Any garden or suburban area should have some special detail that distinguishes it from many others. Usually, some kind of picturesque corner, usually designed in the power of wild nature, acts as such an object. For a long time, the so-called alpine slides have been very popular.
This is a unique design solution, created in the form of a sample of nature from the mountainous Alps: representatives of the flora of this region are located among stony soils and large boulders. Consider how you can organize the construction of an alpine slide in a temperate climate and what plants should be used for it.
Content:
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Introduction
A typical view of an alpine hill
Alpine slide in another way it is also called "rock garden". In a garden or in a summer cottage, such an object is the main one. On it, in the language of the designer, an emphasis is created. Therefore, the location of the slide, and the plants used on it, must meet not only the right criteria in terms of agricultural technology, but also in terms of design.
Sometimes, to emphasize the accent not on the hill itself, it is placed either near the fences or on the edge of the lawn. This allows you to create a contrast between a fairly long "monotonous" object and a brighter and more attractive rock garden.
Rock garden with medium-sized plants
The place where the slide will be located is chosen in such a way that it can be clearly seen from different parts of the garden or plot. Most often, light-loving plants are used as plants on the hill, so it is necessary to think carefully about the lighting of this area.
Usually, when preparing places for a rock garden, they try to avoid shaded areas, as well as places located near buildings. (especially economic ones). In addition, there should be as few "unnatural" objects as possible near the slide, such as automatic watering systems or lanterns, since the combination of wildlife and the achievements of civilization is a bit dissonant.
This is not a rock garden. This is a flower bed with plants for rock garden
Plants for rock garden can be selected based on two seemingly opposite criteria:
- Alpine climate plants or as similar as possible to realize the most authentic Alpine landscape.
- Arbitrary selection of plants, while using the "alpine" style of decoration using stones and boulders.
However, there is nothing seditious in using the latter method, since the purpose of creating an alpine slide is not so much a thorough repetition of the landscape, but rather the creation of a general mood and atmosphere of it.
To be completely frank, the vegetation of the mountainous Alps is quite scarce and not all "original" plants will look very good in a modern garden.
Therefore, they strive to find plants for the rock garden that give approximately the same effect, and do not have the usual external similarity.
For example, heather in the wild is not in itself a very attractive mountain plant.. But using Gold Hayes instead of wild heather can significantly improve the impression of the site. On the other hand, instead of using heather sage will make the slide even more decorative, albeit to the detriment of "similarity".
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The approach to the design of each individual garden or summer cottage is an individual matter.. To facilitate the work of the owners of the plots, the designers have developed a number of standard solutions for building a rock garden. Traditionally, for certain standard solutions, both the planting scheme and their composition have already been thought out.
One of the layout options
Of course, this does not mean that you need to stick to only any chosen option to the nearest centimeter, and choose only the indicated plants. At any time, the standard solution can be reviewed and the necessary changes can be made to it.
Consider the most popular ways to implement alpine slides.
Rock
One of the simplest and most unpretentious options. It is widely distributed because its care is simple and easy. At the same time, its construction requires certain skills and the presence of at least the basics of the art of an architect. It is a relatively steep structure, mainly consisting of boulders.
Their size varies depending on the height of the building. The higher the level, the smaller their size.. At the very bottom are the largest and most massive boulders, in the middle - medium, and near the top - the smallest. Currently, the so-called "Czech rock" is widespread - an alpine hill with many cracks in the stones.
An example of the implementation of "Rocks"
The rock can often be decorated with various additional elements of the natural landscape, for example, small ponds. The use of artificial elements (figurines, casting, granite, etc.) is undesirable.
In such rock gardens, mountain plants are most often used. These are ferns, bluebells, fat women, etc. Of the larger plant forms, dwarf conifers (pines, thuja) or junipers.
mountain slope
A structure that has a constant slope in either direction. Such a slope is usually completely covered with small stones. Large and medium stones can be used as separate elements or a limiting structure, however, most often they are located at the very top of the slope.
Rock garden type "Mountain slope" or "Scree"
Considered to be a rather complex structure, because the vegetation (in particular, trees) is not just a decorative decoration of the slide, but also part of its structure. The role of trees is reduced to supporting the scree structure with the help of the root system and preventing it from spreading under its own weight and from the action of weather factors.
From the point of view of aesthetics, it is an alpine highland. Most often in this design there are dwarf conifers (pines, ate, junipers); their root system is perfect for these tasks. It is best to place an alpine slide on an already existing natural slope, although it is possible to create a similar design artificially.
In addition to dwarf conifers and shrubs, creeping or cover plants are used in such rock gardens. You can use single plantings of both small and large mountain plants - from crocusoin to barberry.
At the same time, in such designs, too obvious vertical accents are not used. - no tall trees and columnar and pyramidal plants.
mountain valley
Such rock gardens are used to create landscape objects with natural stones.imitating a valley in the highlands. Their design is a horizontal, often almost flat surface with the use of boulders of various sizes and shapes. They can be either part of some structures, or randomly distributed over the area of the rock garden.
Mountain Valley Implementation Example
A distinctive feature of this implementation of the rock garden is the use of boulders of the same type, and best of all from one batch to create the effect of maximum naturalness. Vegetation for such a rock garden can use tree and shrub groups that have different heights.
Mountain valley design option
The use of relatively tall plants on such slides, although not welcome, is quite acceptable.. They are most often used around the perimeter as hedges, but can be used as single plants.
In such cases, most often all possible herbs of the highlands are used.. It is these structures that are preferred when organizing continuously flowering zones. Plants are selected according to the timing of flowering and planted in such a way that beautiful and bright flowers are constantly present in the "mountain valley". Moreover, this can be done throughout the warm season (from early flowering crocuses to late flowering Septembers).
The general background of such slides is most often either low-growing ground cover or creeping plants., or stones covered with mosses.
Other forms of rock gardens
Terrace decoration
The considered designs represent, as it were, the basis for the construction of alpine slides. The rest of the designs in one form or another are their variations.
These include:
- Terraces – usually a gentle slope with a clearer breakdown by levels or steps is used.
- ravines - analogues of talus or rocks, but formed in the vertical direction not up, but down. The narrow version of the ravine is called the gorge.
- stone wall - a rock garden, which is practically a vertical flower bed made of stone.
- Mountain Creek - a rock garden of any of the considered types, designed using a directed flow of water flowing down a special channel. Often, at the foot of the hill, the stream flows into an impromptu pond.
- Swamp - an alpine hill with waterlogged soil and plants corresponding to such soil. Option - the location of the pond in the center of the rock garden, but at the same time the pond is planted with marsh plants, and surrounded by mountain stones along the perimeter; the rest of the vegetation corresponds to the mountainous landscape.
- Japanese garden - an attempt to combine a rock garden and a Japanese rock garden. Minimalism in the choice of plants and the repetition of Japanese stone aesthetics.
- Miniature slides - a finished composition, representing a kind of DIY kit, extremely fashionable lately. It includes artificial replicas of stone and other materials, soil and plants, as well as a large plastic trough that can accommodate it all. Thus, you can make a miniature alpine slide in this trough even at room conditions. There are various versions of artificial miniature slides, focused on a wide range of customers.
As you can see, rock gardens have a large number of options for the implementation of that part of them that relates to inanimate nature.. The plants that inhabit the alpine hill, in order to maintain the overall integrity and completeness of the composition, must be designed in a certain style.
The main thing in it is the use of mountain plants or species that are as similar as possible to them in appearance. Consider the various groups of plants used in rock gardens, and also describe the characteristic representatives of a particular group.
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Plants for rock garden
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It would be a mistake to assume that there should be bare stone on the lowest tier of the alpine hill. Such reasoning will be appropriate for structures like the Japanese "rock garden" and, perhaps, that's all. It is unlikely that anyone would want to take a lot of space in the center of the composition just to pave it with stones. It's not a city square.
Mshanka Styloid
Stones in rock gardens perform a separating function, and large spaces between them need to be filled with something.. Cover plants are the best solution for this - they evenly fill the lowest level of the slide composition, making it elegant.
Saxifrage
The plant does well in stony soils where most other plants cannot survive. Growing, it is able to cover large areas of rocky and rocky surfaces.
It has many colors and forms of petals. Flowering time also differs from late April to early autumn. In total there are about 400 species, so you can choose a plant with almost any parameters.
Rezuha
Another name is arabis. It is considered one of the universal perennials for slides.. In addition to its decorative properties, it is also a honey plant. It decorates the hill not only during flowering, since the leaves themselves are quite decorative.
Blooms in May and June, depending on the variety. In the light, more flowers form, in the shade - more green part.. Requires regular pruning of growing shoots.
rejuvenated
Another name for this plant is stone rose. A very popular cover in the design of rock gardens. It has different colors and shapes. Unpretentious in cultivation, thanks to the leaves, like succulents, is able to feed on the moisture accumulated in them for a long time.
The plant tolerates winter well, in addition, depending on the season, it can change color. In summer it is traditionally green, in autumn it can be red or burgundy.
sedum
There are two forms of this plant: herbaceous and shrubby. They have umbrella inflorescences and the whole gamut of petal color. They grow equally well both in the sun and in the shade.
Blooms depending on the variety in summer or autumn. They reproduce very well, they are able to cover large areas for several years or even months due to vegetative propagation. In addition, stonecrop is capable of seed reproduction. In the absence of control from the owners, they can become a monoculture. Continuous growth control is required.
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Creeping and creeping
Hand at first glance it may seem that there is no difference between cover and creeping plants. Indeed, both are located on the lowest tier of the alpine hill, both are undersized, both types, as a rule, have small flowers, etc.
Tribulus Creeping
But, in this case, we are talking about a fundamental difference. The overwhelming majority of cover plants are ordinary flattened bushes.. That is, where there is no possibility for the location of the root system, there simply will not be a plant. And, therefore, in these places there will be nothing to cover the lower layer of stones.
Creeping plants, due to the fact that most of their shoots lie on the ground, are capable of covering much larger areas with their vegetation from one root than cover ones. This is especially important in rock gardens, due to the fact that, due to the large number of stones, the access of plants to the soil is significantly limited.
The second important advantage of creeping plants is the possibility of full or partial braiding of large boulders and other landscape objects.. Such methods of using creeping plants make it possible to obtain beautiful and unique objects.
periwinkle
A plant that many consider a weed. This is not surprising, due to the growth rate of its shoots, fantastic unpretentiousness and very fast reproduction rates by all available means.
At the same time, periwinkle is one of the best creeping plants due to the large number of beautiful blue-violet flowers. The purpose of such plants in rock gardens is to braid the gaps between the stones and the unsightly elements of the slide design with a green mass. In addition, many design options involve, for example, the use of large boulders completely entwined with plants.
Of all the creeping ones, the periwinkle will do the best.
Thyme
A low growing shrub with both straight and creeping stems. Leaves are round or oval. Plant height rarely exceeds 30 cm. If standing shoots are removed in time, the height of the thyme layer will be small. Flowering occurs in August and early September.
Despite the large number of species, they are all very similar to each other and there are no obvious differences in shape or color. The most common shades are purple and pink.
Bloodroot
plant of the rose family. It is a semi-shrub perennial. The flowering period of the plant falls at the beginning of summer. There are several flowers on the stem, and their total number is quite large. With a relatively loose planting, due to the flowers, the leaves are not even visible.
It is used mainly as a creeping plant, since flexible stems are able to lie almost 20-30 cm on the ground.before the flowers rise to the sun. Spreads very quickly, requires regular growth restrictions.
Euonymus
In temperate climates, it is distributed almost everywhere. Dislikes both extreme cold and extreme heat. It feels best in coniferous forests, so in rock gardens it will be optimal to plant it next to coniferous ones. On the alpine hills, Fortune's euonymus is most widely used.
On the sunny side, the euonymus grows in breadth much better than in height, which allows it to be used as a cover plant. However, it needs regular loosening of the soil, which slightly limits its use in rock gardens.
In addition, to preserve moisture, the soil under it is desirable to mulch. It is a poisonous plant. Care must be taken when working with roots and leaves.
Junipers coverslips
Two types are best suited for these purposes: juniper horizontal and grade Blue Forest. Both grow no more than 20-30 cm in height, but can grow up to a meter wide. They have green or bluish-green needles, in winter the color changes to burgundy.
They are undemanding to the composition of the soil, but do not like excessive dryness of both soil and air. The first 2-3 years of life have slow growth, but then they grow very strongly. In order for the plant to have dense branches, it should be cut annually, first of all, long shoots.
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The largest representatives of the rock garden flora, in fact, may not be present on it. These are either residents of the boundary levels of the alpine hill, or special attention concentrators, “catching” a quick glance of the visitor and then transferring him to the rock garden itself.
The boundary level is understood as either the background of the rock garden, or the beginning of some kind of structure inside it.. If your slide does not aim to stand out strongly from the surrounding landscape, there is no particular need for them.
Cypress pyramidal, evergreen
But what kind of alpine landscape is possible without representatives, for example, conifers? In addition, you need to understand that rock garden is not just flower bed, the composition of which can be easily and quickly changed from season to season.
It is quite complex both in design and manufacture, and its life cycle is at least 5-7 years. Therefore, the selection of the main inhabitants of the rock garden should be done very scrupulously.
The ideal choice in this case would be slow-growing perennials. Coniferous species have an advantage, as they help to solve two problems at once. First, they are natural representatives of rocky soils and mountain landscapes. And secondly, most conifers have a high decorative effect and the ability to attract attention.
As an alternative to conifers, you can use either some evergreen bushes or trees, having some resemblance to them, or some beautiful decorative perennials, suitable for growth or general impression.
Cotoneaster
It is an evergreen or deciduous shrub, devoid of thorns. You can often find tree-like varieties of cotoneaster. It has medium-sized oblong leaves that change color throughout the year. In summer, the color of the leaves is dark green, in winter it is dark burgundy. Cotoneaster growth can reach up to 5 m, however, in most cases it is from 1.2 to 1.5 m.
Prefers slightly acidic soils, tolerates drought well. Due to its decorative effect, cotoneaster can be used as a single and as a group plant for creating hedges. Possessing a developed root system, it can be used to strengthen the rock garden of the "slope" type. Cotoneaster blooms in June-July, and its fruits, which are red berries, appear by September.
The plant is slow growing, but young shoots can grow significantly from season to season. Therefore, to maintain the plant in proper appearance, regular pruning is recommended. Evergreens are pruned in the middle of spring, and deciduous - at the end of winter, when there may still be snow and negative temperatures.
Thuja western
There are many varieties suitable for growth for alpine slides. They should not be excessively high or low. The use of too high thujas does not reflect well on the appearance of the alpine slide. The optimal growth of such varieties is in the range from 1 to 2 m.
Among them, the following varieties are most popular:
- Stolvik
- close of gold
- Sunkist
- Smaragdi others
These varieties are quite unpretentious in cultivation, perfectly tolerate pruning, are able to withstand frosts down to -30 ° C and drought.
miniature conifers
This group includes undersized or even dwarf pines, ate and firs. As a rule, they are no different from their forest counterparts, except for growth. They are perfectly adapted to temperate climates, and most of them are adapted to its temperature range.
Often such views are used either in the center of the composition, or in its "characteristic" points - in the corners, in places where the slope changes, and so on. Their main role is to focus on themselves or some part of the landscape.
Junipers tall
Juniper can also be used as free-standing tall objects on an alpine hill. Tall varieties include Chinese juniper, rocky or virgin juniper.
The choice of colors and crown shapes of such junipers is quite large. Their growing conditions are similar to those for coverslips.
Barberry
It is a semi-evergreen plant, as it loses some of its foliage in the winter season. In rock gardens, shrub forms of barberry are used. Foliage comes in all shades of green and yellow, there are specimens with reddish-brown foliage. The flowers are predominantly yellow or orange in color with a pleasant smell.
Flowering time is in summer. It is a good honey plant. Barberry berries are red, densely arranged on the branches. Throughout the warm season, the barberry retains its decorative effect.
Grows on any soil, unpretentious; tolerates drought well. Prefers full sun, but can also grow in partial shade. To facilitate the care of barberry, mulching is recommended.
tall flowers
The choice of such colors is very diverse. First of all, they include all ornamental plants that can grow on the sunny side and on poor soils. It can be lilies, daylilies, peonies, mock orange, roses, rose hip etc.
The main requirement for such plants, unlike integumentary and creeping ones, is high growth and attractive appearance.. As a rule, such plants from the population of the slide require the most attention. Usually, maintaining them in a decent form is spent the most time when working with a slide.
Often due to the limited amount of land for growing such plants, they often have to be replanted, separating the extra parts of the root system or daughter plants. In addition, to maintain a beautiful appearance, they need to be fertilized frequently.
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The purpose of such plants in rock gardens is to transition between different levels of plants and objects. It is these views that fill the main space of the alpine slide and make up most of its design solutions. With their help, slides with continuous flowering are also created, they act as borders and are used to enhance certain visual effects.
Pine Dwarf, Mountain
In some cases, the average level of an alpine slide may differ from its top and bottom by a lower degree of illumination. Therefore, plants in this zone can be shade-loving.
Fescue
A herbaceous plant with bright green or bluish leaves. Very decorative, often used in rock gardens. When growing, it forms hummocks, up to 50 cm high. The diameter of an overgrown fescue in 10 years can reach 1 m.
It grows on any soil, tolerates drought well, but does not like stagnant water.. Definitely needs drainage. In rock gardens, glacial fescue is most often used, reaching no more than 30 cm in diameter and having gray-blue foliage.
Lavender
A plant with a beautiful appearance and a unique smell. In rock gardens, medium-sized and dwarf species are mainly used, with a height of 25 to 40 cm. The flowering of bushes lasts almost three months - from June to August.
Lavender is very hardy and drought tolerant.. The plant is warm and photophilous. Grows well in rocky and sandy soils.
Primrose
In their natural environment, these plants prefer shaded places, so they are used in rock gardens either on the north side, or to fill the space between large boulders.
The plant has many shades and shapes of petals, so it is often used in almost all types of filling rock gardens.. It blooms one of the first in spring, so its other name is primrose.
Primula is demanding on the composition and consistency of the soil. Ideal for primrose is loose and light soil with good drainage and increased moisture capacity. It is recommended that the top layer of soil in the immediate vicinity of the plant be slightly damp, but without stagnant water.The acidity of the soil does not play a special role, but it is desirable to use soils of a neutral-acidic composition.
Primula loves top dressing from mineral fertilizers, however, preference should be given to phosphorus-potassium mixtures, almost completely eliminating nitrogen. Otherwise, next spring, instead of a flower cover, you can get a lot of green mass.
Scilla
Small growing bulbous plants that prefer flat surfaces. Ideal for creating "mountain valleys". They are widespread due to their unpretentiousness, excellent appearance and early flowering.
Prefers shade and moist soils. It is not susceptible to almost all diseases. It tends to multiply by self-seeding and spread rapidly. The color is predominantly blue.
If the plant is placed in shade or partial shade, the number of flowers is reduced, but the volume of deciduous mass increases. A similar technique is often used in the design of alpine slides, because many people like how the leaves look like. lavender.
For even more foliage and an increase in its density, it is recommended to apply mineral nitrogen-containing fertilizers twice a season, for example, urea or nitrate.
crocuses
Another name is saffron. One of the early primroses, although there are late flowering ones and even those that bloom in autumn. The height of the plant rarely exceeds 10 cm. The leaves appear on the plant after it is completed.
They have a wide variety of shades. They need fertile soil, which is a little problematic to do in the place of a rock garden in the usual way. With proper observance of agricultural technology, they do not get sick and are not attacked by pests.
Lumbago
A plant of the Buttercup family, 5 to 30 cm high. A feature of the plant is the scales covering its stem and leaves. Flowering time is April-May. The color of the plant can be purple, blue or lilac.
Prefers sandy soils. It tolerates drought well, does not like stagnant water. Therefore, an alpine slide would be an ideal place for this plant. Can be planted in both sunny and shady areas.
poultry farmer
The plant is a low growing bulbous shrub with many small, but very decorative flowers. The main shades are white or yellow. The flowering period occurs at the beginning of summer, the duration is 3-4 weeks. After flowering, it is necessary to remove the dried parts of the plant - this will help it stimulate the growth of new shoots.
Prefers sunny areas with sandy or rocky soil, therefore it takes root well in alpine slides. The plant needs regular watering and good drainage. It is desirable to apply organic fertilizers at the end of the season.
bulbous plants
As bulbous plants in rock gardens, you can use those species that can grow on sandy soils, or use special areas on which loose soil will be introduced.
Most often, muscari, pushkinia and hazel grouse are recommended for cultivation in this case.. All of them prefer sunny areas and moderate watering. Before planting these plants in a rock garden, it is advisable to apply organic fertilizers (compost or humus) to the soil, and to preserve moisture in the soil, it must be mulched.
Bulbs in rock gardens need regular annual prevention of their bulbs and removal of excess. As a rule, these are either old or damaged bulbs. Sometimes it is practiced to dig up the bulbs for storage in the winter and then sort them at home.
Some types of bulbs do not need such a procedure every year., since in the absence of the necessary space they do not create a large number of child bulbs, that is, their root system remains practically unchanged. But, nevertheless, every 3-4 years they need to be updated or thinned out.
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