Water in a rockery and caring during the first few years after planting
A small pond or miniature birdbath is not only beautiful but is also useful as it improves the micro-climate. The water will also provide the plants with humidity in sunny weather. You can use a stone that has a hollow in it or a frost-proof dish in the ground to create an eye-catching bird bath. The plants that can be successfully grown here include gentian species (Gentiana acaulis), lady's mantle (Alchemilla mollis) and edelweiss
Ponds and streams
You can combine a small pool to a rockery without much effort on your part. You can plant marsh marigold (Caltha palustris), marsh forget-me-not and Veronica. These plants thrive at the edge of the pond and in full sunlight or semi-shade.
A scented rockery
A dry stone wall or a rockery herb bed next to a kitchen door is perfect and useful. The scented plants will produce a pleasant aroma in a sitting area creating a relaxing atmosphere. Lavender and many thyme species are ideal for this type of planting. Ensure that the scented plants are placed in a sunny position.
Savory has lilac flowers in late summer, oreganes has lilac or pink flowers in late summer and early autumn. These flowers attract butterflies and bees. Cotton lavender has yellow flowers in summer.
Salad burnet Sanguisorba minor has pink flowers in early summer. Cutting back promotes leaf development. Sage has blue flowers in summer while Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) has lilac flowers in the summer.
Successful care
You must consider the natural requirements of the rockery plants before you plant them on the dry stone wall or on the rocks. Once these basic needs are meet, then it will be fairly easy to take care of the rockery. It will need watering, fertilizing and disease and pests control.
Care during the first few years after planting
The rockery plant bed must be well prepared. Rooting weeds must be carefully removed. Weeds grow rapidly and will consume most if not all of the nutrients in the soil. Rockery plants tend to consume nutrients from the soil slowly and will be no match for those rapid nutrient eaters. Slugs and snails are also encouraged to settle on the rockery if there are weeds present and they also consume a lot of sunlight, water and air.
Weeds can be removed easily only in their early stages. It will be very difficult to get rid of them once the roots have grown big. Chickweed is very harmful to young rockery plants. Weeds can be removed using a normal garden hose. You can also make use of a blunt garden knife to dig deeper weed roots.