This has taken slightly longer to write than I had planned, but I believe it truly is worth waiting for. In my last article I finished by talking about raised beds. So here's part two about rock gardens and planting ideas beginning with "Sink or Troughs" as rock gardens.
Sink or Trough:
The concept of growing alpine plants in troughs and glazed sinks caught on in the 1930s. Using a container shows that rock garden plants can be grown almost anyplace, including on a balcony or patio, the plants are also raised above the ground, bringing them into easy reach. There is a less obvious virtue however, some difficult alpines which frequently rot outdoors can survive the winter in the exceptional drainage offered by a deep trough.
Many attractive reconstituted stone troughs are available today - the key feature to look for is definitely an adequate drain at the base. Old glazed sinks can be covered with hypertufa which is made of 1 part cement, 1 part sand and 1 part fine peat blended to a moist mix with water. Place the sink or trough on firm supports in a sunny spot and cover the drainage hole with pieces of rubble and fill to within 2 inches of the top with a standard planting mixture. Allow it to settle for a few weeks and plant up, aiming for a mixture of shapes, sizes and colours. Here you can use choice and delicate types to maximum advantage, but avoid rampant carpeters. Place some rocks between the plants and cover the suface using a 1 inch layer of stone chippings. Water on a regular basis throughout the growing season.
Dry-Stone Wall:
This is one of my favourites. A dry-stone wall is formed without using any mortar. In northern rural areas of Britain you'll see mile after mile of dry-stone walling built by bonding flat stones together, In the home garden, soil or planting mixture is used to fill the gaps between the stones. In these cracks, a vast range of rock garden plants could potentially grown.
There are two varieties of dry-stone wall, the free standing double-faced one with a central core of soil, and also the retaining type used to support a raised bed or face a bank. Building a free-standing wall ought to be left to a professional, but to build a retaining type is well inside the scope of the normal home gardener. Use limestone or sandstone - a better-to-handle alternative is the dry-walling variety of reconstituted stone block. A wall above 1ft. will require a 6 inch foundation of rubble or concrete. Lay large, flat stones for the lower layers, pushing them together tightly with a fill of planting mixture between the sides and layers of stones. Each stone should slope downwards and backwards, a 10 degree slope is satisfactory. Plant as you go, placing the specimens sideways. Rooted cuttings are generally easier to use than plants that are pot-grown. Pack the mixture all around the roots. When constructing a wall against an earth face, planting mixture should be packed n firmly to fill the space between the back of your stones and the front of the bank. Spray the wall with water when planting is finished, also water during dry weather until the plants are established. Recommended plants include Alyssum, Aubrietia, Dianthus, Phlox and Thyme for a sunny face and Arabis, Campanula and Saxifraga for a shady face.
Author Resource:
There is many more ideas coming in my next article. A great amount of my time is spent in my garden but, I am getting older and things are getting harder to do. I have decided to use a company called Landscaping London . Up to now they have given me all the help and advice that I have asked for.
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