What do you need for a rock garden?
Rock gardens are beautiful additions to any yard. The natural look of rock inspires a feeling of strength, age, and confidence. Rock is tremendously beautiful, and despite what you might think, it can provide allot of variation in the appearance of your yard. In our modern world water is a big consideration. We live in a time, and many of us live in certain places, that have very little water. Bluegrass lawns are great but they tend to suck of tons of water and require a fair amount of care. If you are conservation minded a rock garden is a great option. It can also be a great money and time saver, as rock gardens can be much less of a hassle. You might also think that a rock garden is something that only very rich people can afford, but you are dead wrong there. A rock garden can be very inexpensive if you know how to do much of the work yourself and if you pick inexpensive materials.
|
|
The best place for a rock garden is on a sloping surface of your yard. Wherever you build your rock garden you should use one type of rock. A mixture of different types of rock can create a confusing look that will not appear natural. You want to make a natural looking rock garden, otherwise you will end up with something that looks barren and strange. Your rock garden should have several different sizes and shapes of rocks, with several large rocks. If you are using rocks that have lichen or moss on them you will want to choose rocks that have large amounts of these organisms on them. Try placing rocks in several different locations and shift them around to see what looks best. Rocks will have a side that looks more natural than others, so play around with the different sides and find which works.
Place rocks in the ground so that one third of the rock is stuck in the ground and the remainder appearing above ground level. If you are putting stones with lichen or moss on them into the ground you should position the rocks so that the most lichen or moss is visible. You will need to place the rocks so that there are patches of soil between them. These will be the spots in which you will plant various plants.
You can plant several different species of plants, both annuals and perennials in you rock garden to provide more variety. Plant several of the same species throughout the rock garden so that it looks at least somewhat natural. Consult a local nursery to find out what types of plants will naturally grow in your rock garden. One problem that many people have with rock gardens is that they are the perfect environment for weeds. Without some sort of large, ground cover you will not be able to keep out the weeds. One thing you might consider planting in your rock garden is some sort of ground cover that will help to cover the space and crowd out the weeds. Remember that a rock garden can take lots of time to prepare and take care of, but it can certainly be well worth your while. A beautiful rock garden provides a unique and refined look to almost any garden and will use much less water than a regular lawn. Your neighbors will also admire the uniqueness of the garden and its variety. Before you start on any major gardening project you should consult a local expert to find out what they would recommend.
