Rock Garden Designs for the home garden, Landscaping designs
Whether your home is situated on rocky terrain or you just want to try your hand at rock gardening, getting plants to thrive requires a few basic considerations. Because of the relatively shallow pockets of soil, water drains away very quickly, for better or worse. The most exposed and shallow places are excellent sites for planting drought-tolerant creeping or trailing plants, especially where they can cascade over a ledge. Many of these perennials are beautiful bloomers so you can have mounds of color throughout your rock garden. On the other hand, plants that like a little more moisture will be happy at the base of a stone ‘all or terrace, where water will not drain or evaporate so quiddy. Perennials that like lean, rather than fertile, soil are the best choices for this type of gardening, unless you wish to add amendments to certain planting areas. The plants suggested on this plan are sun-lovers, so if your rocky site is in a woodland or other shady area, you can find suggestions for substitutes in the Selection Guide. Since every rock garden is a unique setting, the design offered here can be adapted to your particular site. Plant one of each variety for a small space, or fill in with more if the area is larger.
Helpful hints
Plant some of the lower, creeping perennials such as Ajuga, lberis, Delosperma, and Sedum into the nooks and crannies between rocks.
Delosperma planted on ledges, or in between larger stones,will quickly grow to cascade down rocky slopes and over boulders.
By substituting Santolina with Artemisia stelleriana ‘Silver Brocade,’ this garden could be a Zone 5 collection.
Stabilize rocky slopes with large boulders placed with at least one-third of their mass below ground level.
a. Ajuga ‘Catlin’s Gaiant’ b. Aquilegia ‘Selection’ c. Campanula ‘Joan Elliott’ d. Cireopsus ‘Moonbeam’ e. Delosperma cooperi f. Euphorbia polychrome g. Gaura ‘Corrie’s Gold’ h. Iberis ‘purity’ i. Knautia macedonica j. Oenothera missourienesis k. Pennistum ‘Little Bunny’ l. Phlox ‘Emerald Blue’ m. Santolina cham. var. nana. n. Scabiosa ‘Butterfly Blue o. Sedum ‘Tricolor’ p. Veronica ‘red fox’
