If you want to create a rock garden and care for it successfully, you can't just "get started" - instead, an intensive planning phase is necessary in advance. It's not just about choosing a suitable location and the most beautiful stones, but also about the concrete design and planting of the mini-mountain.
The better the planning, the more satisfying the result
Which location is suitable?
Of course, gardens with a corresponding slope offer ideal conditions for stone plants. Of course, such a slope can also be created artificially or in dry locations, a rock garden can also be set up on flat terrain - but then no rainwater or similar should accumulate there, the soil must be as permeable as possible. Otherwise, a sunny south-east, south-east or south-west location is perfect for most rock garden plants, provided they can be shaded during the midday hours. But there is also a large selection of suitable rock garden plants for shady or semi-shady locations. Basically, the rule is to work against nature as little as possible, because the less the existing location corresponds to the necessary living conditions, the more work you have both in the construction and in the subsequent care of your rock garden.
What should the rock garden look like?
There are countless ways to design a rock garden. From an embankment overgrown with cushion plants to a small corner in the garden planted with perennials to an elaborately designed alpinarium, rock gardens can take on very different forms. Experts make a basic distinction between these forms:
- the natural rock garden
- the architectural rock garden
- the sunken garden (e.g. between dry stone walls)
- the Japanese or Asian garden
- as well as the pot or trough garden
Before construction, it is important to clarify how large the planned rock garden should be, what elements (e.g. a seating area or similar) it will contain and how great the expected effort in terms of construction and costs will be.
Should a stream and/or a pond also be built?
For many garden lovers, a stream, a gully and/or a garden pond are essential in a rock garden. The combination of water and stone complements each other perfectly and has a very varied effect due to the various design options. Of course, this project must also be planned intensively so that the water fits perfectly into the rock garden.
tips
You should also make the concrete selection of the plants in the planning phase. After all, not only the construction of the rock garden is based on this (after all, different species have different location and care needs), but above all the selection of the rocks. Lime-loving plants need a subsoil made of limestone, which in turn can become a death trap for plants fleeing lime.