How to Create a Rockery in Your Garden

You don’t have to dig too deep in Norfolk before you reach sand. The sandy soil and gentle wet climate makes the soil very fertile, which is great for crops and lawns and flower beds. Some plants, however, prefer altogether different conditions – they thrive clinging precariously to the edge of cliffs, or grow on rocky ground that would be a stretch to describe as soil at all. Creating a rockery is your best bet if you want to grow these exotic plants in your garden.

Set Your Rocks Up

The aim of a rockery is to mimic the conditions favoured by the plants you intend to grow. One popular type of rockery is the alpine rockery, designed for plants that like a lot of sunlight and the good drainage provided by rocks. Choose the sunniest part of your garden and bed in your largest rocks. Pile up weed-free compost and your smaller rocks to create exposed southern faces and sheltered northern beds. Now you are ready to plant.

Get Planting

A mix of evergreen shrubs and flowering plants will ensure that your rockery looks beautiful all year round. On the southern exposed slopes of your rockery you could plant creepers like toadflax and creeping campanula. If your compost mix is suitably alkaline, you should be able to grow the most famous of alpine flowers: the edelweiss. The shadier northern beds of your rockery are perfect for certain species of cyclamen or the green foliage and tiny pale flowers of Hacquetia epipactis.

If you would like to enjoy a rockery in your garden but don’t fancy hauling enormous rocks all over the county, then remember we offer a full landscaping service. We can build you a rockery as part of a complete overhaul of your garden, or as a small project. Call us now on 01603 360548 for a free quotation.