Many gardeners and owners of country houses would like to have a spectacular alpine slide on their plot. Unfortunately, this beautiful dream is one of the most expensive in execution, so it is often not realized.
But lovers of landscape compositions with natural stones should not give up and give up the desire to decorate your plot - in addition to the popular alpine slide there are many other rock gardens, no less spectacular, but much more economical to create. Consider alternative compositions using stone in garden design.
Rockery - single-level composition with plants and stones
In contrast to the alpine slide rockeries flat, and not multi-level.
And this circumstance will allow great savings on its creation - after all, you do not have to equip the relief and the foundation, you only need to make a drainage and backfilling of sand and gravel on the bottom layer.
This means that it will take much less time and effort for the device and finance to purchase materials..
At the same time, rockeries, regardless of its size, look very worthy, and even a miniature composition will look stylish and original.
To make the composition look complete, you should make the appropriate framing - paving or dumping out of gravel, but you should not lay the material directly on the garden ground, otherwise it will be difficult to get rid of the penetrating weeds.
Do not be afraid to dream when creating rockeries - unexpected solutions and original decor, such as colored gravel or decorative ceramic chips, will give your composition a special and unique look. A win-win solution - a combination of conifers and stones.
Rock garden - when the stones are "in the lead role"
This type of rock garden is characterized by the fact that the main role in the composition is played by stones - large, small or even tiny, and the plants only complement them. For the device of such a garden will fit a plot with any relief.
Trees and shrubs are not used to create such a composition, as they will distract attention to themselves..
Properly selected herbaceous perennials will do, the main thing is that there should not be many plants and they would all be perfectly combined with stones.
Alpine garden - emphasize the beauty of plants
In contrast to the rock garden, plants play a key role in the alpine garden, it is they who have to catch the eye, and the stones, as decorations, are intended to emphasize their beauty.
Very advantageous will look composition - monosad dedicated to any one plant. Such a landscape solution, apart from the original appearance, is also distinguished by its simplicity in design. Alpine gardens made of heather, ground cover conifers, young or awls look great.
Alpine step - garden on a stone wall
The Alpine step is called a composition consisting of a miniature stone wall with plants planted on it.
In contrast to the classical retaining wall, the landing is not performed vertically, but in a horizontal plane.
When creating an object, it is necessary to make a notch to fill the drainage and the ground. Spread the stones on top and place the plants.
Such an original landscape object will be interesting to look both by itself and as part of the garden stairs.
Stony composition - unleash your imagination
If you want to create a flower bed or a flower bed with the use of a stone that would meet your aesthetic needs, but at the same time "do not fit" in the Alpine style, then you will fit a rocky composition.
This object is a kind of improvisation, where everything is limited only by your imagination, so you can create it in any corner of the site, and in any light condition - both in an open sunny place, so in the shade.
Beautiful rocky garden of huge boulders with flowering perennials and green grass. As an addition, you can use various interesting materials, such as colored glass, pebbles or decorative gravel.
Stony garden - pay tribute to the beauty of stones
The stony garden can be placed both on a flat plot and on a slope - this landscape object is suitable for almost any relief.
Most importantly, stones and mounds should prevail over plants that are planted in the form of clumps at a considerable distance from each other.
Trees and shrubs are not used here, as the main objects in the composition are stones, and the main focus is on their beauty..
Perfect for creating a stony garden ferns and perennial ground cover plants, the main condition - they must look original, but better - perfect.
Container rock garden or "portable flower bed"
One of the most original and at the same time a win-win landscaping options are container rock gardens. Their main advantage is the ability to move around the site.
Such mini-gardens can decorate the terrace, a place of rest, or even a balcony of a city apartment. And if with the onset of cold days the compositions are placed at home, they will be pleasing to the eye until spring.
Typically, container rock gardens use various decorative pots, for example, ceramic ones, but you can also use stones with a hole, or even coconut shells, or logs and stumps.
When choosing a container, it is better to give preference to natural materials, plastic will not be suitable, as it visually “cheapens” the composition. Also, to create such a garden will need miniature plants and small pebbles.
Since the aesthetic requirements are high for a small object, all components must be placed respecting the proportions and laws of composition.
As you already understood, there are many alternatives to the alpine slide, and, finally, a tip: before you start creating any object of this kind, first draw a plan for the future composition, which will mark the places of laying stones and disembarking plants - this will allow you to calculate in advance the number of materials and thus avoid unnecessary purchases.
