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February 13, 2012
Rock Gardens
Rock gardens can be an excellent addition to any landscape. You can use rock gardens to:
- Finish an edge of a corner lot
- Manage a slope that is struggling to hold grass
- Create a transition from one “room” in your outdoor living space to another
- Give you great little crevices and surfaces to feature some of your favorite ground covers or small spreading plants
- Display some of your favorite rocks, such as geodes, sparkly rocks or those with unusual patterns or formations
- Display some of your favorite garden gnomes, fairies, miniature furniture or dwarf varieties of plant material
What Materials do I need?
You will need some topsoil and some rocks. You might want to have some mulch too to sprinkle in around the plants you are including. Start small – this will take some hard work. You can always add to your project.
How do I begin?
This project is great for your landscape but can also be created in a concrete planter or other container too.
1) Collect rocks or stone that you enjoy looking at and working with.
2) You will need some larger stones or boulders and some smaller stones. (The scale you are working with will determine the quantity of material that you will need.
Limestone is a good choice. Since it is porous, it allows moisture to seep through it and some plants actually have a strong enough root system to make their way through the rock.
3) Start at the lowest point in front and work your way upward – using enough soil as you go to secure each rock in place.
4) To add some interest, try burying some of the rocks so they give the illusion that they have always been there.
5) Give the soil a few days to settle and then you can start to plant.
6) Low growing flowers are the best – using perennials will reduce your cost in the long run because they return each season.
7) As in any garden – remember to cut back leggy plants. Deadhead and divide when the clumps become too large.
8) Rock gardens need protection in the winter. One to two inches of mulch should be applied at the first frost in cold climates.
Have fun with your new rock garden!
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Just North of the Shoppes on Route 91 | 309.691.4561 | Contact Us
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