Rockery on the summer cottage: the subtleties of landscape design

Rockery conquered the owners of country estates by the fact that in an expressive rocky garden with unique charm, the beauty of stones and plants is revealed. At first glance, a complex structure may well be carried out personally, and taking into account the tastes of the owners of the site and emphasizing the individuality of the villa.

Rockery is a decorative composition for the garden space of stones and plants. As floristic filling can be considered both trees, and bushes, flowers. It is accepted to plant in rockeries dwarf and undersized varieties.

Although artificial elevation, given the composition, does not reduce the aesthetic effect.For the texture imitating the foothills, as a rule, large, impressive shades of stones and unpretentious in maintenance, rather modest plants are planned. This combination emphasizes the proximity to the natural range of colors.

In this case, the amateur artist has the right to give full will of his imagination and mood. The compositional atmosphere may look harsh, "northern" or more relaxed, poetic.

The most modest rockeries look like a few themed seedlings (for example, coniferous undersized bushes), inscribed among a dozen stones. Instead, it is possible to use climbing plants or forest plants - violets, ferns, elegant herbs and even mugs.

If you aim at a multi-level garden in stones, then it will take much more time and effort. And fans of the mountain range in a country house with a waterfall will have to study the science of erecting such a composition at all, because you cannot launch it into operation without supporting structures, a streamlined mechanism for the functioning of a water body.

Some classic examples of rockeries:

In the center of the site a flowerbed is laid out with stones, which immediately becomes the aesthetic center of the rural space. Flowers make their way through the stones, and the brighter their bushes, the more elegant the composition. If you manage to create high walls of a bed of stones, then climb the climbing plants well along them.

In the garden, a stony wonder can be more expressive and diverse. It is interesting to look volumetric boulders interspersed with small stones. It is better if you manage to build a cascade along which a stream is murmuring, filling an artificial pond below. Pretentiousness in this case plays on the idea: the garden should “be surprised” at the stony flower garden.

Yes, rockeries in the room is also possible, in a country house as well. It is better to put a small building where there is more fresh air - on the veranda, balcony. If you make such a decision, you will need a special platform and a “foundation”, and you will also have to “watch” to maintain the light and humidity for the composition.

So that with the advent of the rocky "mountain" with flowers and trees, disharmony does not occur in the landscape design of the site, it is better to carefully consider everything in advance.Think over which stones you want to see, which plants please you more, how many square meters will the composition take in finished form. To carry out these calculations, you would be good to represent the type of rockeries.

There are a huge number of them, we list at least the most popular:

• Mini-option. Suitable as an additional decoration of the recreation area. As an example - stones, grass, on top - a bush of bright barberry.
• On the slope. This rock aquarium is good because it is very convenient for the organization of the water element.
• Coniferous. This volume composition, which is a mound of stones and coniferous dwarf trees. Now this is a fashion squeak from designers. There is such a beauty right in front of the house.

As for the rockeries functional, then a subdivision such as temporary rockeries or permanent, stable matters here. A temporary version fits perfectly on a slope or flat surface. It will be necessary to dig a hole to root the saplings of young ornamental shrubs and place small stones here.

For the installation of a stable stone flower bed, large boulders and small stones are set “forever”, the gaps between them are filled with greenery, better not requiring special care, but externally elegant.For example, spiraea, host, silverweed and other plants are perfect.

Fantasy natures prefer mutable rockeries. Large bright flowers are used for decoration, to which the hosts happily plant more and more new ones every year.

Rockery can be performed in different styles. A distinctive feature of English is the plants of pastel, non-stressful tones. Gamma restrained, natural. No madness of colors, just needles and cereals. The stones are mostly gray, gray-white.

European style means local boulders and bright low flowers. Cineraria, curb phloxes, taghetis, California poppy, and star stars will look beautiful.

Japanese style embodies a symmetrical arrangement of stones, where everything is aligned and geometrically correct. Floristic elements, as a rule, are rare spectacular plants: dwarf sakura, rhododendrons, azalea hybrids.

The stony garden is made up of hardy, zoned specimens. But from time to time rockeries still need to be watered through a hose sprayer. And do not forget that every few years it is necessary to pour the soil and thin out planting flowers.After all, the main purpose of rockeries is aesthetics, so at any time of year the composition should attract the attention of guests and hosts.

If you are ready to create a stylish garden in the country with your own hands, consider the moments that should not be missed during the design. Probably, the load will be considerable, but then the pleasure from creative work with plants, stones, earth cannot be overestimated.

Rains and drops, which usually merge from the roof of the building, can damage the structure of the artificial garden, wash the ground, destroy the plants and provoke a subsidence of stones.

The right choice is a well-lit place, preferably a long, gentle slope. Shade some of your rock garden, don't put all of it in the sun. Find a slope directed, say, to the southwest.

Do not neglect the modest area of ​​the area.You will pick up dwarf trees and get an expressive, pretty “hill”. Believe me, this is not a matter of magnitude, since the miniature creature also has every chance of becoming a masterpiece of summer cottage.

If rockery has no place to “register”, except for the corner of the plot, which is visually spoiled by the proximity of the old building or the unsophisticated parking, do not deprive yourself of the pleasure of admiring the rocky garden. Decorate the building with climbing varieties of greenery, on their background the rocky garden will also win.

Before you start creating a garden in the stones, it is best to sketch out a drawing of the structure. Then you should protect the site under construction with tape or cord. It remains to create a drawing where the stones will be and where the plants will take their place.

Then you should read the instructions and perform step by step each item:

• In detail to clear the place chosen under a hill, to clean all garbage and weeds.
• The top layer of the earth (about 10-15 centimeters) to remove to deal with a fresh ground. When poor soils they are replaced by fertile composition.
• All the soil is dug up, loosened, the roots of shrubs and trees are carefully removed.

• Then the area must be covered with polyethylene or geotextile. This will serve as a barrier for elemental roots or weeds, which can move stones and destroy rockeries, as well as protect the structure from moles and mice.
• A very important point - drainage. Due to the film, the natural outflow of water will be disturbed, so it is necessary to create an artificial drainage system. At the bottom of the pit lay gravel, slag. Then a solid layer of coarse sand is strewn.
• Now it’s the turn of the soil - it is filled up, focusing on the project. The level of the mound depends on whether the rockeries are high or low. To tamp the ground to be as thorough as possible. If there is time, then generally it is possible to leave rock arias “rest” for the season, then the soil should be properly managed and formed in natural conditions by itself.

• Refer to the drawing and start installing the stones. They must be immersed in the ground not less than half the height to ensure the reliability of the structure. Put powerful boulders on the rubble pillow. It is even possible to perform cementing for strength. This will prevent heavy stones from sinking too deep.Between the stones, the ground is poured little by little, crushing it with his hands.
• It is the hour of planting. Where to be each of them is planned in your picture. In each hole to the flower, you can pour a little fertilizer. Make sure that the plant received exactly the fertilizer, from which it improves growth. The more comfortable your seedlings will feel, the faster the slide will be quickened and decorated.
• In conclusion, rockeries must be carefully watered.

A small “oasis” does not correspond to a large space either, it will simply be lost in it. So turn on the fantasy and act on the basis of the balance of the square and the garden of dreams, as well as your own ideas about harmony and comfort.

If there is a hill on a plot, a ravine, a terrace, then rockery will be “very well connected” to them. Subtle natures have also tried out such original ideas of creating a rock garden as the “valley”, “gorge”, “steep slope”, and “cliff”. Although on a flat, flat surface, the garden also does not lose its charm.Take care only that your composition does not look like a lonely “statue”, but fits into the surrounding relief.

The best coordinates for the composition are a mound well illuminated by the sun. After all, it is very problematic to fit a review for rock ariar on the outskirts of the plot or in the thickets of the garden.

There are no restrictions on the choice of plants for rockeries. But still there are win-win options. They emphasize good taste when you make a site. After all, the harmony of flowers and shrubs in the landings is the calling card of the owners of the acres.

Used green spaces for rocky hills are divided into four classes. These are conifers, shrubs, perennial flowers and bulbous, that is, a rocky garden should form such floral elements that do not need to be planted and cleaned every year.

Among shrubs, honeysuckle, silverweed, various varieties of cotoneaster look most impressive.

Collection of perennial flowers can be very rich. But the main focus of rockeries is stones, and the flowers are rather the background. Daffodils, tulips, crocuses, primroses, forest violet meet this role. They will be the first blooming islands in the spring.

Plan to replace them Siberian irises, phlox, daylilies, saxifrage, bells, carnation, arabis, cineraria. Do not miss the evergreen “additive” in the form of ornamental mosses, sedums, dwarf ferns. Herbaceous varieties such as gravilata, Badan will add a hill of elegant natural negligence.

If you decide to place rockeries, for example, in a pine plot, then you can add bright colors for contrast, because the picture is already oversaturated with dark greens. You can use a few koryag for rest near rock arias and accompany them with fragrant nondescript stains: machiola, fragrant tobacco.

Stone - the main semantic filler rockeries. Some people like stones to match the color of the building, others - in harmony with the surrounding landscape. But perhaps the most important thing is that they should be warm colors, look natural, “breathe” water and air. Best of all, the rocks are suitable for a rocky garden of tuff, limestone, crushed stone, granite and sandstone.

Natural stone is really a luxury for the realization of your creative plans. Arrange it, focusing on your taste joy, which will give you a particular angle.

But adhere to a certain set of rules, because rockeries, too, should not be a stone dump:

• Angular stones are permissible in dry rockaria. But if you have an artificial stream flowing through a mountain garden or a waterfall falls, round boulders look more original.
• Do not overdo it with the same stones - as in nature, they should be of different shapes and sizes.
• Match the size of the garden and stones. It is not necessary to add pebbles to the huge rockeries. And, on the contrary, a mini-garden is hardly appropriate to “crush” with a boulder of impressive diameter.
• Compositions with stones of one or two rocks look more stylish.
• It is better if the stones somehow coincide in color with the overall landscape.

But you have the right to do in your own way, if your approach is dictated by some specific exterior design style.

Unusual design finds for the device rockeries not count. For example, a stony composition with exclusively mountain plants — lavender, mosses, ferns, wild primroses — looks very natural not far from home. Its low-key gamma emphasizes the natural style of the chalet or any of the rural areas - country, provence, rustic.

You can visually divide the slide into mini-zones with the help of any elements and try to arrange your time of year in each due to the selection of flowers - delicate (spring), saturated (summer), golden and purple (early and late autumn).

Some people like to build a rocky mound out of rock arias. Not all plants can withstand such a “pressure”, therefore it is necessary to select the most enduring ones: saxifrage, ground covers, young.

The originals will definitely try to create rockery wall.Vertically rebuilt stone composition will require great effort, but twined with clematis, ivy, and peas will be a real designer masterpiece.

Prone to innovations, hacienda owners love to mix styles in filling rockeries. For example, European with Italian. It turns out an incredible masquerade paint from the lush, fragrant colors: crimson, white, fiery, blue.

It is considered very fashionable 3D artistic surround option, when designers achieve a circular view of rockeries with a variety of effects. Its interesting to have a gazebo, viewed from different angles.

No one is left indifferent by the Japanese mini-garden, where stones dominate over tiny plants - basically, these are fragrant waving grass, which causes extraordinary peace.

An amazing corner will give you a lot of pleasant minutes, and after creating it will not require too much trouble. According to your mood, you can somehow change its details, bring fresh notes. Once having tried on the creative role of a landscape designer, you can hardly refuse such aesthetic pleasure later.

Schemes and a step-by-step guide from the specialists that you have studied in this article will help to make the rockeries of your dreams and get real pleasure in the process of its creation.

How to make rockeries yourself, see the next video.