[BlackBird]

Rockery creation tips.

A rockery which has been properly made, imaginatively planted and well tended can be one of the highlights of a garden, but all too often it is a stony eyesore. It may have been badly constructed in the first place or it may have been neglected. When both these problems are present then you will have to start again.

The whole of the rock garden should be made up of one type of rock — sandstone and second-hand limestone are popular choices. Broken concrete and reconstructed stone should not be not used

The rockery structure should look like a natural outcrop of sloping rocks, made up of large and small stones. Ideally the rockery faces south or west and there is some protection from northern winds.



There can be trees growing nearby, but there are no overhanging branches above the rockery — a blanket of leaves over delicate plants in autumn can be fatal. The site should be free from shade for most of the day —ferns and other shade-tolerant plants are grown in the less sunny areas

Most rock plants need soil that is free draining but also water retentive — this calls for the addition of both gritty material and organic matter. It is not usually practical to enrich all of the soil in the rockery — it is more usual to use a planting mixture and not ordinary soil for filling the holes around new plants

Slow-growing delicate plants such as gentian and Penstemon are planted well away from invasive mat-forming types such as Aubretia and snow-in-summer. Weeds are regularly removed

The bare ground between the plants and under the leaves is covered with a 2-3 cm layer of fine gravel, stone chippings or grit. This layer deters slugs, conserves moisture, helps to suppress weeds and gives a more natural look to the rockery. This gritty mulch is topped up each spring

A wide selection of plants should be present. Most are rockery perennials (the plants in the alpine section of the garden centre), also present are one or more dwarf conifers (needle-like leaves, often evergreen) (Pinus mugo Gnom, Picea manana “Nana” etc), dwarf shrubs, dwarf bulbs and ferns.