Rockery from conifers: photo, creation

Along with the arrangement of rock gardens, a new trend is gaining popularity among landscape designers – the creation of rockeries, which offers greater creative freedom. In addition, coniferous rockeries, in addition to obvious aesthetic merits, are also picky in care, which is why landscapers often prefer this particular type of rocky gardens.

Landscape design with stones and conifers

Rockery is a landscape design element that combines the aesthetics of a traditional flower garden and a rock garden. Often it is mistaken for a rock garden, but, unlike it, the presence of a hill is not necessary to create a rockery: it can be placed both on a flat area and on a hilly area. As a decor for rockeries, not only alpine, but also any other plants are used.

Coniferous rockeries are the most popular. They look extraordinarily impressive and serve as a wonderful decoration for backyard areas and green areas adjacent to the facade of urban buildings located in front of the facade of the building. In addition, conifers are evergreens that are easy to care for and have a long lifespan. Thanks to this, coniferous rockeries are able to admire their appearance for many years.

Types of rockeries with conifers

All rockeries, including conifers, are divided into 3 types:

• temporary;
• stable;
• volatile.

A temporary rock garden means that the stones and other decorative elements will need to be replaced as the plants grow. It is best to break it on a flat area or in an area that has a slight rise. For planting choose small seedlings that will grow over time.

Rockeries of a stable type are chosen on condition that they want to decorate the garden for several years. To create it, large and small stones are used, which are divided into zones of the area with plants. This distinction simplifies the care of conifers and inhibits their growth, which allows you to save the rockery composition.

Lovers of novelty will appreciate the changeable rockeries. As its name implies, it allows year after year to add new, smaller shrubs to the base of several large plants, thus giving a completely new look to the rocky garden.

Names and photos of conifers for an alpine slide

A great variety of conifers for rockeries has been bred, and they all differ in shape, size and color. Among the wide range of species and varieties, it is not difficult to find specimens that meet the most delicate design taste.

Ale

Spruce is a favorite of landscape designers for its undemanding care and high frost resistance. In addition, numerous varieties of spruce have needles of various shades: green, gray, and even golden yellow.

The photo shows the most popular representative of this conifer – common spruce:

Various columnar varieties of gray spruce are very beautiful, but the scorching sun often burns the needles of these delicate plants, so in summer they need to be shaded.

Cypress

Cypress is another very common conifer in the field of landscape design. The pea-bearing variety of the plant is considered the most frost-resistant.

Cypress Filiferai has an unusual appearance. It has long falling branches, evoking associations with a waterfall.

Cypress Plumosa has a spreading crown, but some varieties are quite compact and look good in small rockeries.

Juniper

For arranging rockeries, it is recommended to choose dwarf varieties of this fragrant conifer, which have a dense crown and are characterized by slow growth. So, European juniper will serve as an excellent decorative element for the background.

Juniper horizontal will be an excellent option for a coniferous plant for an alpine slide, if you need to fill the space between the stones.

Fir

Rockery firs also have dwarf varieties.

Balsam fir has the most suitable crown density for rockeries.

Korean fir is resistant to frost, but it must be protected from direct sunlight.

Pine

Such a notorious conifer, like a pine, is also of value to landscape designers. This is especially true for plants with a spherical or flattened crown, as, for example, in varieties of some varieties of Scotch pine.

Often, when arranging alpine hills, varieties of undersized pine are planted from conifers.

Thuya

Thuja western captivates with its endurance and appearance, but it requires sufficient watering, as it does not feel well in dry soil.

There is still a mass of varieties of coniferous plants that amaze the imagination with a color palette and shapes. But no matter what the choice of conifers is based on, they must certainly be combined with each other and create the appearance of an indivisible landscape.

What plants are combined with conifers and stones

In addition to conifers and natural stones, deciduous and herbaceous plants are used in the arrangement of an alpine hill in the garden. They complement the overall picture, mask the empty areas of the rockery and help dilute the discreet color palette of conifers with bright accents. And if you approach the selection of such plants correctly and choose specimens with different flowering periods, the rocky garden will play with new colors throughout the year.

So, in the spring you should opt for primroses, primroses and low tulips. In the summer, the assortment becomes much richer: among the proposals for decoration during this period are tenacious, yaskolka, cat’s paw and phloxes.

Regardless of the season, saxifrage, sedum, ground cover and young will be a good acquisition. They can grow in almost any soil and are perfect for a stone embankment.

Rules for creating rockeries with conifers

Creating a rockery is akin to art. It requires the designer to have a clear idea of ​​​​how the rockery will ultimately look like, and therefore, having decided to decorate your summer cottage with such an element of landscape design, you should pay attention to every little thing. Everything – from the color and size of the selected conifers to the shape of the smallest stones – is of great importance when planning a future composition. Here are some recommendations to consider when arranging rockeries:

1. Since the appearance of rockeries dates back to Japanese culture, a prerequisite for creating an alpine hill from conifers is compatibility with the characteristics of the territory in which it is located. Rockery should not look foreign against the background of the general relief, but organically fit into the atmosphere of a garden or park.
2. A key role in creating rockeries with conifers is played by its location. An unsuccessful choice of location for this element of landscape decor can completely change the appearance of the site, not for the best. When deciding on a place, it is advisable to give preference to uneven surfaces, whether it is a slope or a small hill: this gives scope for creative thought, allowing you to make miniature mountain valleys with the help of conifers and stones or create a cascade effect. In addition, such rockeries will also have a practical purpose: to prevent shedding of soil on the site. In addition, the rockery area should be well lit, since most conifers are photophilous plants. Moderately shaded areas are also acceptable.
3. Having chosen a suitable place, you should make a sketch of the future rockery and note the approximate location of stones, conifers and other plants.
4. With the help of a rope and pegs, it is required to mark the area of ​​the rockery. Then remove 20-25 cm of soil from the designated area and clean it of unnecessary stones, weeds and roots.
5. For the successful development of conifers and other plants, it will not be superfluous to provide them with a high-quality drainage system. For this, broken brick mixed with crushed stone or gravel in a ratio of 1: 1 is suitable. Such a mixture will serve as a good basis for rockeries, which will prevent it from waterlogging and at the same time minimize the appearance of weeds on it. If you additionally cover the soil with geotextile material, you can achieve additional protection against weeds.
6. After laying the drainage layer, it should be covered with sand and compacted. On top of the sand, you need to place a substrate mixed from sand, fine gravel and garden soil. Subsequently, conifers will need to be planted in this substrate, and then stones should be installed.
7. Stones for rockeries should be chosen in natural shades, focusing on the fact that they emphasize the beauty of the conifers. They can complement the colors that prevail in the environment, or, conversely, contrast with them. At the same time, the stones themselves must be of the same material, and also be combined with each other so that the rockery creates a complete picture. As a rule, landscape designers prefer to use stones from sedimentary or igneous rocks, such as basalt and sandstone, due to their characteristic texture.
   Advice! Stones of the same color, but of different sizes, will help to successfully shade the natural beauty of conifers in rockeries, especially if they have an unusual texture and shape.
8. The stones must be arranged, starting with large ones and ending with smaller specimens, while the former look more profitable singly, and the latter in groups. They should be buried in the ground at least 1/3: when the force is applied to them, the stones should not move.
9. Scree rockeries can be formed using gravel, medium-sized perlite or pebbles with a layer of 4 – 5 cm.
10. For rockeries with conifers, plants from nurseries that have a closed root system are mainly used. For landscaping the background, ornamental trees and medium-high shrubs are used: for example, columnar thuja and gray spruce. Low conifers, such as mountain pine, are planted near large stones, and the territory between the stones is set aside for creeping plant species – horizontal juniper or Canadian hemlock.
11. When creating a landscape composition, it is advisable to foresee the placement of a footpath made of flat stone slabs or saw cuts of coniferous trees. It will complement the aesthetics of rockeries and facilitate access to the conifers if care is needed.

Coniferous rockery care

Naturally, one cannot ignore such an important component of any rockery as plants. The conifers themselves are considered unpretentious in care, however, in order for them to please the eye for as long as possible, it is still worth adhering to certain rules for planting and growing them:

1. The landing of conifers for rockeries should be carried out in a pre-prepared landing pit, which corresponds to the size of the earthen coma. It must be filled with fertile soil in combination with a small proportion of sand and generously watered. The plant must be carefully examined before planting, get rid of dry or injured roots and release the lower part of the rhizome from the earthy clod. After that, it is necessary to place the conifer in the planting hole, fill it with soil, tamp it down and water it thoroughly again. To ensure healthy development of the conifers, they should be planted at a distance of 15 – 20 cm from the stones. Exceptions are ground cover plants: they can be placed closer.
2. To prevent rockery from overgrowing with weeds, it should be periodically weeded.
3. Despite the fact that conifers tolerate the dry period well and do not need watering as such, you can additionally water the plants during the growing season.
4. It is not necessary to feed conifers in rockeries, however, if the soil in the designated area is not fertile, fertilizers can be applied periodically, starting from the 4th year of plant development.
   Important! You can not feed conifers with fresh organic fertilizers.
5. In spring and summer, when the sun is most active, it is advisable to cover the conifers with a light canopy if there is no shade in the rockery.
6. To maintain the harmonious appearance of rockeries, the conifers should be cut from time to time, maintaining their shape and preventing the plants from growing too much.

Photo of landscape design with stones and conifers

The beauty of coniferous rockeries lies in the fact that their appearance is not limited by anything other than the imagination of the designer himself. Equipping your alpine hill with conifers, you can create an absolutely unique landscape in three main styles distinguished by professional landscape designers; they act as a guideline that allows you to direct creative energy in the right direction:

Japanese style. It is characterized by a shift in focus not to plants, but to stones, their shape and size. The number of large boulders and small stones prevails here, and plants play the role of bright accents. The distances between the elements of the landscape can be much greater than when decorating rockeries in other styles. This is a great garden option for those who have a contemplative nature and are looking for inner harmony;

European style. It implies the presence of rocky slopes, slides and cascades and creates the feeling of an island of untouched nature in the middle of the garden. For the design of rockeries in this style, plants growing in the Middle lane are often used;

English style. Assuming more orderliness than the European style, it resembles a well-groomed public garden. There is still no symmetry here, but the conifers here have a clearer crown shape, and the composition itself is distinguished by restraint.

However, for the arrangement of coniferous rockeries, it is not necessary to adjust your artistic vision to a specific style. It is enough to remember a few important notes:

1. Symmetry is not desirable. She is able to turn an interesting creative vision into a boring and monotonous landscape.
2. Decor elements are recommended to be arranged in such a way that they look attractive both near and far, from different angles.
3. Conifers and stones with smooth outlines, close to natural, look most advantageous.
4. Plants and boulders should create the impression of a single picture and maintain a common color scheme.
5. Conifers that are different in color from the rest, for example, with bright yellow needles, can be interestingly beaten by adding flowers of the same shade to rockeries: so conifers will not look painful against the general background.

Conclusion

It takes a lot of creativity to create a unique conifer rockery. But if you follow the simple rules for arranging a rocky garden and your own imagination, the efforts made will not be in vain and will soon please you with an amazingly beautiful result.