A multiple of ideas to plant and grow great rockery plants

A rockery can be built in any garden and it can flourish in both a sunny or shady position. You can plant a miniature rockery around the entrance to a garden and around the patio of small garden. They will look beautiful and attractive in this small space.

Small rockeries are accessible from all sides and can therefore show off various range of colour. Highlights can be incorporated for every season. Ever green species look well in this small rockery. Rockery plants that have a long flowering time, or flower constantly and which look beautiful from all sides are ideal for small bed. The following species can be used in a small rockery;

  • In positions exposed to the sun: crane's bill species(Geranium cinereum, G. sanguineum), Gypsophila, rock cinquefoil (potentilla), red valerian (Centranthus).

  • In semi-shade or shades: corydalis (Corydalis luten), pansies, variegated deaden (lamium maculatum Silbergroschem.)

Design ideas for mini rockeries

When designing a mini rockery plant groups of plants that will flower at roughly the same time and combine rockery plants that will create focal points at various tymes of the year.

A raised bed

This eye-capturing feature can be combined with a patio and the ideal plants for this type of rockery are dry conditions loving plants.

  • A miniature health land garden; - select various heathers for a miniature health land garden, especially evergreen Erica carnea and Erica tetralix species. Plant callina species individually between the ever greens as they look rusky in the spring. Ideal plants for combining include pasgue flower (pulsatilla), thyme, pinks, Antennaria, pearly ever lashing (anaphalis) and grasses.

  • Gravel bed; - do not plant species in a gravel bed, make use of other rockery plants that can withstand dry conditions like eriophyllum lanatum, rock rose, lavender and inula.

Small flowering islands make a paved patio look beautiful. Make sure that you leave out some paving stones at intervals when laying the patio or remove single larger paving slabs. This enables the plants to grow over the edges of the paving, disguising any angular contours.

This creates a natural look which is quickly populated by tiny plants creating flowering spots in previously bare places.

In spring you can plant perennial candytuff (Iberies saxatils), pasque flower (Pulsatilla), gentian (Gentiana acaulis), and primrose. In summer you can plant edelweiss, sedum album, thyme (Thymus serphyllum and grasses.

Autumn plants include carline thistle (Carlina), Inula ensifolia and sedum cauticulum.

Stones and rocks grouped together look very attractive. You must select stones that have hollows or indentations in which you can plant small rock plants. Plants that look good with stones include houseleek (Sempervivum), sedum species, cushion thyme and Heliosperma alpestre.

If you have the stone grouping in a shady position, then plants such as Corydalis, flax and ferns are ideal for this rockery