Do-it-yourself rockery
Creating a rockery with your own hands is not only simple, but also very practical. Owners of country houses who want to admire the beauty and do not like to spend time on earthworks, have long been building stone slides in their areas. This type of flower garden does not require constant care, watering and weeding, so it has more and more fans every year. Of course, the main argument of so many stone flower fans is its natural beauty.
Content
- A place to create a stone slide
- Types of rockeries
- Rules for arranging a flower garden
- Plants for stone flower beds
A place to create a stone slide
If you have already decided that such a flower bed should be in your country house, first of all, you need to choose the right place for it. To do this, it is necessary to evaluate the relief of the site. The presence of sharp changes in altitude on it is the most suitable option. If the terrain is flat, do not be upset, you can always artificially fill a hill or slope.
Rockery in the garden does not require constant care
Creating a rockery for the first time, you can practice on a small mini-slide and then get to the construction of a large stone flower garden. If you immediately want to build a quality composition of large sizes, then consult with a specialist or invite a designer. In an extreme case, they will help create a rockery photo that can tell you a lot and prompt you to clever thoughts..
Creating rockery for the first time, you can practice on a small mini-slide
Types of rockeries
The rockery in the garden by the methods of creation can be divided into three types: classic, flat and retaining wall.
The classic type is especially suitable for mountainous and hilly areas. On the slopes you can always place more flowers and other plants than on a flat ground. It is also easiest to imitate a real mountain landscape with gorges, cliffs, rocks and rocky scree. Creative individuals have a wonderful opportunity to realize their ideas and experiment with planting a variety of shrubs among stones.
A flat or horizontal flower garden is created on flat garden areas. Most often it is planted with conifers, which significantly transforms the landscape in front of the house. The main advantage of such a flower bed is that perennials growing on it are not amenable to seasonal temperature differences, because everyone is on the same level. It will help to quickly create a flat rockery scheme that you sketch in advance on paper. This will reduce time and make it possible to prepare the right amount of stones and flowers..
So as not to waste time thinking about creating a flower garden, sketch in advance its outline on a piece of paper
The retaining wall is most often located at the edge of the site where the fence or building begins. Such a rocariya device allows you to plant flowers in several tiers. For example, in the background – tall arborvitae or other perennials, in the foreground – short clove bushes, and between the pebbles – any varieties of saxifrage. In general, there is also a place for a flight of fantasies.
Rules for arranging a flower garden
Before making a rockery, it is necessary to mark the territory allotted for it with borders and clean it of weeds and grass. After that, a layer of soil with a thickness of 20-25 cm is removed from the surface of the site. You should get a mini-excavation, the bottom of which is covered with geotextiles. This non-woven fabric will inhibit the growth of weeds..
Instead of geotextiles, you can put a layer of thick cardboard, straw or any dry grass. Top with coarse sand, about 5 cm. It will be the so-called imitation of the drainage system. Drainage is needed so that water does not accumulate on the stones of the future flower garden. The main soil is laid on the sand, after which the surface of the flower bed needs to be leveled and tamped a little so that later the stones do not sink into the ground.
After laying the main soil, the area must be tamped
Soil is used the one that was removed from the pit. It needs to be cleaned of weed roots, which can be done with a sieve. If the earth is heavily knocked down, then you can add a little peat to it to saturate with oxygen. Mineral fertilizers can be dispensed with, plants for rockeries are usually selected those that grow well in any conditions.
Next, stones are laid on the flowerbed. The largest boulders should be set in the center of the prepared site. Around them are medium specimens and closer to the outer edge of the flower garden – the smallest. Stacking stones in many respects depends on what type of rockery you create. The above example is typical of the classic type. If you make a horizontal flower garden, then the stones are selected approximately the same size so that there are no sharp drops in the relief of the flowerbed. For the retaining wall, large boulders are usually placed in the background, and smaller ones in the foreground.
After laying the stones, the holes between them are covered with the same prepared soil. Plants are planted in the ground, and the gaps between their stems and stones are covered with a layer of rubble. So that air pockets do not form, rubble must be carefully tamped.
Stones for rocarius must be of the same origin. Try to use material from those rocks that are characteristic of your region, this will give your flowerbed a natural look.
Plants for stone flower beds
If you made a mini rockery, then it will look unnatural with tall and large plants. Such soil protectors as the bryozoate awl-shaped, phlox awl-shaped and sedum false are suitable here. These flowers will not only decorate the gaps between the stones, but will also play the role of a living mulch all summer, preventing the weed from falling into the soil by chance. Super-dwarf plants like spruce, thuja, young and saxifrage also look very impressive on small stone flower beds.
Coniferous plants will delight the eye with their greenery all year round
Flowers for rockeries of ordinary size are selected according to one main criterion: they must be in harmony with the composition. One important tip: when creating such a flowerbed for the first time, do not immediately seek to plant exotic plants that you know little about. They may be moody in the new climatic conditions, but you cannot help them. To get started, opt for proven perennials such as tulips, daffodils, primroses and muscari. The simplest and most reliable option are marigolds, which will bloom to frost.
Coniferous plants are indispensable in rockeries; they enable the flowerbed to turn green year-round, which is important for many hosts. These are pyramidal and pillow-shaped spruces, junipers, dwarf arborvitae and microbiota.
Creating a flowerbed yourself, you put your soul in stones and flowers
Ground cover plants also can not do. These include cat’s foot, tenacity, stalk, Iberis evergreen, cinquefoil of various varieties and purslane. It is very important to plant flowers so that they are combined in tones. But this is a personal matter for every owner. After all, the most important thing is that when you create a rockery with your own hands, you put your soul into stones and plants. Even if your flowerbed is filled with all the colors of the rainbow, and the best designers of the world insist that this is not right, the main thing is that you like it and give pleasure to your loved ones.
