Rock Gardens

A rock garden adds unique interest to the landscape. With the help of our Garden Crew, you can set in large rocks and boulders to create just the right background for the area. Rock gardens can be the main focal point of the yard, or they can lend beauty to a tiny side yard off the master bedroom.

Rock gardens require little space. For instance, place a low, protruding rock, and tuck in a few mounds of alyssum in the foreground, with a compact, feathery Heavenly Bamboo behind the rock as you view it. Complete the scene with potentilla, a bright green carpet-like ground cover with yellow blossoms.

To capture the effect of a natural scene, as you would expect to find in a meadow or the foothills, choose interestingly sshaped rocks. For any one grouping of stones, stick to one type of stone, so that its appearance in the garden will not seem out of place. To make the rock appear as a natural out-cropping, you might try half-burying the rock. This will give it a permanent look, as it the rock was being exposed by the natural erosion of the landscape.

Plants with unique characteristics and focal interest include (for the sun), Strawberry Tree, Miscanthus, Hibiscus, Mallow, and many types of evergreen conifers (such as bonsai junipers, dwarf pines, or spruce). Excellent choices for a shady rock garden are Japanese Maples, small-leafed azaleas (such as the Satsuki hybrids), Mahonia, or many of the different types of ferns. Cacti & Succulents are also an excellent choice for a rock garden. They can be worked in with leafy plants, or create a themed cactus-garden.

If you can get gravel in the same material as the boulders you are using, use it as a mulch instead of bark or humus, this will further accentuate the natural ambience created by the boulders.