;
• sprayer to combat harmful insects and diseases of growing greenery;
• pruning shears for trimming bushes;
• a sickle or pruner for removing fallen leaves from perennial plants in autumn.

For ease of use, the handles of all tools should be small, no more than 20-25 cm.

In addition to the stones and plants themselves, the following may also be needed to build a rock garden on the site: materials:

• clay, sand, cement for fastening stone masonry if necessary,
• non-woven material for lining the entire surface of the composition.

Step-by-step instruction

The entire process of creating a rocky slide on a site can be divided into several stages:

1. Site preparation;
2. Construction of a drainage layer;
3. Laying fertile soil layer;
4. Laying out stones;
5. Planting plants.

Look detailed video about how you can make a rock garden at your dacha with your own hands.

Site preparation

At this stage, the selected area is cleared of debris, dry branches and leaves, after which it must be marked, indicating the outlines of the future composition, based on the previously created diagram. You can use rope and wooden pegs for this.

Important! The area should be slightly larger than the actual dimensions of the composition.

When everything is ready, the pegs are driven in and the rope is stretched between them, it is necessary to remove the top plant layer by 20 cm so that the subsoil is exposed.

Drainage layer arrangement

Drainage is necessary so that the earth cannot pull stones under itself. If you do not do this, the entire composition will soon collapse due to the characteristics of the soil. To create a drainage layer, you can use pebbles, gravel, crushed stone, broken bricks or construction garbage. It is laid out at the bottom of the foundation, and a layer of sand is poured on top of it, after which the drainage is carefully compacted for greater strength.

Note! If the soil on the site is clayey, first the bottom is laid with crushed bricks, which must be compacted well, and only after that sand and crushed stone are poured on top of it.

Laying fertile soil layer

To create a fertile layer mixture is used from garden soil, sand, brown peat and small crushed stone in the following proportion: 3:2:1:1. Soil substrate oversaturated with organic and mineral fertilizers should not be added to the soil, as this can cause rapid growth of plants, which will negatively affect the overall appearance rockery If necessary, it is better to fertilize plants with a weak solution of mineral fertilizers with the obligatory addition of microelements.

Laying out stones

First of all, they lay out stone blocks, which roll into the fertile layer. To create a memorable accent, you can choose one of the largest stones of an unusual shape and several smaller blocks. They must be placed in random order, grouped in accordance with the rock garden layout.

Non-woven material () is laid on top of the laid stones. This will prevent the soil layers from mixing and will prevent the soil from being washed away and weeds from germinating. For stones, small cuts must be made in the material.

Planting

Plants for rockeries must be divided according to height. For creating first tier the tallest plants are used, on the second– greens of medium height, and third row should be planted with creeping species. The selected plants must be placed in accordance with their individual attitude to light, soil composition and moisture, since each of them has different growth requirements. Greenery should not interfere with each other and shade the neighbor. In this case, dwarf plants and shrubs are planted first, and only then taller forms.

When creating a rockery located near a pond, you can build a nice mixborder from properly selected plants to separate these two zones. This will create the appearance of a live composition all year round.

When all the plants are planted, small pebbles or smooth sea stones are scattered on top of the geotextile, which will completely cover the fabric.

A personal plot often turns into a person’s embodiment of his “I”, his inner world. It can sparkle with bright colors in the form of exotic shrubs, thorny plants, prairies, or turn into delicate wildflowers. The atmosphere around can be filled with clear lines, ideal paths, or, conversely, chaotic structures. Creativity can be different, this does not make it worse or better, it is simply unique.

Everyone who owns a personal plot or is just about to purchase one, has in their head the idea of ​​arranging it. Classic lawns, so popular previously, are losing their attractiveness and, together with clearly designed flower beds, are becoming a thing of the past. Today we will talk about rockeries.

Rockery translated from English means “stone garden” or “rock”. When creating it, like any other landscape element, you must adhere to several principles:

• Base (place).
• Basic equipment (main material).
• Additional composition (finishing touches).

The site is designed using stones, cobblestones, pebbles, and crushed stone, which are the main materials for creating a rock garden. Compositions can spread out to the sides or have clear boundaries, it all depends on the idea. At the same time, the garden is always functional. It is important that the size of the plot matches the design.

There is no diversity in the rock garden, no mathematical precision, everything seems to have appeared by chance and grown in the natural process of life.

Various types of stone create the basis of the composition, as if they appeared in these places by themselves. It was not easy for plants, and they worked hard to make their way to the sun, tightly pressed with stems to stone surfaces or simply growing on them. Natural, but this is just a move by a skilled decorator. Gorges, depressions, slopes, paths made of different rocks - all this is typical for rockeries.

A suitable style for lovers of travel and adventure who are free and easy-going. I just want to go higher with a backpack on my back, towards the clear wind, or go down into a previously unknown gorge, or maybe just sit by the stream?

When creating a rock garden, your area may not be completely perfect and smooth. An uneven surface will make the work even more successful and your garden will be harmonious. You don’t have to uproot old stumps and leave the hills and mounds alone, for example, after construction work, and decorate them.

This style plays with any surface to its advantage. In damp places, you can sprinkle more crushed stone and pebbles to create a drainage cushion effect. This will dry out the area. They will take root well on such land different kinds moss, marsh grasses, an artificial stream will look good.

Along the banks of the stream you can sprinkle polished pebbles. At higher elevations, where the soil is dry, you can plant plants that do not require frequent heavy watering and lay out rough stones and cobblestones. They will look gorgeous, like sharp rocks blown by the winds and sharpened by the rains.

Not only ground covering plants and low-growing conifers and onions can participate in the compositions. But, they are all just insignificant decoration for the base. This style will perfectly complement any structure, be it a gazebo, a bathhouse or a house.

The style evokes special feelings of lightness and flight. The peace of stones gives spirituality, and this is precisely what is so necessary and appreciated by modern people today. There is no need to fill the entire rock garden at once. Over time, you will want to implement some other new idea, for which you will need a place, let it be.

The main thing about a rock garden is that it is a rock garden, not a flower garden. And the designer’s task is to make stones, not flowers, come alive.

Looking from the outside at the neighbor’s garden, it seems easier than ever - lay a few stones, plant a couple of bushes, and everything will instantly be transformed. But a day or two passes, everything fades before our eyes, the stones look heavy, the plants look lonely, and the lawn has completely turned yellow. Disappointment sets in.

Therefore, life itself came up with the profession of “landscape designer”. These are specialists who not only correctly see the prospects of the site, but also have technical knowledge. No, it is not necessary to be a designer to be able to create beauty; to do this, it is enough to understand some principles in this matter and feel free to choose your favorite design style.

Any gardener can create a rock garden with his own hands. The main thing in this matter is the lack of haste, hard work and a little imagination. But before you start decorating a garden composition, you should find out what difficulties may arise when decorating a flower bed. It is necessary to determine the preferred types of plants and stones, adhere to the chosen style, which will look organically in the local area.

What is a rocky garden like?

A rockery is a garden composition consisting of vegetation and stones. On a personal plot or dacha, such a flower bed will become the main attraction of landscape design. The combination of low-growing plants and rough cobblestones increases the number of its adherents year after year. And this is no coincidence. With the right approach, maintaining a rocky garden will not cause much trouble, and the aesthetic appearance improves with each new flowering season.

Rockery is a popular element of landscape design

This composition is often confused with an alpine slide. However, there are a number of differences between them.

A rock garden involves a small hill, in some places covered with stones and planted with plants that can be found in the real European Alps. For rockeries there are no strict rules in the design and selection of plants. The formation of an embankment is not a prerequisite. It can be installed on a flat surface or on a slope in the form of a cascade.

Unlike alpine slides, which are located under the scorching rays of the sun, the described type of flower garden can be in the shade. In this case, you should choose plants that do well in dark areas of the local area.

In the usual Soviet people There is no naturalness in the flowerbeds. A garden arrangement made of stones should look as natural as possible. It’s as if nature itself created this rocky oasis.

Styles

In order for the composition to look harmonious and natural, you should adhere to a certain style, each of which has its own characteristics. There are three styles of rock gardens.

European

The most common is the European rockery. The main component in it is vegetation. Most often, flowers and shrubs native to Central and Western Europe predominate.

To decorate a European rock garden, plants that grow in central Europe are used.

The main task is the brightness of colors and ensuring flowering throughout the season. Some inflorescences replace others. At the beginning of spring, snowdrops bloom in the garden composition; after a while they give way to tulips, and so on. Shrubs with different shades of leaves go well together. A small number of evergreen junipers may be present.

Stones play a secondary role; they balance the riot of colors and emphasize the beauty of flowers and shrubs. The Alpine slide can be equated to one of the subspecies of the European style.

English

For the English style, plants are also the main decoration. It is dominated by perennial conifers: a combination of various types of junipers, low-growing thujas, dwarf spruce, cypress, and mountain pine.

Evergreen plantings go well with cereals and perennials such as thyme or saxifrage. The resulting composition resembles a miniature forest.

Rockery in the English style has a restrained color scheme

An English style composition does not require much maintenance. In winter, most plantings will need to be covered to protect them from frost. In other seasons, only periodic watering will be required. If desired, you can plant a small number of flowers that will not stand out too much when the inflorescences appear.

When creating a composition, it should be taken into account that in 3-4 years all the bushes will grow greatly. It is necessary to leave room for their development. Moss-covered stones are the perfect addition to a British oasis.

Japanese

In Japanese rock gardens, stones play a dominant role. Much attention should be paid to their size, shape and location in the garden. Green spaces emphasize beauty and serenity inanimate nature. Such compositions promote peace, inner harmony and relaxation, which is why they are often created next to a place for yoga or other eastern directions.

Japanese stone gardens are famous all over the world

To create a Japanese style, you should choose large, irregularly shaped cobblestones. Pebbles are poured between the main elements. Flowering plants are unacceptable for this design. Here it is possible to use only green low-growing plants that enliven the rocky garden. Every detail of landscape design has its place. Shrubs must be trimmed. There is no room for chaotic growth here.

Preparatory stage in arranging the composition

Don’t thoughtlessly scatter stones and plant any plants you like between them. Creating a stone garden is a slow process that requires some planning. Choosing a location, preparing the soil, selecting stones, flowers and shrubs are important preparatory steps that must be done before starting work.

Selecting a location

The choice of place to place the composition should be approached with all responsibility. It is necessary to determine in advance the size of the future composition. It is optimal if it is a sunny place in the garden. But such a rocky garden will also look good in the shade. You should not organize it close to your home. After snowy winter In the process of snow melting, there is a risk of flooding, ground subsidence and, as a result, damage to plants and general appearance.

An area with dense soil is suitable for rockeries.

A rocky flower garden should look harmonious against the background of the entire landscape design. It is a key element of the exterior. You can view it from all angles. The optimal solution would be to locate it away from trees and tall bushes that would block the view of the future object for aesthetic pleasure.

To arrange a flower bed with stones, you must first of all have a desire to create. Good sunny weather will contribute to the right mood. The optimal time of year is late spring. During this period, the ground is no longer frozen. At the beginning of work, you will have to remove a layer of soil to create drainage, so it is good when the soil is no longer very wet. The process of initial design and laying of stones is not fast, it can take from several days to a couple of weeks. It all depends on how creative you are. There is absolutely no need to rush into this event.

Planting should begin after placing the cobblestones. Most shrubs and flowers can be planted throughout the warm period. But some types of plantings have time restrictions. For example, tulip bulbs need to be planted in the fall before frost.

Schemes of ready-made solutions

The choice of plants and their arrangement in the composition depends on the topography of the soil and the desired style of the future rocky garden. The site may have a flat surface, a small embankment or a slope. Any of these options will be acceptable.

The rock garden diagram will help you navigate the choice of plants

When creating your own scheme, you need to decide on the compositional center. These can be tall shrubs or dwarf coniferous trees. The remaining plantings are placed around the main two or three plants.

The layout of the rock garden and its components is drawn to scale or schematically

Having studied samples of ready-made solutions and determined the most interesting options for yourself, you can begin planning and drawing your own flower bed. In this case, it is important to take into account the size of plants in adulthood, the combination of color of leaves and inflorescences.

You should not try to place everything that the owner of the local area dreams of. It is recommended to use about 1 m² of land for each group of plants. It is advisable to choose shrubs with a moderate root system, since many different specimens will be planted in a relatively small area.

It is necessary to ensure the correct proximity of plants in the rock garden

Depending on where you plan to arrange the flower garden, preference is given to shade-loving or sun-resistant plantings.

Which plants to choose

With the help of plants, you can create the appearance of a large slope or emphasize a perfectly flat surface. By placing thujas and dwarf trees on top, the slope seems sharper. It is recommended to follow the 30/70 rule - no more than 30% of plants can be tall. The rest, 70%, should consist of ground cover or low-growing plantings.

Conifers in rockeries are often given the main roles

The basis of most types of rockeries are conifers. First of all, these are junipers, especially creeping species, and dwarf trees. Not a single English landscape composition can do without this plant.

The universal cotoneaster tolerates haircuts well for modeling purposes.

Horizontal cotoneaster feels great on rocky surfaces. In spring it pleases the eye with its white flowers, and in autumn it is covered with red fruits.

Dwarf spirea is often used for rockeries

Dwarf spirea goes well with most plants. The flowering period occurs at the end of spring and beginning of summer. However, the value of the shrub lies not in the inflorescences, but in the leaves, which change color from early spring to late autumn.

Bright barberry berries will decorate a rock garden in autumn

Barberry is also distinguished by its unusual leaf color. His homeland is West Side Russia, which is why shrubs are used to create a European style.

Winter-hardy aurinia rockis is on the list the best plants for rock garden

In spring, Aurinia rocky will delight you with its bright yellow flowers. Absolutely unpretentious plant tolerates drought well.

In the wild, alpine carnation grows in the northeast of Italy and in the heights of the Alpine mountains

Alpine carnations will decorate with their blooms a composition in a European or English style.

Saxifraga is loved for its bright and long-lasting flowering

Saxifraga is one of the varieties of ground cover that takes root well on rocky surfaces. During the flowering period, the plant is covered with small flowers.

One of the most decorative flowers for rockeries is awl-shaped phlox.

Phlox subulate grows very quickly and blooms profusely from mid-summer until the onset of the first frost. Root system underdeveloped, so it does not require much land to grow. The plant is one of the favorite plantings of landscape designers who design rockeries.

In addition to the above plantings, Iberis, aubrieta cultivated, Caucasian rhizome, edelweiss, thyme and other low-growing perennials and ground covers look harmonious.

Video: plants for a rocky garden

Selection of stones

Selecting stones is no less important a task than selecting plants. The most interesting are the boulders that received their shape thanks to nature and winds.

The right choice of stones is half the success in creating a rock garden

A stone garden does not require ideal forms. Natural chips and irregularities emphasize the beauty and naturalness of the composition. When using different types of boulders, you should adhere to the rule of unity - use only hard rocks or exclusively soft ones:

• hard - basalt, granite, gneiss, slate, basaltic lava, porphyry and others;
• soft - sandstone, gray wacke, shell rock, limestone, travertine, calcareous tuff, dolomite, etc.

How to make a rock garden with your own hands - step-by-step instructions

To create such a flower bed, it is not necessary to resort to the services of designers. The process of arranging a rock garden is slow, but incredibly exciting. To create a beautiful landscape design, you must complete the following steps:

1. Determine the location and its size, select plants, boulders and smaller stones.
2. Remove the top layer of soil - about 20 cm. Lay geotextiles in the resulting depression. This must be done to avoid weed problems in the future.

   All weeds should be carefully removed from the soil for rock gardens.

3. Cover the area of ​​the future rocky composition with gravel or crushed bricks - we create a drainage system. If you are using a sloped area, you can skip this step.
4. The next layer is sand or immediately fill it with soil.
5. Next comes the time of laying the stones. The largest boulders are installed first. In order to create the appearance of cobblestones appearing in this place naturally, half or one third of them are buried. You need to make sure that the stones fit tightly in place. This process may seem boring to some, but there is no need to rush. It is necessary to study each element of the rock and determine the most spectacular side that will look at the front of the composition.

   The base for laying the boulder must be dense

6. The stage of planting plants is the most interesting. First they study large species. You shouldn't bury them right away. As with stones, you need to twist the tree or bush and determine the advantageous side. After this comes the turn of low-growing shrubs and flowers. The remaining empty spaces can be planted with ground cover.

   Plants in rock gardens are planted in groups or separated by stones

7. The final touch will be a scattering of decorative crushed stone or fine gravel in unused areas.

Options for arranging a rocky composition

Arranging your own personal plot is an exciting activity. Before you start creating a rock garden, you need to decide on the look and style, choose a suitable location, select plants and stones.

Coniferous

Conifers are one of the most grateful plants. They do not require constant care, grow well and delight others with their beauty all year round. Evergreens go well with stones.

The best addition for rockery from conifers - heather, cuckoo clover, young

The recommended location is a well-lit, sunny area. Mandatory plants are various types of fragrant junipers. There are also cypress, thuja, and dwarf pines; the voids are filled with ground covers.

It should be remembered that many of the above plants will increase in size several times in 4–5 years. And there should be room for this. Various shades of conifers - green, golden, blue - will allow you to create an original English design.

Flat

A flat rock garden is characterized by the appearance of rock outcropping onto a flat surface. An undeniable advantage is the ability to use plants with an intensive root system. In addition, a larger number of plantings can be placed per unit area.

The flat rock garden blends harmoniously into the surrounding landscape

During rainfalls and when snow melts, the soil is not washed away. Large stones will add volume to a flat surface. To ensure stability, they must be buried in the ground. The selection of plants depends on the chosen style of composition. If it is necessary to emphasize a flat topography, preference should be given to low-growing plants. To create a large format, dwarf trees and tall shrubs are suitable different forms and color.

With a pond

If there is a natural reservoir on the site, you can create an amazing landscape using cobblestones and greenery. You can make an artificial mountain stream yourself. Moisture-loving plants are planted near water. Boulders will emphasize the effect of naturalness.

A rocky garden near a pond looks good with both artificial and natural water sources

A rock garden on a hill, which can be made from earth dug up during the process of creating a reservoir, looks most advantageous next to water. At the same time, the dimensions of the pond and rocky garden should look organically with each other.

Such a composition may require a large amount of rock. A composition in the Japanese style, where stones play a primary role, will look very impressive.

Small

When creating a miniature rock garden, all design elements must be of the appropriate size. In this option there is no place for large cobblestones. When choosing flowering plants, it is better if they have small inflorescences. As for the style, it can be absolutely anything - European, English or Japanese.

Succulents are perfect for small rock garden areas.

A small composition from a combination of plants and stones can be made even on the terrace. Used as a basis old box. Parts of the rock and various types of plants called young, which are popularly called stone flowers, look great together.

Features of care

The frequency of watering depends on the type of plants used - moisture-loving or drought-resistant. Most common rockery shrubs and flowers can survive 7-10 days without water.

When watering rockeries, you should focus on the requirements of the plants.

At the same time, in the first year after planting, you should be more attentive to soil moisture, since green plantings must take root well. As necessary, branches and shoots that interfere with the planned landscape design are pruned.

At large quantities For plants that love water, it is necessary to provide an automatic watering system. It is installed before planting.

Sheltering plants is carried out before the onset of cold weather

In winter, heat-loving species, which include thujas and some other conifers, should be wrapped in burlap or similar material. Low-growing plantings can be sprinkled with dry leaves. Decorative mulch will protect the roots from frost. Already mature cypress and other shrubs, whose homeland is southern regions, they can withstand mild frosts without additional protection.

In early spring, plantings wake up from hibernation. The first buds will let you know that the plants have survived the winter well and are ready to delight their owners with a riot of colors. To speed up the growth process, it is recommended to add fertilizer during the first spring watering.

Photo gallery: ideas for arranging a rock garden

The European landscape will provide a riot of colors. The atmosphere of wild nature is created by cobblestones and boulders

Today rock gardens can be found in most modern landscape designs. Depending on the general style of the plot, you can choose one of three design styles. You can create such a composition with your own hands. The creative process captivates most amateurs, as a result of which owners rarely stop at one rocky garden.