Time to build your own rocky patch in the garden
Graham Wilson, plant expert from Northampton Garden Centre, building a rockery.
A ROCKERY can help to bring more interest and texture to your garden and the winter months are a good time to think about creating one because the weather is cooler.
An ideal place for a rockery is on a slope in full sun, however if your garden is flat you can still create one. Untreated railway sleepers or old bricks can help add height and to further build up the area you can use topsoil or old turf, which is placed upside down as a base.
Try to avoid positioning a rockery underneath trees because this will restrict the type of plants that you can grow. A sunny, well-drained site should work well because most of the plants suited to a rockery thrive in full sun. Once you have chosen where to place the rockery, you need to decide what type of rocks to use. Basalt, granite, limestone and sandstone are popular choices and for a natural effect choose flat, rough-shaped rocks.
Also, consider the size of the rocks you would like and remember to take into account that larger ones will be more difficult to manoeuvre. To give you an idea of how many you require, try to work out where you are going to place them. Before you begin building your rockery, ensure you clear the soil of weeds and try to work on a day when the ground isn’t too wet.
Then, starting at the lowest point, use the larger rocks to create the outline of your rockery. Remember to leave gaps for planting and secure the rocks by embedding at least half of it in the ground.
When you are happy with the positioning, fill between the gaps with soil. To help ensure your rockery is stable it may be necessary to loosen and re-pack the soil underneath, as well as in between the rocks. Repeat the process for the next level using smaller rocks. To increase the height, cover with more soil, but remember to look at the shape of the rockery, because if it is too steep, heavy rain could cause a landslide.
Once all the stones are in place, add compost. It needs to be free draining, so use equal amounts of compost and sand or grit and then put it on the rockery. Spread it out using your hands or a rake as this should prevent it from compacting. When it comes to selecting the plants for your rockery, alpine varieties are a good choice. Before planting take into account the final height and spread of each plant.
Aubretia, which is a low growing plant with blue, violet or white flowers, is excellent to include. To encourage it to grow compactly the flowers should be cut back once they have finished blooming.
If you have a larger rockery you could try stonecrop, which has yellow flowers that bloom in mid-summer.
For a more compact display you could try dianthus, which is a low growing plant with evergreen foliage.
Arabis produces white flowers in spring and its green and white foliage creates a nice background throughout the rest of the year.
For more information on creating a rockery, please call Northampton Garden Centre, which is located in Newport Pagnell Road, Northampton, on 765725 or visit www.northamptongardencentre.co.uk.
Email to a friend
Print this page- BREAKING NEWS: Tributes paid to Niamh Curry as brave five-year-old loses battle against cancer
- BREAKING NEWS: Pensioner dies after collision at Northampton shopping centre
- Man tied to tree and beaten on Northampton Racecourse
- BREAKING NEWS: Seven-year-old boy dies following house fire in Northamptonshire
- Northampton binmen at ‘breaking point’
- Northampton binmen at ‘breaking point’
- Saints’ stadium plans get support as long as traffic issues solved
- Staff strike at Northampton school over academy plans forces closure
- Eastern European pupils helping school standards across Northampton
- Vow to crack down on anti-social behaviour across Northampton’s eastern district
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Northampton
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.