Summer flowers for an alpine slide. Plants for an alpine slide photo with names. What plants are suitable for an alpine slide

The creation of an alpine slide is a fascinating process that requires not only imagination, but also care. Even one incorrectly selected plant can ruin the whole experience, disrupting the harmony between other inhabitants of the rocky garden. Therefore, you need to make the right choice from an extensive list of plants suitable for composing an alpine slide.

To make the alpine slide look attractive all season long, a place for planting plants should be selected, taking into account their flowering time and the principle of tiering:

1. The top of the hill. It is more exposed to sunlight than the tiers below; therefore, it is rational to plant here plants that love sunlight and do not need a lot of moisture.
2. Middle tier- a place for plants that feel good in partial shade. Here, the soil moisture is average, so the middle of the alpine slide can be called universal: milking most flowers here are ideal conditions, which provides ample opportunities for choice.
3. The foot of the slide- the logical completion of the landscape composition. Plants planted here should be combined with the rest of the rock garden and choose those that love moisture and tolerate shade. After all, most of the sun's rays will go to the neighbors from above.

To ensure continuous flowering from early spring to late autumn, flowering plants should be selected according to the principle of rotation. Evergreen shrubs and dwarf trees will look great in winter, looking out from under the snow.

The creation of an alpine slide is a fascinating process that requires not only imagination, but also care

Plants placement schemes in the rock garden

Before you start creating an alpine slide, you need to create a graphical diagram. It will reflect the general idea of ​​the composition, help new ideas appear and find possible mistakes even before planting the plants.

First of all, they represent stones. The largest ones should be at the base, and the rest should create a gentle slope so that there is room for soil and plant roots on it. You can experiment by coming up with terraces, sharp cliffs, a pond and other interesting solutions.

Here are a couple of example circuits:

1. Spicy slide on which they are located: the top will be occupied by oregano, on the middle tier heather, hyssop, monarda and medicinal will feel good, and basil, bright nasturtium and fragrant thyme will perch at the very base.
2. Coniferous slide: thuja, planted on top, looks great surrounded by creeping juniper of the middle tier (different types can be used) and weeping cypress. The rock garden is completed by dwarf spruces or, the soil under which is masked by a carpet of saxifrage.

Each site owner has the opportunity to create a unique landscape slide design. After drawing up the scheme, you can start laying stones and soil, and then planting plants.

Gallery: plants for an alpine slide (25 photos)

What plants are suitable for an alpine slide (video)

Names and Descriptions of Perennial Flowers for Alpine Slides

Perennials form the basis of the alpine slide. Therefore, their choice must be approached responsibly: the appearance of the composition depends on which plants are chosen. You can add new colors and accents annually by planting annual plants.

Armeria seaside

A compact plant whose bushes form fluffy green cushions of narrow leaves. Numerous inflorescences (about 10), which are lilac balls, rise above them. Outwardly, Armeria looks like a decorative bow. Hardy plant, poorly responsive to high soil moisture. Therefore, Armeria will feel good on the top of the hill or on the slope of the middle tier.

Dicenter exceptional

This plant is popularly called "broken heart" for the original shape of the flowers. Usually dicenters are a large bush, but the Exceptional does not exceed 25 cm in height. It goes well with conifers and creepers, therefore it will be an excellent highlight of the rock garden. The green-gray foliage of the dicentra is exceptional, similar to fern leaves, and flowers in the form of disconnected halves of the heart can be white or pink.

Dicenter exceptional

Gypsophila

The plant belongs to the carnation family... It has an erect or creeping stem with a small number of small lanceolate leaves, crowned with panicle inflorescences with small white (rarely pink) flowers.

Bulbous flowers

These are crocuses, daffodils, snowdrops and woodlands. They appear immediately after the gentle cover disappears, enlivening the landscape like a spring. For a change, you can plant varietal Greig tulips with beautifully shaped flowers reaching 30 cm in height, and Kaufman tulips.

Gypsophila

Rejuvenated

The stone rose, as it is also called rejuvenated, is distinguished by excellent endurance. At the same time, the plant is very beautiful: its fleshy angular leaves are collected in rosettes. They can be either completely miniature or reach 10 cm in diameter. The color of the leaves ranges from gray-green to burgundy. The stone rose is suitable for decorating the slopes of an alpine slide. Looks impressively young, growing in the cracks between the boulders.

Primrose

Primrose (popular name for primrose) is a perennial herb. Its advantages: early onset of flowering, variety of shapes and colors of flowers, pleasant smell. The primrose is undersized (height 10-30 cm), when single planting forms a small bush with leathery leaves and bright inflorescences that attract bees. If you plant primroses close to each other, you get a motley carpet.

Edelweiss

The people also call the plant a mountaineer. Loves the sun, and grows in the wild on well-lit mountain sides. Therefore, it will worthily take the central place on the hill - its top. In summer, edelweiss will surprise you with beautiful star-shaped flowers.

How to make an alpine slide with your own hands (video)

Creeping and ground cover plants for an alpine slide

Ground cover plants are an integral component of the alpine landscape on the site. They decorate the soil and make the slopes of the slides truly alive.

For example, this:

1. Antennaria (). A low-growing plant, the peduncles of which do not rise above 15 cm.It has small leaves with a silvery shade and pubescence create a dense carpet on the ground up to 5 cm thick. The inflorescences-baskets are white, so the cat's paw cannot be called a bright plant that attracts attention. But it is very hardy!
2. Periwinkle... Forms an evergreen rug, blooming from May to September with delicate blue flowers scattered among the leathery small leaves. Suitable for growing in the sun and on a shady slope: the plant is unpretentious to light.
3. Alpine two-seed A low plant that forms a decorative turf, which does not exceed a height of 3 cm. In May and June, inflorescences up to 15 cm appear on it, which are brushes with numerous white flowers.
4. Saxifrage. One of the most popular ground cover plants. Their flowering time falls in the middle of summer, and the color of different species differs: from snow-white to maroon. He loves light, so you need to plant on the western or southern slope of an alpine slide or closer to its top.
5. Aubrieta. Covers the earth with a lush carpet. It blooms profusely throughout the spring, and during this period it is covered with pink and purple flowers. Loves the sun and loamy soils, although it grows well in any soil.
6. Subulate phlox. The plant is 15–17 cm high, named for the narrow and pointed leaves at the ends. Shoots are densely covered with numerous inflorescences of pink, white or lilac. Flowering begins in May-June and continues in early September.

Several types of ground cover plants coexist on one hill, if they are in harmony with each other. Given their flowering time, it can be done so that the soil will be covered with a bright carpet from spring to autumn.

Ground cover plants are an integral component of the alpine landscape on the site

Shrubs for alpine slides

It is not recommended to use deciduous shrubs in landscaping alpine hills, because their leaves stuck in the cracks between stones are difficult to remove, and the composition will look untidy. Better to opt for small evergreen bushes.

For example, the branches of which grow parallel to the ground. They are decorated with small leathery leaves, which acquire a crimson color with the onset of autumn. After flowering, small red berries appear that remain on the branches all winter and give the cotoneaster a special charm.

An interesting solution would be to use boxwood barberry. Its bush grows no higher than 50 cm and represents a spreading crown of numerous branches. A very unpretentious plant that tolerates frost and drought well. Loves light, but when grown in the shade retains its decorative properties.

In landscaping alpine slides, it is better to opt for small evergreen bushes.

Dwarf plants for rock garden

An alpine slide is a repetition of a mountain landscape in miniature, so for naturalness you need to use small plants. Large bushes will take up half of the composition and will distract attention from other inhabitants of the rocky garden.

Dwarf herbaceous varieties can be used(for example, annual marigolds or alpine aster). It is desirable that their height does not exceed 30 cm. And, of course, dwarf conifers are regulars in rock gardens: spruce, pine, etc. Thanks to them, the slide really looks like a reduced copy of the alpine relief.

Conifers for an alpine slide

To create an alpine landscape, low-growing species and varieties of conifers are used:

1. Dwarf spruce, whose height does not exceed 60 cm. They lend themselves well to shaping and require almost no maintenance. The shape of the crown in different varieties can be spreading or pyramidal.
2. Juniper. Species look spectacular, the branches of which grow parallel to the ground. The needles of the plant often have a yellow tint, and the branches are decorated with small bumps. Juniper in the wild can be seen on the slopes of the mountains, so it is undemanding to the soil and grows well on rocks.
3. Thuja- a shrub or tree of a pyramidal shape, less often it is cut in the form of a ball.
4. Mountain pine variety "Pug" grows very slowly and by the age of 10 it has a crown with a diameter of up to 50 cm, which makes it possible to plant a tree on an alpine hill. The green needles have a pleasant blue tint.
5. Cypress: its decorative dwarf varieties will effectively decorate the rock garden slope. You can choose a bush with golden, silver or traditional dark green needles. And the Filifer cypress has hanging branches that looks like a coniferous cascade.

So, for example, shade-loving species are not suitable for a sunny rocky hill, etc. But when choosing plants for rocky gardens (rockeries), it is imperative to take into account another important factor - their naturalness, “naturalness”. On a rocky hill, lush garden flowers are inappropriate, as they distract attention from the overall composition. In addition, all plants should be compact and, if possible, look neat and beautiful all year round. Therefore, give preference to natural species and similar varieties, especially plants with hibernating leaves and shoots that adorn the garden even in winter.

The main functions of plants for a rocky garden are as follows:

• to emphasize the beautiful elements of the addition of a rocky garden;
• hide unsuccessful elements of the composition, ugly or unnaturally laid stones (conifers and ground cover perennials are suitable for this);
• soften, revive the composition;
• delight the eye with a variety of colors and textures of leaves, beautiful flowering.

Plant the plants in the order in which they are discussed in this article - this will help you correctly create the composition and provide the plants with the best living conditions.

Types of perennials for alpine slides: photos and names

Perennial plants for alpine slides with foliage dying off for the winter can be roughly divided into the following types:

• Species forming narrow-leaved beams- corolla, antiklei, paradisea, liatrix, daylily, many irises. Looks organically in any composition, especially next to large stones. Low-growing forms of perennials for a rock garden, such as sizirinhium and dwarf ornamental grasses, are good for group planting.
• Species that form large but compact bundles of leaves or shoots- ferns, astilbe, thorn, ash, rhodiola. Best of all, these flowers for rockeries look at stones, at the joints and at the foot of the terraces.
• Species forming undersized curtains- spectacular, but often capricious plants: primroses, edelweiss, lumbago, dryakvenniki, gentian, armeria, rock bells, miniature ferns. Plant perennial flowers for the alpine slide in isolated holes and in small groups on small terraces.
• Species growing in tall clumps. Most are shade-tolerant forest plants... Some can be quite aggressive, for example lilies of the valley, kupen, dysporums, badans; use them in large flat rockeries or for anchoring slopes. Other flowers for the rock garden grow compactly: mountain goats, Jeffersonia, uvularia, "curtain" ferns; the best place for them is spacious terraces.
• "Giants" - plants too large for rockeries. Only in large gardens can you use a few slender species with beautiful leaves: Volzhanka, Black Cohosh, Buzulniks, Rogers, Ascylboides, Peltiphyllum. Plant these perennials for rockeries singly or in small groups - this is the only way they will demonstrate all their beauty.

There are a huge number of perennials shedding their leaves, suitable for rocky gardens, so we will dwell only on the species typical of the most common type of rockery - the alpine slide.

For the successful cultivation of the plants presented below, it is necessary to observe not only specific for each species, but also general agricultural rules for all of them:

• Transplant in early spring (before active growth begins) or in the second half of summer (after growth is over).
• Plant perennials on light, humus-rich loams with an acidity of 5.5 - 6.
• In the fall, cut all plants that have not preserved or have not formed green shoots at ground level.
• For successful wintering, carry out hilling or mulching in autumn, cover capricious species with a layer of leaves to a height of 10-20 cm.

Ephemeroids are plants that have a very short growing cycle. They bloom in spring or early summer, after which they shed their foliage. They are planted in rockeries last and only in the fall.

What ephemeral flowers can be planted on an alpine slide?

Snowdrops, white flower beds, corydalis, crocuses, iridodictiums, kandyks, chionodox, scilla, pushkinia, muscari, and, of course, tulips, daffodils and hyacinths are perfect for these purposes. They do not bloom for long, but catchy and spectacular, for which they are loved by gardeners.

These plants for rockeries have a single, but serious drawback - after flowering, they look inconspicuous, and during the period of foliage dying off, they do not decorate the rock garden, but rather spoil it. However, you should not give up ephemeroids - you just need to choose the right types.

Give preference to plants whose foliage dies off within 2-3 weeks after flowering. Be wary of large-flowered tulips and hyacinths - their splendor contradicts the aesthetics of rockeries. The natural forms of these plants and their miniature varieties look much more organic in a rocky garden.

Ephemeroids are always planted in groups. In small gardens, nests of 3-5 or 10-20 specimens look spectacular, looking out from under stones or growing at the foot of terraces. In large rockeries, especially in flat ones, they create extensive color spots from dozens of plants. Just do not forget that after the leaves die off, the place occupied by the ephemeroids will be empty until next spring.

Ephemeroid plants belong to a wide variety of families, however, in their agricultural technology, much in common can be distinguished:

• • They are photophilous, but can be planted under the crowns of deciduous plants and between late growing perennials, since ephemeroids have time to bloom before the planting site is shaded by foliage.
  • They are moisture-loving during the period of active growth, after the leaves die off, they normally tolerate dry soil.

• The heat during the growing season shortens the growing season. Before flowering, they are not afraid of frost. After the end of the growing season, they are demanding on the temperature regime - some must be dug up and stored in a cool dry place before planting.
• Most go without a transplant for many years. Excessive compaction of the "nest", which interferes with the normal development of plants, means that it is time to carry out anti-aging division. The best period for digging and replanting is the end of the growing season.
• The optimal planting time is from late September to mid-October. The heavier and colder the soil, the closer to the surface, plant the bulbs.
• They like well-drained, humus-rich, slightly acidic or neutral soils. They prefer loose loamy or sandy loamy soils.
• They multiply well with fresh seeds, blooming for 3-5 years. Seedlings painlessly tolerate transplantation (picking) only in the initial stage of growth. Many species spread easily throughout the garden by excavation and self-seeding.

Look at a photo of perennial ephemeroid flowers for an alpine slide:

When choosing flowers that are ideal for an alpine slide, pay attention to the following plants.

Anticlea graceful (Zygadenus) - Anticlea elegans (Zygadenus)

Anticlea graceful (Zygadenus) on the picture
Flowers Anticlea graceful

Bulbs do not have summer dormancy. The plant is suitable for all large rockeries. Looks great near stones, next to the "swamp", in a mixborder.

Bulbous plant. This perennial flower, suitable for an alpine slide, got its name for a reason - it is, indeed, very elegant. Narrow gray basal leaves are collected in bunches up to 40 cm high. It blooms in early summer. The flowers are small, yellow-green, collected in a narrow paniculate inflorescence, the peduncle is about 70 cm tall. Prefers rich soils. It develops well both in partial shade and in open places. It is moisture-loving, but withstands temporary drying out. Hardy without shelter.

All members of the genus are suitable for rockeries.

Thrift– Armeria

The most compact:

Armeria soddy in the photo
(A. caespitosa) pictured

Armeria seaside in the photo
(A. maritima) pictured

Armeria seaside (A. maritima), forming cushions of narrow, partially hibernating leaves.

As you can see in the photo, the inflorescences of these plants for alpine hills are capitate, flowers are often pink, peduncles from 3 to 30 cm high:

Armeria are very effective in small and narrow holes, in crevices of retaining walls and rocks, between slabs of paths.

They prefer open sunny places, poor and well-drained soils. Drought tolerant. Hardy without shelter, freezing only in very cold, snowless winters.

Venechnik
Anthericum

All species are spectacular elegant plants. Narrow basal leaves are collected in rosettes. They bloom in early summer with snow-white flowers, collected in lush paniculate inflorescences.

Peduncles from 60 to 150 cm high. Perfect as seasonal dominants.

Pay attention to the photo, how well these plants for rockeries complement large compositional groups:

They are undemanding to soils, but they develop better on nutritious loams. They prefer a sunny location, but tolerate shading. Shelter for the winter is not required.

Catchment on the picture
Aquilegia on the picture

For rocky gardens, the fan-shaped (A. flabellata) -dwarf species with a height of no more than 15 cm is most suitable (varietal forms can reach 30 cm).

This perennial plant for the alpine slide got its name for the ability of leaves and flowers to collect and store rainwater and dew. Leaves near the catchment are gray-green, feathery. The flowers are large, with short spurs, blue, white or pink; bloom in early summer. It is undemanding to soils, but on loose soils it lives longer than on heavy or peaty ones. Prefers a sunny or semi-shady location. Easy transferring. Drought-resistant. Winter-hardy. Blooms profusely, but not for long.

Bell on the picture
Campanula on the picture

Unpretentious mountain meadow and rocky species are best suited for rockeries. The name of these colors, suitable for an alpine slide, is known to everyone. Bells are sun-loving, do not like summer transplants, do not tolerate waterlogging, and are relatively drought-resistant. Prefer neutral or slightly alkaline loamy soil.

Carpathian bell in the photo
(C. carpatica) pictured

Forms compact bushes about 25 cm high. Leaves are small, basal and stem. The flowers are blue or white, large. Blooms all summer.

Gargan bell in the photo
(S. garganica) pictured

Forms curtains from lodging stems. It blooms in early summer with beautiful blue flowers. These flowers for an alpine slide grow well only in crevices of dry masonry walls or on narrow terraces. It is frost-hardy, but winters safely only on drained soils under snow cover.

Bell of Portenchlag in the photo
(S. rotenschlagiana) pictured

Vertical shoots are collected in neat bushes. Blooms very profusely in early summer. The flowers are small, purple. It grows well and hibernates only in drained holes or crevices in the walls of dry masonry.

Bells will decorate any sunny rockery. Plant them in small holes, on narrow terraces or in crevices in walls lined with dry masonry - in these places they grow best. The Carpathian bell can grow on tuff.

To extend the flowering period of the Carpathian bell, cut off the faded shoots - abundant fruiting stops flowering.

Here you can see a selection of photos of perennials for an alpine slide, the names of which are given above:

Mountain plants are those flowers that are ideal for alpine slides. Growing rocky species of bluebells and saxifrage, Gesneriaceae, gentian, Levisia, dwarf ferns and other "highlights" of rocky gardens requires considerable experience and patience. Planted "rarities" in small holes and in crevices between stones, while trying to distinguish them from the general composition. Sometimes it is necessary to prepare a special soil substrate, especially drain the seat or arrange a canopy to protect it from rain. Many of these plants need a certain acidity of the soil that differs from the general background and the presence of a certain type of stone in the neighborhood.

Most mountain plants and flowers, when grown on an alpine slide, do not tolerate near groundwater and stagnant water in the soil. Grow well on small shaded terraces of rocky hills.

However, if you grow a rare saxifrage, gentian, gerbil, or breakthrough, you will have a legitimate reason to be proud.

Below you will see photos and names of mountain flowers suitable for a rock garden.

Gentian on the picture
Gentiana on the picture

Relatively unpretentious types:

Seven-part gentian in the photo
(G. septemfida) pictured

Rough gentian in the photo
(G. scabra) pictured

Chinese gentian decorated in the photo
(G. sinoornata) pictured

They bloom in late summer - autumn, for many years they live without transplantation and special care.

The situation is more complicated with dwarf alpine gentians blooming in early spring:

Gentian stemless in the photo
(G. acaulis) pictured

Delecluse's gentian in the photo
(G. clusii) pictured

Spring gentian in the photo
(G. verna) pictured

Plant them in drained holes protected from the wind, filled with loose fertile soil and fine limestone rubble. Transplant only in early spring, water and shelter in summer from the scorching sun. And remember: all the difficulties of leaving will pay off with the joy of a long and lush flowering.

Levisia cotyledon on the picture
Lewisia cotyledon on the picture

A beauty that would be most suitable for a cold greenhouse, but it can bloom in open ground, in a crevice or hole protected from rain.

As you can see in the photo, even the rosettes are original for these flowers for the alpine slide - evergreen, similar to large young ones:

In May, peduncles appear from the rosettes, on which flowers 3 cm in diameter bloom. The main condition for the successful development of a plant is the correct choice of a planting site. The soil should be permeable, nutritious, and the rosette should be as dry as possible.

Haberlea Rhodope on the picture
Haberlea rodopensis on the picture

A relative of the uzambar violet, but in the middle lane it is quite frost-hardy. It can only grow in the vicinity of stones. Does not tolerate alkaline soil. The best landing site is an inclined hole. Winter-resistant, but it is better to cover it with spruce branches.

Below you can familiarize yourself with another selection of photos of plants grown in rock gardens, find out their names and descriptions.

Perennial flowers for rock garden: photos and names

Thornberry on the picture
Carlina on the picture

All types are suitable for rockeries, but the stemless thistle (C. acaulis) is especially good.

Tough, thorny leaves are collected in rosettes. Blooms in late summer. Inflorescences - baskets with a diameter of 6-8 cm, open only in the sun. Peduncles from 10 to 30 cm.

All thorns are dried flowers. Especially good for planting near rocks, in holes and on terraces.

Very sun-loving. Drought-resistant. Poorly tolerates the transplant. Does not tolerate waterlogging. Prefers loose loams, but develops normally on any non-acidic, well-drained soils. Winter-hardy. It freezes only in severe snowless winters and during stagnant winter-spring waters.

Primula (Primrose) on the picture
Primula on the picture

Primroses will decorate any rock garden. This plant, suitable for rockeries, got its name because it is one of the first to bloom.

Primula Ushkovy on the photo
(Auricula) pictured

The species of the Auricula section are distinguished by a special originality. These are typical alpine plants; their leaves are smooth, leathery, flowers are wide open. They prefer non-acidic moist soils, they are drought-resistant. They are sun-loving, but tolerate shading. Frost resistant.

There are varieties with large and double flowers, and there are also charming "dwarfs":

Primula Delecluse in the photo
(P. clusiana) pictured

Any garden or summer cottage area should have some special detail that distinguishes it from many others. Usually, some kind of picturesque corner, as a rule, decorated in the force of wild nature, acts as such an object. The so-called alpine slides have long been very popular.

This is a kind of design solution created in the form of a sample of nature from the mountainous Alps: among the rocky soils and large boulders are representatives of the flora of this region. Consider how you can organize the construction of an alpine slide in a temperate climate and what plants need to be used for it.

Introduction

Typical view of an alpine slide

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 ends of the garden or plot. Most often, light-loving plants are used as plants on the slide, 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 irrigation systems or lanterns, since the combination of wildlife and the achievements of civilization is a little discordant.

Plants for a rock garden can be selected based on two seemingly opposite criteria:

1. Plants of the alpine climate or as close to them as possible for the realization of the most authentic alpine landscape.
2. Free choice of plants, while using the "alpine" style of decoration with 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.

To be quite frank, the vegetation of the mountainous Alps is rather 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 about the same effect, and do not have the usual external similarity.

Alpine slide, decorated in the form of a terrace

For example, heather in the wild is not a very attractive mountain plant in itself.... But using Gold Hayes instead of wild heather can significantly improve the experience of the site. On the other hand, using sage instead of heather will make the slide even more decorative, albeit at the expense of "similarity".

Typical schemes

The approach to the design of each individual garden or suburban area is an individual issue.... To facilitate the work of the owners of the sites, the designers have developed a number of standard solutions for the construction of a rock garden. Traditionally, for certain typical solutions, both the planting scheme and their composition have already been thought out.

One of the options

Of course, this does not mean that you need to stick to only any selected option with an accuracy of a centimeter, and choose only the indicated plants. At any time, the standard solution can be revised 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 widespread because caring for it 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 changes 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 in the area of ​​the top - the smallest. Currently, the so-called "Czech rock" is widespread - an alpine slide with many cracks in the stones.

An example of the implementation of the "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, bells, fat women, etc. Of the larger plant forms, dwarf conifers (pines, thuja) or junipers are often used.

Mountain slope

A structure with a constant slope to either side... Such a slope is usually completely covered with small stones. Large and medium-sized stones can be used as separate elements or as a boundary structure, however, most often they are located at the very top of the slope.

It is considered a rather complex structure, because vegetation (in particular, trees) is not just a decorative decoration of the slide, but also a part of its structure. The role of trees is to support the talus structure with the help of the root system and prevent it from creeping 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, this design contains dwarf conifers (pines, spruces, 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 structure 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 crocus to barberry.

At the same time, too obvious vertical accents are not used in such designs.- 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 boulders of various sizes and shapes. They can be either part of some structures or randomly distributed over the area of ​​the rock garden.

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 of different heights.

The use of relatively tall plants on such slides, although not encouraged, is quite acceptable.... Most often they are used around the perimeter as a hedge, but can be used as single plants.

In such cases, most often all possible forbs of mountainous terrain are used.... It is these designs that are preferred when organizing continuously flowering zones. Plants are selected according to flowering times 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 entire warm season (from early-flowering crocuses to late-flowering September).

The general background of such slides is most often either undersized ground cover or creeping plants., or stones covered with moss.

Other forms of rock gardens

Terrace decoration

The considered constructions represent, as it were, the basis for the construction of alpine slides. The rest of the designs in one form or another represent their variations.

These include:

1. Terraces- usually a gentle slope with a more clear breakdown into levels or steps.
2. Ravines- analogs of talus or rocks, but shaped in a vertical direction not up, but down. A narrow version of the ravine is called the gorge.
3. Stone wall- a rock garden, which is practically a vertical flower bed made of stone.
4. Mountain Creek- rock garden of any of the considered types, designed with the use of a directed stream of water flowing down a special channel. Often, at the foot of the hill, a stream flows into an impromptu pond.
5. Swamp- an alpine slide 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 around the perimeter; the rest of the vegetation corresponds to the mountainous landscape.
6. Japanese garden- an attempt to combine a rock garden and a Japanese rock garden. Minimalism in plant selection and repetition of Japanese stone aesthetics.
7. Miniature slides- a complete composition, representing a kind of "do it yourself" set, 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 all this. Thus, you can make a miniature alpine slide in this trough, even in room conditions. There are various versions of artificial miniature slides, targeted at 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, which belongs to inanimate nature. Plants inhabiting the alpine hill, in order to maintain the overall integrity and completeness of the composition, must be sustained in a certain style.

The main thing in it is the use of mountain plants or species that are as similar to them in appearance as possible. Consider the various groups of plants used in rock gardens, and also describe the characteristic representatives of a particular group.

Plants for rock garden

Cover plants

It would be a mistake to believe that there should be a bare stone on the lowest tier of an alpine slide.... Such reasoning will be appropriate for structures like the Japanese "rock garden" and, perhaps, that's it. It is unlikely that someone wants to allocate a lot of space in the center of the composition just to pave it with stones. This is not a city square.

Stones in rock gardens perform a dividing function, and large spaces between them need to be filled with something. Cover plants are the optimal solution for this - they evenly fill the lowest level of the slide composition, making it elegant.

The vast majority of cover plants are small flowers. Some do not possess them at all, but their foliage is decorative enough to be used as decoration on the lower levels.

The plant thrives on rocky soils, where most other plants are unable to survive. Growing, it is able to cover large areas of rocky and rocky surfaces.

Has many colors and shapes of petals. The flowering time also differs from late April to early fall. There are about 400 species in total, so you can choose a plant with almost any parameters.

Rezuha

Rezuha

Another name is arabis. It is considered one of the universal perennials for the slide.... 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.

Another name for this plant is stone rose. A patron very popular in the design of rock gardens. Has different colors and shapes. It is unpretentious in cultivation, thanks to the leaves, like in succulents, it 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

Sedum

There are two forms of this plant: herbaceous and artisanal. They have umbellate inflorescences and the whole range of petal colors. They grow equally well both on the sunny side and in the shade.

Bloom, 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 reproduction. In addition, sedum is capable of seed reproduction. In the absence of control from the owners, they are able to become a monoculture. Constant containment of overgrowth is needed.

Read also:

• Sedum: species and varieties for growing at home and in the open field. Rules for planting and caring for a succulent plant (110+ Photos & Videos) + Reviews

Creeping and creeping

H and at first glance it may seem that there is no difference between cover and creeping plants. Indeed, both are on the lowest tier of an alpine hill, and both are undersized, both types, as a rule, have small flowers, etc.

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 opportunity for the location of the root system, there will simply not be a plant. And, consequently, 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 covering areas. 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 by them of large boulders and other landscape objects. Similar techniques for the use of creeping plants allow you to get beautiful and unique objects.

A plant considered by many to be a weed. This is not surprising, due to the growth rate of its shoots, fantastic unpretentiousness and very fast reproduction rates in all available ways.

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 a rock garden is to braid with a green mass of cracks between stones and unsightly elements of the structure of the slide. In addition, many design options involve, for example, the use of large boulders completely entwined with plants.

Of all the periwinkles creeping with this task, the periwinkle will cope best of all.

A low-growing shrub with both straight and creeping stems. Leaves are round or oval. The height of plants rarely exceeds 30 cm. If the 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 one another and there are no obvious differences in shape or color. The most common shades are purple and pink.

Plant of the Pink family. It is a semi-shrub perennial. The flowering period of the plant occurs 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 the flexible stems are able to lie almost 20-30 cm on the ground before they raise flowers to the Sun. It spreads very quickly and requires regular growth restrictions.

In temperate climates, it is common almost everywhere. Dislikes both extreme cold and intense heat. It feels best in coniferous forests, therefore, in rock gardens, it will be optimal for planting next to conifers. On the alpine slides, Fortune's euonymus is most widespread.

On the sunny side, 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 retain moisture, it is advisable to mulch the soil under it. It is a poisonous plant. Care should be taken when working with roots and leaves.

Read also:

Two types are best suited for these purposes: juniper horizontal and Blue Forest grade. Both grow no more than 20-30 cm in height, but can grow up to a meter in width. They have green or gray-green needles; in winter, the color changes to burgundy.

They are undemanding to the composition of the soil, but they do not like excessive dryness of both the soil and the air. The first 2-3 years of life have a slow growth, but then they grow very much. In order for the plant to have dense branches, it should be cut off annually, first of all, long shoots.

Tall plants (for upper levels)

The largest representatives of the rock garden flora, in fact, may not be present at it. These are either inhabitants of the boundary levels of the alpine slide, or special concentrators of attention, "catching" a glance of the visitor and then transferring him to the rock garden itself.

The boundary level means either the background of the rock garden, or the beginning of some structure inside it... If your slide does not aim to stand out strongly from the surrounding landscape, there is no particular need for them.

But what alpine landscape is possible without representatives, for example, conifers? In addition, you need to understand that a rock garden is not just a 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 must be made very scrupulously.

Slow-growing perennials are ideal. Coniferous species have the advantage, since they help to solve two problems at once. First, they are natural representatives of rocky soils and mountainous 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 kind of evergreen shrubs or trees., having some similarities with them, or some beautiful decorative perennials, suitable for growth or general impression produced.

It is an evergreen or deciduous shrub devoid of thorns. Treelike varieties of cotoneaster can often be found. 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. The cotoneaster can grow 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, the cotoneaster can be used both as a single plant and as a group plant to create hedges. Having a developed root system, it can be used to strengthen a rock garden of the "slope" type. The 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, regular pruning is recommended to keep the plant looking good. Evergreens are pruned in mid-spring, and deciduous ones - at the end of winter, when there may still be snow and temperatures below zero.

The construction of a rockery or rock garden is a sure way to get a peculiar and extraordinary landscape. Having decided to decorate your possessions with a rocky garden, even before starting its construction, figure out which plants for the alpine slide will be most suitable, which flowers will make it bright and original. Find out which conifers will best fit into the composition, how to arrange decorative greenery among the stones. Having understood this, you will create a unique corner on the site that you can be proud of.

Criteria for the selection of plants for a rock garden

There are certain canons in the selection of ornamental plants for a rocky hill. The classic version provides for its settlement with perennial plants growing in the highlands. These are ground cover and undersized, with a compact bush, undemanding to soil, moisture, winter-hardy, wind-resistant.

Rock garden on the site

However, time is making adjustments, and lovers of rocky gardens have expanded the range of plants, including some inhabitants of forests, steppes and long-flowering annuals. Most often, rock gardens and rockeries are presented:

• Low-growing species of conifers and deciduous shrubs or varieties with a slow growth rate. They, along with stones, form the basis of the composition of the rocky garden.
• Creeping ground cover plants that fill the volume of the rock garden. Among them, it is advisable to choose varieties that do not lose their decorative effect after flowering ends: for example, having leaves with a specific color.
• Herbaceous perennials. Particular attention should be paid to those of them, the appearance of which resembles specimens growing in the mountains.
• Bulbous. They enliven the landscape in the first days of spring, but after flowering, the aerial part dies off. Therefore, it is not worth taking away a separate place, they need to be planted at the same time with the ground cover.

The combination of plants in the rock garden

When choosing plants for a rocky garden, you should definitely take into account its location and illumination. The "new settlers" of the alpine slide must receive the amount of sunlight they need. Accordingly, in a rock garden open to the sun, it is necessary to place light-loving species, and on a slide located in the shade or partial shade, it will be comfortable to be shade-loving.

The plants in the rock garden are combined in appearance

In order for the composition of the mini-Alps in the summer cottage to be harmonious and decorate the garden, it is necessary to select neighboring plants with approximately the same growth rate. Otherwise, too actively growing shrubs and flowers will not allow less energetic neighbors to grow. In addition, the selected plants should be similar in terms of growing conditions, flowering period and match in appearance.

Alpine slide example

How to choose flowers for an alpine slide

It is difficult to imagine a rock garden without flowers. Carefully selected flowering perennials and bright undersized annuals give a special charm to this peculiar flower bed, and with it to the entire site as a whole.

Long-livers rock garden - perennial flowers

When creating a rock garden on a site, there are several reasons to give preference to low perennials:

1. They form dense thickets-clumps along the perimeter of the laid stones, bending around them, repeating the stone relief, partially hanging on the boulders. It looks inimitable, especially during the flowering period, since perennial flowers have a high density of inflorescences.
2. Most perennials have a long flowering period (40-80 days) and after flowering retain their attractiveness due to the high decorativeness of the leaves.
3. When caring for perennials, less labor is required: there is no need to renew planting annually. Weeding is also facilitated - active perennials fill all the crevices between the stones with their roots, preventing weeds from developing. And weed seeds have too little chance of survival in the dense shade of the curtains.
4. These flowers are drought and frost-resistant, undemanding to the soil.
5. Many species can re-bloom at the end of the season if the withered flowers are removed in time and the faded specimens are fed.
6. Perennials can be propagated by dividing bushes, cuttings, seeds.

• Perennial flowers of alpine origin are sun-loving, in the shade and partial shade they develop poorly, and may die.
• The "Alpines" cannot stand high soil moisture, especially the stagnation of water in it - good drainage under their plantings is required.

Dense clumps of perennial flowers

You can get acquainted with some representatives of the vast world of perennials for a rocky slide by short descriptions and photos.

Popular perennial flowers for an alpine slide

Edelweiss(popular name is highlander). A sun-loving mountain flower growing on poor soils of inaccessible rocks will adorn the top of the hill and become your pride. It is listed in the Red Book, but you can grow a legendary flower yourself from seeds, then propagate with seedlings.

Edelweiss

Rejuvenated... An extremely unpretentious plant with fleshy leaves collected in a beautiful rosette, for which it is sometimes called a stone rose. There are many species of rejuvenation, the rosettes are of different shapes and shades: from silvery green to burgundy. There are chameleon varieties that change color according to the season. The stone rose will strengthen the slopes of the rock garden, since it is capable of rooting in the narrowest gaps between the stones.

Rejuvenated

Rejuvenated in a mini-rock garden

Alissum(beetroot) rocky. Drought-resistant, picky about the presence of sunny color. Small golden flowers, combined into lush decorative inflorescences, bloom in May, decorate the garden for about 50 days, exuding a sweetish aroma. Faded inflorescences must be cut off. With proper care, it blooms again.

Armeria seaside... Highly resistant to cold, drought, reacts negatively to waterlogging. Compact bushes, simultaneously produce up to 10 peduncles with spherical inflorescences, similar to the inflorescences of ornamental onions. Long-lasting flowering, practically throughout the season. Old inflorescences, like all long-flowering ones, must be removed in a timely manner.

Armeria seaside

Echinacea... Perennial with rather large, bright flowers, hardy, drought-resistant. Loves good lighting, prefers nutritious soil. It blooms from the second half of summer to September, replacing previously faded specimens.

Echinacea

Carnation(grass, feathery, alpine). All of these carnations form clumps that can cover bald spots between taller neighbors, and bloom magnificently. The herb begins to bloom as the first of the perennials, and in mid-June, feathery and alpine carnations join it.

Carnations: herbaceous and pinnate

Annual and bulbous flowers for rock garden

Decorative perennials planted when creating a rock garden do not grow at one moment, some species bloom only in the second year. A stony hill built according to all the rules at this time has a form, if attractive, then too austere, reminiscent of severe mountain peaks. Perhaps someone will be satisfied with just such a composition. And those who wish to create a semblance of a multi-colored alpine meadow on the site will be helped out by annual flowers.

Annuals, together with bulbous flowers, will help the alpine slide awaken to a bright life with the snow melt and blaze in the garden with different colors all season. Bulbous for a rock garden should be short and medium-sized. Say, gladioli on it will be clearly inappropriate. Suitable:

• woodlands,
• croppers,
• snowdrops,
• muscari,
• crocuses,
• poultry farm,
• Kaufman tulips.

Kaufman tulips

Low-growing annual flowers planted on an alpine hill will make it bright, attractive, help hide empty spaces, hide fading bulbs. Get to know the individual annuals for the rock garden.

Dimorphoteka notched... By origin, it is a perennial, but in Russia it is grown more often in an annual culture, unpretentious, resistant to cold and drought. Among other inhabitants, the rock garden is distinguished by large inflorescences of sunny yellow and orange shades, blooms profusely and for a long time.

Dimorphoteka notched

Haretail(lagurus). This is a decorative grain that will add "naturalness" to the rocky hill. Loves the sun, light partial shade, requires regular watering, has a negative attitude to the slightest dryness of the soil.

Haretail

Brachycoma Iberisoliferous... Not very common yet, but deserves more. Light and thermophilic, requires watering only in drought. The soil for it needs light, dryish, but nutritious for greater decorativeness.

Important: Do not overdo it with the number of flowers, because you are recreating on your site not a flower bed, but a miniature fragment of mountains, and the role of stones is dominant in it.

Brachycoma Iberisoliferous

Annuals and perennials blooming all summer

Flowers are a wonderful gift of nature, and anyone who grows them wants them to caress their eyes and warm their souls all summer long. There are two possibilities for this:

1. Pick up different species that bloom, replacing each other, during the season. Perhaps this is not a very simple option.
2. Choose according to your taste long-blooming representatives of the flora, which decorate the site and delight with flowering all season.

Arenaria crimson

The latter include the aforementioned armeria, brachycoma iberisolistnaya, carnation herbaceous, and notched dimorphoteca. But the list goes on and on. It is worth paying attention to the types of flowers presented below.

Arenaria crimson... Extremely unpretentious, drought-resistant flower with crimson shoots. An ideal perennial for a rock garden, capable of growing on stones, sand. The height of the stems is up to 15 cm. Small stars-flowers cover the bushes from early June to autumn.

Periwinkle... It grows as an evergreen rug, it feels equally good in the sun and in the shade, which is rare. Pleases with small blue flowers from late May to September. In warm autumn, flowers can be admired even in October.

Periwinkle

Balkan geranium... A fragrant perennial that blooms in June and again closer to autumn. Bushes, 20-25 cm high, are decorated with carved foliage, yellowing in autumn, sometimes turning red, often the leaves overwinter. It is noteworthy that this type of geranium has a branched rhizome, from which new rosettes of leaves emerge, forming dense thickets. It grows equally well in wet soil and dry soil, in the sun and in the shade.

Balkan geranium

Rhodiola... A spectacular looking mountain perennial with medicinal properties. Loves the sun, moist (without stagnant water) nutritious soil, mixed with gravel and sand. Blooms from spring to autumn.

Marigold... A charming, unpretentious annual that amazes with a variety of varieties. It begins to bloom at the beginning of summer and continues until frost. Warm and photophilous, adapted to limited watering, does not tolerate stagnation of moisture.

Marigold

Ground cover plants for rock gardens

If it is difficult to imagine an alpine slide in the garden without flowers, then it is generally impossible without ground covers. Stones, ground cover plants and conifers are the “three whales” on which the rocky gardens are held.

Advantages and disadvantages of ground cover

Ground cover representatives of the green kingdom have earned recognition from summer residents, because they:

1. They have a high decorative effect throughout the summer (some even in winter), bring originality and charm to the composition of the rock garden.
2. They are unpretentious, do not particularly need care - they save time for other things.
3. They cover the ground with a continuous living carpet, preventing it from overheating, drying out, weathering, due to which beneficial substances are better preserved in the soil.
4. Do not allow weeds to develop.
5. They are hardy, for the most part they are not afraid of lack of nutrients, cold weather and drought.
6. Being planted on the slopes of an alpine slide during its creation, they strengthen the composition.

Important: When purchasing ground cover species, carefully familiarize yourself with their characteristics. Many grow aggressively, peremptorily reclaiming territory from their neighbors, and not only weeds, but also your favorites can survive. Such specimens should be planted at a distance from other inhabitants of the rock garden.

Ground covers on the slope of a rocky hill

The most common ground covers

The range of ground cover plants is wide. Many of them are creeping: spread by rooting mustaches, stepchildren. Others give many shoots, turning into a fluffy rug, while others grow in breadth with the help of superficial roots. Meet some of the flora that can create impressive living carpets in your garden.

Saxifrage... Almost indispensable inhabitant of the rock garden, found in perennial and annual culture. Some saxifrage species prefer bright sun, others prefer partial shade, and all need high humidity. Graceful decorative bushes form many rosettes merging into dense rugs. They can bloom up to 4 months (from May to August). Saxifrage is easily propagated by rosettes, which must be separated after flowering.

Saxifrage

Arabis... One of the best perennials for a rock garden and garden. A honey plant with a rich aroma. It blooms during May-June, has decorative leaves, thanks to which it decorates the hill after flowering. It blooms more magnificently in the sun, and grows more strongly in the shade of the garden. Possesses incredibly intensive growth, displacing neighbors, as, by the way, and saxifrage. Because of this, the layers have to be removed.

Aubrieta... Groundcover perennial, elegant, blooming profusely. Creates a "carpet" 10-30 cm high, up to a meter wide (depending on the type). In early spring, the rock garden is decorated with overwintered small leaves, which can be bright green, bluish, variegated. By May, the rug is transformed, covered with an innumerable set of small flowers, their colors depend on the variety.

Above bloom lasts up to one and a half months. A faded rug dries up and looks sloppy. But if, after flowering, cut off the shoots, this prompts the beauty to release new ones and re-bloom in the fall.

Delosperm abundantly flowering... A charming groundcover annual. Loves heat, bright sun, frequent watering, well-drained poor soil. Blooms in the year of sowing, flowers are pinkish-lilac, star-shaped.

Delosperma

Dwarf shrubs and conifers for rockeries

If the construction of an alpine slide seems too laborious for you or there is not enough space for it, you can create a small rockery of conifers in front of the house by placing dwarf or undersized species of spruce, juniper, pine, thuja in it. Arrangement of a rockery on a flat area does not require such serious costs of physical labor and funds as the construction of a rocky hill, but in terms of decorativeness, rockery is not inferior to a rock garden.

Rockery in front of the house

The choice of conifers for rockery

In creating the decorativeness of rockeries, large and small stones play an even greater role than on an alpine hill, and should occupy at least half of the area of ​​a rocky garden.

Coniferous composition

Shrubs and trees should be planted in small quantities and the composition should be supplemented with ground covers and flowers, with which it is also important not to overdo it. As in the alpine slide, first of all, it is required to plant trees and shrubs on the site.

For a small rockery, it is worth choosing undersized conifers or their dwarf species, various shades of greenery of which will decorate the garden all year round. Their assortment is not particularly large.

Combination of conifers

Dwarf spruce... They grow slowly, eventually reaching a height of 0.6 m, they tolerate the formation of a haircut well. The crown shape can be pyramidal, spreading. The color of the needles is from blue in the seaside spruce to juicy green in the Canadian one. They ate unpretentious, almost no care required. Being resistant to dry conditions, they are very suitable for rock garden.

Dwarf spruce

Junipers... They have many very decorative species, both creeping and standard. The needles are green, sometimes with a yellowish tint. Grow well on rocky soil, light-requiring. The attractiveness of junipers is given by cute, non-opening cones.

Junipers

Mountain pine... There are several varieties. An interesting dwarf pine Pug is spherical. By the age of 10, the diameter of its crown reaches only 50 cm.The needles are greenish-blue. This pine variety is undemanding to external conditions, feels great in rock gardens and rockeries.

Mountain pine

Thuja... A shrub with a conical (some species with a spherical) dense crown and delicate green needles. Under the bright sun, the greens sometimes turn red. The tuya can be cut to the desired shape. The shrub is unpretentious, cold-resistant, drought-resistant.

Thuja in rockery

Evergreen shrubs for rock gardens

Deciduous shrubs are unwanted inhabitants of rock gardens where foliage is difficult to harvest. However, there is a group of evergreen small shrubs that do not shed their foliage and are very decorative. Here are the most popular ones.

Horizontal cotoneaster... In nature, it is an inhabitant of mountain slopes. The shape of the bush is compact, with small dense foliage. The foliage is green throughout the year, crimson in the fall. In May, it is covered with inconspicuous pink flowers. The cotoneaster is very decorated with fruits that appear in the fall and last all winter.

Horizontal cotoneaster

Iberis evergreen... A low-growing (up to 50 cm) highly branched bush with dense foliage. Has a pleasant aroma, highly decorative. The first buds appear in May, bloom magnificently for 2 months, the flowers are white. Unpretentious, but does not tolerate shade and stagnant water. In drought requires watering. Loves sandy, rocky ground.

Iberis evergreen

Evergreen barberry(boxwood). Dwarf bush, up to 50 cm high. Undemanding to the soil, loves the sun or partial shade. It is cold-resistant, but in a too fierce winter it needs shelter. It blooms in May, but its main decoration is luxurious greenery.

Evergreen barberry

If there are not so many true “Alpines”, then all the names of the various plants that have found shelter in stone gardens cannot be enumerated. Choose according to your taste, taking into account the needs of green friends, their relationship with each other, follow simple agricultural techniques, and your rock garden will be inimitably beautiful in a suburban area or in a garden.

The lush bloom of annual flowers is amazing, but it is preferable to plant perennial flowers and grasses no higher than 30 cm on alpine hills. There are a number of reasons in favor of undersized perennials. The main one is the formation of dense clumps (thickets), which give the alpine hill a unique look. Bright spots of curtains during the flowering period create a semblance of a patchwork quilt. The variegation goes around a curved surface - an effect inherent only in rock garden.

What flowers to choose for al

It is easier to care for perennial flowers: brisk perennials clog up crevasses that are difficult to access for weeding with their roots and stems. Weed seeds die in the shade of the curtains. Perennial thickets exactly repeat the mosaic of the laid stone, a pattern in the form of a cobweb appears. Over time, multi-stemmed bushes of flowering perennials wrap around the entire surface: this is how small inflorescences protect the anthers from pollution. Many alpine plants are insect-free pollinated. It is for this reason that alpine plants have predominantly simple inflorescences. Landscape designers value perennials for the density of inflorescences and the duration of flowering: from 1.5 to 2.5 months.

An important factor is the fact that the perennial flowers of rock gardens do not require a large mass of humus. The development of alpine grasses occurs mainly through photosynthesis. They cannot stand shade. A drainage layer of sand and gravel is laid under the stone placers of the rock garden: stagnation of moisture in the root system leads to decay of the root system.

Flowers for an alpine slide can tolerate droughts. However, for abundant flowering, systematic watering is required: once a week. Before opening the buds, a solution of nitroamophos is poured onto the moistened curtains. Fertilizers are also applied to faded plants. After flowering, they do it in the same way as in the first case: with preliminary moistening of the soil.

A feature of many alpine grasses is their re-flowering at the end of summer. To see the blooming alpine slide again, you need to cut the seed pods.

Most perennial flowers for alpine slides can easily tolerate frost, but are heavily crushed by snow trails. In order to preserve the splendor of the thickets, alpine slides are covered for the winter with spruce branches, additionally covered with plastic wrap or garden non-woven canvas.

The old thickened curtain is poorly ventilated, moisture accumulates in it, and mold starts. Damage is observed in 5 - 6-year-old clumps. Bushes of old herbs are removed, and the layers are transplanted to a new place. In addition to mold, there are two more diseases in alpine grasses: spotted rust (the source is dry leaves of beech trees) and viral diseases (penetrate from non-caked humus). Subject to the planting and care regimen, perennial alpine grasses do not lose their viability for many years.

Perennial flowers for alpine slides sprout well from last year's seeds. For 1.5 - 2 months before planting, the seedling is grown in a tray with leafy soil. In summer, the seedling can be grown from the stem in a container with water, hiding from direct sunlight. Within 20 days, white roots appear on the cut. Before planting in open ground, the seedling is grown in an enriched mixture for two weeks. It is much faster to grow a bush from a cut. A long stem with a root is grown in the ground, watered every day.

Perennial flowers for an alpine slide are sometimes given intricate names, although the family of flowering alpine plants has no more than 20 main species (for temperate latitudes). All the immense variety of offered colors has been achieved by selection work. Crossed tall varieties with low ones. Added paniculate shapes. Oftentimes, the same variety is called differently. An example of this is the subulate carnation. On sale it can be offered as "needle". The names of the dwarf carnation for rock gardens reflect the selective crossing of the Turkish bearded carnation (Dianthus barbatus) with the undersized Siberian carnation (Dianthus acicularis Fisch.ex Link). Both the first and the second source can be reflected in the name of the variety. Another example is the versatility of thyme. In addition to differences in the shape of inflorescences of varietal thyme and wild-growing, there is a variety in the leaf part. Bred thyme with small, enlarged, with strokes along the edge, yellow, orange leaves. There are even pubescent thyme. The full botanical name includes the name of the species, the natural habitat and the variety name given by the breeder. Initially sparse alpine vegetation descended from the mountains into the gardens and changed beyond recognition.

Photos and names of flowers for an alpine slide

The most popular perennial for the alpine slide is Aubrieta Adans. Cabbage cruciferous. Grows in the mountains of the Middle East and the Balkans. Another name is obrietia. Blooms in pink, purple, blue or red dense carpet. After flowering, the growth turns into a kind of withered moss. In order to avoid a sloppy look on the rock gardens, they cut the shaved hair, and so they force it to bloom again.

Pinnate carnation (Diantus plumaris) is a fragrant hybrid with highly dissected petals. Albus is a white-flowering variety. Varietal mix "Swarm of butterflies", obtained as a result of crossing the lush European carnation and curvilinear sandy, is recognizable by the petals in the form of moth antennae. Includes orange, purple, bicolor varieties. The carnation paniculate (Hungarian) has been used as a cultivated plant since pre-Christian times. The inflorescences are dense, up to 3 cm in diameter. Blooms in red, purple, pink. There are lilac, grayish-blue varieties. Siberian carnations can be recognized by their slender stems and inflorescences collected in bells. Prized for their intense ruby ​​color.

Ever-flowering begonia

Begonia semperflorens is a plant with green, silvery brown or purple leaves. The stamens are collected in a dense spherical brush. The species found in the Antilles at the end of the 17th century amazed European botanists with their diversity. However, any begonia hibernates only in a heated room. In the middle of winter, the plant withers and the ground part dies. However, the underground is reborn in the spring. For alpine slides, dwarf non-tuberous varieties are used. What is mistakenly thought to be begonia petals are actually overdeveloped sepals. The ever-flowering begonia has no petals. However, the variety of sepals colors - from white to carmine - contributes to the active use of begonias to decorate alpine slides.

Delosperma

The homeland of this amazing plant is North Africa. But perennial varieties have been bred that can withstand 17 ° without shelter. Delosperma congestum blooms in a yellow dense carpet at the end of May. The flowers are multi-petaled, reminiscent of daisies. In the center there is a rim of graceful delicate anthers. On old bushes, the foliage takes on a burgundy hue. There are raspberry varieties, lilac, two-colored and with an asymmetric inflorescence in the form of a chrysanthemum. To avoid weathering in winter, delosperma is covered with a garden canvas.

Pulmonaria is the Latin name for lungwort. Its medicinal plants are known. It blooms in spring with blue, purple or crimson bells. On one stem next to the blue, younger inflorescences, there are at the same time older ones - with a purple tint. There are white-flowered varieties. After flowering, in some varieties of lungwort, the leaves are covered with white spots. Varieties with blue foliage are especially decorative.

Globularia

An excellent plant for alpine slides from the plantain genus. It is named so for the inflorescences compact in the form of balls - white, blue, lilac. It is rarely found in nature, it is included in the Red Book. Distinguish a hairy city with an inflorescence similar to a cornflower, hairy, named for petals in the form of holes, heart-shaped and dotted - with many small petals. For rock garden, creeping globular varieties are best suited.
Saxifrage

Another name for this plant is common: Saxifraga (misreading of two words: saxum - stone and frango - to break). Saxifrage is easy to confuse with shaved, when viewed from a distant distance. But close up, you can see the characteristic strokes on the petals. On the aureopunctata cultivar, specks are clearly visible. Arends' saxifrage is most suitable for temperate latitudes. The eastern and northern sides are filled with shade-tolerant S. umbrosa L. There are paniculate and dwarf forms. Saxifrage is planted away from other alpine plants. The growth of saxifrage is so vigorous that everything else on the alpine slide can be forced out. The expansion of the saxifrage is restrained by cutting the branches.

One of the best plants for alpine slides. Prefers shade at noon in summer. Landing - "bouquet". Several cuttings are planted in one hole. White, crimson or carmine flowers bloom in May. Honey plant, attracts bees, rich aroma. White varieties freeze in winter, but quickly recover from the root. There are Arabis paniculate hybrids. Hybrid forms lose their features when renewed by seeds, so they are propagated by cuttings. Just like saxifrage, it actively displaces everything growing nearby, so the layers of arabis must be cut off. In the new varieties, the leaves are modified: A. Ferdinanda - with gray-blue leaves in white edging; A. Proccurens "old gold" - with striped khaki leaves; A. Variegata - serrated along the white edging. After flowering, the seed pods are removed. Seedlings begin to bloom after a year.

Veronica

Plants widespread in all parts of the world, up to Antarctica. Recognizable by the tubular pubescent stems and the leaves, which are coarse in gloss. Active self-seeding. Loves shade and moist soil (popular name - "krynichnik"). Favorite plant in horticulture due to its graceful cone-shaped flower with long stamens. The creeping species is capable of absorbing the entire garden in several seasons. New varieties are bred by crossing with Australian species. A characteristic feature of Veronica for a rock garden is a stiff curved stem. The color is deep ultramarine. Wide petals are cultivated in new varieties. Variety "Nestor" blooms in a sky-blue, woody Veronica looks like a lilac viola with a white outline. The threadlike Veronica is famous for its complex multicolor. Veronica Blue Indigo is similar to lupine inflorescences, but more compact.

It is easy to confuse this plant with decorative bows, but it grows on an elegant turf, the stem does not exceed 15 cm. From one bush, it releases 3-10 inflorescences of pink or white, collected in a ball. Blooms throughout the summer. Old inflorescences should be removed. Easily multiplies by dividing bushes.

Anacyclus

This plant has a lot of similarities with chamomile, daisy and dill - at the same time. White multi-petal inflorescence is surrounded by strongly dissected tender leaves. But below the petals of the Anacyclus are colored burgundy.
New varieties of Periwinkle, perennial Geranium, subulate phlox have been developed especially for the alpine slides. Lavender is traditionally planted.